Spices have been used for centuries in many cultures to add depth and flavour to food.
Their first recorded use dates back to the Vedic period (1500-500BC) when they were used in religious ceremonies.
The use of them is thought to originate in India & China and spread across the inhabitable world as the explorers came across!
The most common spices are turmeric, pepper, mustard, cumin & ginger, but there is many many more spices and spice blends out there, it's just knowing which country and which flavour profile you are going for.
If you are going for the typical Indian flavours, you will tend to find that you will use cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom, saffron and other common spices.
Each spice has it's own benefits - clove, rosemary, sage, oregano & cinnamon are excellent sources of antioxidants with their high content of phenolic compounds. Turmeric is known for it's anti-inflammatory properties and cumin is a good source of iron.
A lot of spices are pretty unrecognisable in their plant forms to how we are used to seeing them - think of cardamom, black pepper, cayenne, wasabi and many others. Spices are usually made from the fruit or the roots of the plant whereas herbs are from the leaves or flowers of the plant.
This opens a whole new door in how you look at those ginger roots and those wasabi roots as you pass them in the aisle, when we usually get them pickled or ground or made to a paste in a nicely packaged bottle or box.
Here at Carla's, we have explored our own use of spice blends and created tasty and delicious blends to help you make your weekday meals delicious and easy.
Information gathered from various sources: