Grocers in North Africa stake their reputation on a ‘house blend’ which according to folklore may contain up to a hundred aromatics but in reality contains around twelve. The ‘grocer’s head’, as it is called, generally includes cinnamon bark, whole nutmeg, dried rose buds, pieces of dried ginger, cloves, cubebs and different peppers – sometimes the golden green Spanish fly, renowned for its ‘aphrodisiac’ qualities. They are pounded together in a mortar as required.