Herbs and Spices in Bahasa Indonesia
Halo^^
Continuing my posts about fruits and vegetables in Bahasa Indonesia, today I’m writing about herbs and spices. In Indonesia, the two are commonly known as ‘rempah-rempah’, from which those whose roots are use can be called specifically as ‘empon-empon’.
They can be said to be the most famous reason as to why the Europeans, especially the Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese, came and then colonialized Indonesia back in the 16th to 20th century. As many of the more ‘exotic’ ones need the climate only some places can give, they have to be planted at the place of origin as the technology at that time was not yet as good as they are now. Thus, mostly for gold, we were forced to ‘work’ for them in harvesting our own land or, literally, lost everything we owned.
As usual, I’ll try to categorize these herbs and spices, though I won’t be differentiating the two as sometimes both the leaf and other part of the same plant can be used as seasoning. There might be some I’m skipping if they’re unfamiliar in Indonesia, or at least where I’m from, and I can’t find their Indonesian names.
Btw, if you haven’t already know, herbs refers to the leafy part of plants, mostly green in color and oftentimes fresh, whilst spices can come from the root, stem, bark, flower, fruit, or seed of plants, with a variety of color though oftentimes they are dried first so the color tends to be brownish.
Both types are used as seasoning, though spices tend to have stronger flavour. Admittedly, some are used more for their color or aroma than taste. Some are also used for their medicinal purposes and made into drinks like jamu.
In Bahasa Indonesia, to differentiate herbs and spices especially for those whose more than one part can be used, we add the terms ‘daun’ (leaf), ‘akar’ (root), ‘batang’ or ‘kayu’ (bark), ‘bunga’ (flower), ‘buah’ (fruit), or ‘biji’ (seed) at the front before the name.
Anyway, let’s start with the most common(-ish) ones first, thanks (?) to the traders and colonizers!
Aromatic ginger = Kencur
Basil = (Daun) kemangi (the leaf) / (biji) selasih (the seed)
Bay (leaf) = (Daun) salam
Betel = (Daun) sirih
Butterfly pea = Bunga telang
Candlenut = Kemiri
Cardamom = Kapulaga
Celery = (Daun) seledri
Chili = Cabai / lombok
Cinnamon = Kayu manis (lit. ‘sweet wood’)
Cloves = Cengkeh
Coriander = Cilantro = Ketumbar
Cubeb = Kemukus
Cumin = Jintan
Curry (leaf) = (Daun) kari
Dill = Adas sowa (we usually just say ‘dill’, though, as it is rare here)
Fennel = Adas
Fingerroot = (Temu) kunci
Galangal = Lengkuas / laos
Ginger = Jahe
Juniper = Jintan saru
Kaffir lime = Jeruk purut
Lemongrass = Serai
Mustard = Mustar / moster
Nutmeg = Pala
Parsley = Peterseli (though nowadays people are more familiar with ‘parsley’)
Pepper = Merica / lada
Poppy = Opium (this is narcotics and illegal here)
Safflower = Kesumba
Sesame = Wijen
Star anise = Adas bintang / bunga lawang
Tamarind = Asam jawa
Thyme = Timi (though people are more familiar with ‘thyme’)
Turmeric = Kunyit / kunir
Next are the ones with the same names (pronunciation) in Bahasa Indonesia and English, though some have different spelling.
Bergamot
(Daun) mint
Oregano
Pandan (it can also serve as natural green coloring)
Rosemary = Rosemari (there’s no difference in the pronunciation, though)
Saffron (or kuma-kuma)
Vanilla = Vanila / vanili
Wasabi
There are also some, mostly spices, which I can’t find the English name for, such as:
Andaliman (Zanthoxylum acanthopodium)
Kayu secang (Biancaea sappan)
Kluwek (Pangium)
(Bunga) kecombrang (Etlingera elatior)
Temulawak (Wikipedia said it’s sometimes called Javanese ginger or Javanese turmeric)
As many of these herbs and spices are not only easy to grow in Indonesia but also have many good properties for health, some people grew them in their lawn. As a group, those plants are called Toga, an abbreviation of tanaman obat keluarga (‘family medicinal plants’). Ginger, turmeric, bay leaf, ginseng (their leaves can also be eaten, though the taste is a bit unique), and red betel are some toga commonly planted by people.
Now, considering herbs and spices are mostly used for seasoning food, I’ll also add some other seasonings (‘bumbu’) in Bahasa Indonesia which are not usually deemed as part of the herb and spices group as they don’t really come from plants. Do note that herbs and spices are part of seasonings (‘bumbu’), as are some vegetables (like garlic) and fruits (like belimbing wuluh (the fruit of Averrhoa bilimbi)).
Salt = Garam
Sugar = Gula (note that simply saying ‘sugar’ will most probably get you white sugar (gula putih) made from sugarcane)
Palm sugar = Gula aren / gula jawa / gula palem (the three are different in Indonesia, though, as their origin (as in the tree species they’re extracted from), color, and taste differs a bit, even though they are all made from the sap water of trees)
Brown sugar = Gula merah
Bouillon = Kaldu
Vinegar = Cuka
MSG (Monosodium glutamate) = MSG / micin / vetsin
Honey = Madu (admittedly, honey isn’t a seasoning, but I’ll just put it here)
Alright, that’s all for today. I’m getting hungry now…
Anyway, I hope you enjoy today’s post and increase your knowledge. See you next time~
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