What is the difference between a spice and an herb?

Answer 1

The terms "spice" and "herb" have both been used to describe parts of plants (possibly dried) that are used to enhance the flavor or taste of food. In addition, herbs have been used to augment cosmetics, preserve foods and cure illnesses.

Spices and herbs can consist of flower buds, bark, seeds, leaves or many other parts of a plant. Over time the definitions for spices and herbs have changed a bit. In the past, spices have been categorized as fragrant, aromatic plant products like cinnamon, cloves, ginger and pepper. These spices are found in plants grown in tropical and subtropical regions of the world. While herbs have always been recognized as the more green, leafy products like mint, rosemary and thyme grown in more temperate areas.

But according to the American Spice Trade Association, today spices have become known as "any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning purposes." This all-inclusive definition seems to cover a wide range of plants like herbs, spice seeds and even dehydrated vegetables and spice blends.

Spices and herbs are common in most foods around the world today. Both are used to flavor foods and some for medicinal purposes. Herbs and spices have both been prominent throughout human history. In earlier times, herbs and spices were considered luxuries and only available for the use of the wealthy. Herbs and spices were also traded frequently between nations in medieval times. Many people do not know the difference between an herb and a spice. There are many similarities between the two, and some of the differences are very subtle, but they are still valid.

The essential difference between an herb and a spice is where it is obtained from on a plant. Herbs usually come from the leafy part of a plant, and are usually dried. However, some herbs can be used fresh. Spices can be obtained from seeds, fruits, roots, bark, or some other vegetative substance. Spices are not necessarily as fresh as some herbs can be. Herbs can be found many places around the world, while spices are more commonly found in the Far East and tropical countries. Herbs are considered to have a few more uses than spices. For instance, herbs have been used more frequently than spices in the medical field. Also, herbs can and have been used to augment cosmetics and preserve foods.

Some argue that there is no distinction between herbs and spices, considering both have similar uses. However, a botanical definition reveals that an herb is a plant that doesn’t produce a woody stem. It is common knowledge that in certain areas of the United States, a dried herb is considered to be a spice. This leads to more confusion because if a spice is simply an herb, then there cannot be a difference between the two. However, believing this is ignoring the fact that many herbs tend to be leafy green substances and spices are found in plants that are tropical in nature.

Because herbs and spices have so many uses and are great food flavorings, they have played important roles throughout history. The Portuguese navigator, Vasco Da Gama, sailed to India in search of spices. Even Christopher Columbus described the types of spices available in the “new world” to investors after he landed. Herbs have been used throughout history for medicinal purposes. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), herbology (the study of herbs for medical purposes) has been used for thousands of years.

The debate between herbs and spices is ongoing. Some say that there is no difference, while others maintain that they are both completely different. Most learned scholars will say that the difference between an herb and a spice is found in where the herb or spice is obtained on the plant, and where that specific plant can be found.

Answer 2

Spices are flavorings, often of tropical origin, that are dried. Most spices come from plant fruits, as is the case for mace, nutmeg, black pepper, and cardamom. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a shrubby tree, and ginger comes from the underground rhizome of a plant. Herbs, in the culinary sense, are leaves of plants that can be used either fresh or dried to season food. In the botanical sense, an herb is any plant that does not have woody perennial stems like a tree or shrub.

Answer 3

Spices are basically parts (like flowers, barks, leaves, roots etc.) of plants which are used for improving the taste and flavour of food. Most of the spices are grown in tropical countries. These are not toxic or poisonous, hence are safely used everyday in homes the world over in cooking food.

Herbs are plants whose aerial parts do not persist above ground at the end of the growing season. Most of these plants grow wildly in forests but a large number of them are also cultivated in fields. These plants or their parts possess medicinal properties, hence they are used either directly or by making extracts for curing diseases. Some of these herbs may be very toxic or poisonous, hence should be taken as medicines only under supervision of experts of health-care.

Answer 4

Herbs are generally composed of leaves, stems, or other whole parts of the plant. Spices are often extracts or parts of the plants that have been processed in some way, like boiling the bark or root of the plant.

Answer 5

an herb is a plant leaf. spice is not the leaf but can be a seed or even a mineral like salt! ground pepper corns, nutmeg are examples of spices. Herb would be basil, thyme, parsley.

Answer 6

spice used only food items,herbs used medicens

Answer 7

Herb you can use like spice, spice you can,t use lke herb