Spices and herbs are abundant in most foods in the world today. Both are used for the flavoring of food and also for medicinal purposes. Herbs and spices have been popular in human history. In earlier times, herbs and spices were considered expensive and only available to the rich. Herbs and spices were often commonly traded between nations in medieval times. A lot of people don’t know the difference between a weed and a spice. There are many parallels between the two, and some distinctions are very slight, but they are still true.
The biggest difference between a herb and a spice is where it is extracted from a plant. Herbs typically come from the leafy portion of a plant and are generally sterile. Many plants should be used again, though. Spices may be derived from nuts, vegetables, stems, bark or some other vegetative material. Spices are not usually as natural as other spices can be. Herbs can be used in many parts of the world, while spices are most generally used in the Far East and tropical countries. Herbs are believed to have a few more applications than spices. For starters, herbs have been used more commonly than spices in the medical field. Herbs are and have been used to improve makeup and conserve milk.
Some claim that there is no difference between herbs and spices, all of which have common uses. However, the botanical description indicates that a herb is a plant that does not grow a woody stem. It is common knowledge that a dried herb is known to be a spice in many parts of the United States. This adds to more uncertainty, since if the spice is actually a seed, then there would be little distinction between the two. However, thinking this is missing the fact that certain herbs appear to be leafy green substances and spices are present in tropical plants.
Since herbs and spices have so many uses and are excellent food flavorings, they have played an important role in history. Vasco Da Gama, a Portuguese navigator, traveled to India in search of spices. Even Christopher Columbus identified the varieties of spices available to investors in the “new world” after they arrived. Herbs have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), herpetology (study of herbs for medicinal purposes) has been used for thousands of years.
The discussion is underway about herbs and spices. Some say there’s no distinction, and others say they’re totally different. Most researchers would suggest that the distinction between the herb and the spice is determined where the herb or spice is cultivated on the plant and where it can be extracted.
