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Spices
There are many spices used today for medicinal purposes and also for seasonings for different food dishes. A spice is considered to be a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetation substance from certain plants. The herbs are sometimes used as a preservative to kill or prevent the growth of harmful bacteria. These spices can be used to flavor foods and at the same time they can be helping the body by preventing diseases. Tumeric is considered to be a preservative, garlic is a vegetable, and licorice is a a medicine. Spices are distinguished from herbs by the herbs being leafy, green plant parts and used for flavoring purposes. Herbs are often chopped into fine pieces and the spices are dried and sometimes ground or grated into a powder. While garlic is considered to be a vegetable, it is used for seasoning and also for medicinal purposes.Salt is a seasoning which can be found in granular form. It is often mistaken to be a spice. Salt is a mineral . There are three different classifications of spices. They are those which come from leaves or branches of plants. Some examples of these are, basil, bay leaf, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, oregano, and chervil. All or part of these plants can be used. The second classification is the ripened fruits or seeds. Some of these examples are dill, fennel, coriander, fenugreek, berberis, mustard, and black pepper. The third classification for spices are the roots or bulbs class. Examples of these are garlic, onion, celery, and ginger. Most of these are also considered to be vegetables. They also make very good flavoring in many dishes.
Spices were first recognized around 2000 B. C., in the Middle East. These spices were Indonesian cinnamon, cinnamon, and pepper. It is also believed that cloves may have also been discovered early on the Indonesian island known as Ternate, in the Maluku Islands. There was a clove found burnt onto a floor of a burned down kitchen in the Mesopotamian site of Terqa. This area is now known as Syria. The discovery was dated back to around 1700 B. C..
According to the Bible, in the book of Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery, by his brothers, to spice merchants. The male speaker in the Song of Solomon compares his beloved to spices. Nutmeg originated from the Banda Islands in the Moluccas. It has a Sanskrit name. Sanskrit is the language which is used by the Hindu texts. Nutmeg was introduced in Europe around the 6th century.
During the Middle Ages, spices were a luxury and the most common ones used were black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Since those days there has been many more spices introduced into the world.