Steenbergs Orris Root Ground

Orris Root Ground is a specialist spice from Steenbergs. It is powdered orris root, which is creamy white and looks like talcum powder. Orris Root’s aroma and flavour is floral with a hint of bitterness.

Orris root is used for its floral aroma and as a flavour fixative. It is used in Western herbal medicine, in perfumes like Chanel No. 19, and for some gins, e.g., Bombay Sapphire Gin. Steenbergs blends it into ras al hanut. Orris is also commonly used in making pomanders, or for fixing the aromas of pot pourri.

Axel’s Tasting Notes: Pungent: floral, perfumed and slightly bitter, with a sweet and lingeringly woody aroma.

Food Pairing: Ras al hanout, pomander.

More about Orris Root

Orris Root comes from grinding the rootstock of the Florentine iris, Iris germanica var. florentina.

Florentine iris is an attractive perennial plant. It has bluish-green, flat leaves and flower stems that grow up to 1 metre high. Its flowers are either white tinged with violet and a yellow beard, or pure white flowers with no beard.

It takes three years for the plants to mature,. After then, they can be dug up, peeled, dried and ground to powder.