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A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavouring.
Many of the same substances have other uses in which they are referred to by different terms, e. g. in food preservation, medicine, religious rituals, cosmetics, perfumery or as vegetables. For example, turmeric is also used as a preservative; licorice as a medicine; garlic as a vegetable and nutmeg as a recreational drug.
Spices are further distinguished from herbs, referring to leafy, green plant parts used for flavouring purposes. However, spices are not fresh.
History
Spices have been prominent in human history virtually since its inception. Spices were some of the most valuable items of trade in the ancient and medieval world. In the story of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical poem Song of Solomon, the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices.
Spices were the primary reason that Portuguese navigator Vasco Da Gama sailed to India. Around that same time, when Christopher Columbus happened upon the New World, he was quick to describe to investors the many new spices available there.
See also
Further reading
- Jack Turner (2004), Spice: the history of a temptation, HarperCollins
External links
