If you've eaten in my kitchen you know that I love herbs
and spices. I have an entire drawer dedicated to my many spices and it’s to the
point where I’m introducing some into another drawer since I've run out of
space. Am I a hoarder? I like to think I’m more of a scientist and my kitchen is my lab. I like to use, taste, and experience them, and even I have my limits with how many I "need." My favorite thing is when I order new spices in the mail and open them up for the first time - the aroma is invigorating! I love trying new flavors, and with spices,
there are infinite possibilities.
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| This photo was taken months ago... the collection has grown. |
So what’s the difference between an herb and a spice?
An herb is a plant or plant part valued for its medicinal, savory, or aromatic qualities like basil, rosemary, sage, and thyme. A spice is a substance (such as pepper or nutmeg) that is used in cooking to add flavor to food and that comes from a dried plant and is usually a powder or seed. While the words spice and herb are sometimes used interchangeably and both have health benefits, spices aren't as commonly used for medicinal purposes as herbs. For example, chamomile is an herb, but not a spice. On the other hand, some herbs can also be a spice, like ginger
Here are some interesting facts on common spices we use today:
Spice
|
Part
of the Plant
|
Cool
Fact
|
Ginger
|
Roots
|
Ginger is a very medicinal root, proven to reduce
nausea better than a placebo. In its fresh form, it's an herb and in its dry form, it's a spice.
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Peppercorn
|
Berries
|
Peppercorns are so prized that they were once used as currency. Pepper is
also the oldest recorded used spice; it was cultivated as early as 1,000 B.C.
Peppercorns come in black, brown, pink, green, and white varieties.
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Cinnamon
|
Tree Bark
|
The polyphenolics in cinnamon have been clinically proven
to lower blood sugar. However, its effects aren't as potent when used in
sugary desserts.
|
Spice
|
Part
of the Plant
|
Cool
Fact
|
Cardamom
|
Seed
|
In addition to being a
very floral and aromatic spice, cardamom is used in many Southeast Asian
countries as natural
medicine to treat infections in the gums and throat, and for the
congestion of the lungs as well as digestive disorders.
It also is used to break up kidney stones and gall stones.
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Saffron
|
Flower Stamen
|
It takes 75,000
flowers to make just one pound of saffron. By weight, it is the most expensive spice
in the world.
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Vanilla
|
Seed pod
|
Vanilla is derived from the seed pod of the Vanilla
Orchid. There are over 21,000 recognized species of orchids on earth and only
110 of those species are Vanilla Orchids. Even fewer of those are used for human consumption. Because of the time it takes to
cultivate vanilla, it is the second most expensive spice in the world.
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