More popular as an ingredient, however, are the seeds, which appear in Iranian, Pakistani and Mediterranean dishes. With a sweet, nutty flavor and a hint of cinnamon and licorice, fenugreek seeds are ground and added to everything from stews to confections. It is grown as an annual in ordinary garden soil and does well in a pot. The first harvest is of the young leaves. During the summer, small white flowers appear, followed by the seeds, which should be harvested while still green by picking whole flower stalks, and then letting the seeds dry indoors before they are removed from plants and stored in jars.
Sweet herb is another oddity that has surfaced with greater dependability in recent years.
It is a native of Paraguay and has long been used in South American cuisine as a sugar substitute. Stevia is the botanical name of this plant, whose mouse-ear leaves pack 10 times the sweetness of sugar. A fresh leaf when chewed explodes with honey, as sweet as a piece of candy. Most recipes that call for stevia require only a scant teaspoon to substitute for as much as a cup of sugar. Stevia is a tender perennial, growing like a weed in its native land.