Herbs &Spices
Herbs are the green, leafy parts of plants. They are most efficacious and flavorsome when used fresh, and they are mostly grown in temperate to hot regions. Spices are derived from any part of a plant that is not a leaf: for example, cloves are flower buds, cinnamon is bark, ginger is a root, peppercorns are berries, nigella is seed, cumin is a fruit, saffron is stigmas, cardamom is pods and seeds, and asafetida is a gum. Spices are usually used in small amounts, are best used dry (the drying process often enhances the flavor), and most grow in subtropical or tropical climates. One single plant can be both an herb and a spice. Aromatic seeds like dill are a spice, while dill leaves are an herb. However, coriander and hamburg parsley roots, garlic and fennel bulbs are all regarded as herbs rather than spices.
HERBS AND SPICES
HERBS AND SPICES. The terms "herb" and "spice" describe plants or parts of plants used for medicine, cooking, and pleasure all over the world. These plants number in the thousands and come from almost every plant family known. This makes it almost impossible to generalize about their uses and properties. However, a treatment of this length could not be written without generalizations, so it is important to keep in mind that for every statement made one or more exceptions exist.