Mexican Style

• For a Mexican flare add some literal spice to your tomato soup. Cayenne pepper powder is made from a dried chili pepper, a relative of the traditional jalapeno pepper. Cayenne pepper is not only used in a variety of cuisines, alternative medicine fans praise cayenne pepper for its ability to speed up the metabolism and promote healthy circulation, among other health benefits. To complement your spicy dish, add a squeeze of lime and some shredded cheese to help tone down the spice as dairy neutralizes hot foods.

Italian Style

• Add some flavor and romance to your meal with basil. The main ingredient in pesto and widely used in Italian cooking, basil is considered a symbol of love in Italy. Suitors in Italy would indicate love by placing a sprig of basil in their hair. Sweet basil has a full-bodied flavor and is the perfect complement to tomato-based dishes; add dry basil at the beginning of food preparation giving your food time to absorb the flavor or add some fresh basil at the end of cooking. When working with fresh herbs, prolonged cooking can contribute to loss in flavor and aroma. Alternatively, if you are out of basil, add some oregano to your tomato soup to enhance its flavor. Oregano is also extremely aromatic, but instead of having a sweet flavor has a slightly bitter taste.

Indian Spiced

• Add cardamom and clove to create an Indian-spiced tomato soup. A native of India, the seeds of the cardamom plant are used so often culinary preparations that little of the Indian produced seeds are available for export. These seeds have a warm sweet flavor with undertones of lime and mint. Cardamom is used in aromatherapy to fight fatigue and increase energy. The clove, a nail-shaped unopened flower bud from the clove tree, is a warm, sweet spice so versatile it is used in dessert dishes and curries alike.

Thai Spiced

• Popular in Thai cuisine, cumin seeds are actually the fruit that grows on the cumin plant. Available as whole seeds, or ground up powder, just a sprinkle of cumin will add a powerful pungent flavor with nutty undertones to your tomato soup. Cumin is the main ingredient in the curries used in Thailand as well as other nations. Available as whole seeds, or ground up powder this spice is also a good source of energy producing iron and known as a digestive aid. For some extra flavor, add a smidgen of curry paste to your tomato soup as well for an authentic Thai flavor.