1
Anise
Pimpinella anisum
Small comma-shaped seeds with a pronounced licorice sweetness, used from Mediterranean liqueurs to Christmas cookies.
Looking for 5-letter spices? Here are 5 spices that fit — each linked to a full profile.
Letters are counted across the whole name with spaces, hyphens, apostrophes, and diacritics excluded. "Apple Pie" is 8 letters; "Boeuf Bourguignon" is 16.
List of 5-letter Spices
2
Clove
Syzygium aromaticum
The dried unopened flower bud of an Indonesian evergreen — intensely sweet, hot, and aromatic enough to perfume a whole pot of mulled wine.
3
Cumin
Cuminum cyminum
A ribbed brown seed whose warm, earthy aroma anchors the cooking of India, Mexico, the Middle East, and North Africa.
4
Sumac
Rhus coriaria
The crushed deep-red fruit of a Mediterranean bush — sour, bright, almost lemony, dusted over kebabs, salads, and the za'atar spice blend.
5
Tulsi
Ocimum tenuiflorum
Holy basil — a sacred Hindu herb with a peppery, clove-like aroma used as much in temple offerings as in healing teas and Thai stir-fries.
About 5-letter spices
That's our current list of spices with exactly 5 letters. Need a different length? Try the browse-by-length pills in the sidebar, or combine with a starting letter — for example, 5-letter spices that start with A.