Spices: Feed's All You Need Guide

Spices are a chef's true best friend. These simple ingredients help transform any meal and are essential for many cuisines globally. Spices take us to new and older worlds and help bridge communities through food, allowing us to explore new tastes and take us back to our roots. Whether you’re a fan of simple spices like salt and pepper or want to explore new flavor profiles created by cumin, coriander, and saffron, today’s Pop All You Need guide is for you! We wanted to take some time and explore the world of spices: their history and which ones you should integrate into your kitchen. If you’re interested in learning more, then keep reading on.

History of Spices:

A cabinet of spices is like a history book - the flavors have been enjoyed by individuals since ancient times, connecting flavor palettes through the joys of the food. According to McCormick Science Institute, spices likely originated over 6 million years ago, when early men and women used bushes, berries, nuts, seeds, and bark to help enhance the flavors of the meat they were cooking. As time went on, these uses began to spread, and it is noted that when leaves, seeds, roots, or gums were found to taste good, they became normalized (and in great demand) as a flavor enhancer within the cuisine they were used for.

With the development of religion during biblical times, spices became a prized part of religious offerings, burial rituals, medicines, trade, and seasoning. Spices like mint, dill, cumin, and coriander seeds are mentioned in the Bible, sealing their future as treasures. In ancient Egypt, spices like caraway, coriander, fennel, and poppy were paired with herbs to help treat and prevent disease and other sicknesses. Many also loved flavoring their food at the time with cardamom and cinnamon brought over from Ethiopia. On the other side of the world, Chinese culture emphasized using herbs and spices in medicines, as noted in 2700 BC Pen Ts’ao Ching. Cassia, a similar spice to cinnamon, became highly prized within China, and more and more, others like nutmeg and cloves, brought to China from the Moluccas, were becoming integral within Chinese medicine and culture. A bit farther south, spices like cardamom and turmeric were discovered and cultivated within India, and cinnamon and pepper were added to help heal wounds and illnesses within the body. 

‍

Soon came the formation of the Silk Road, where traders from Arabia, the Roman Empire, China, and other countries traveled to trade spices and other merchandise native to their lands to others. Given that certain spices could only be grown in certain regions, selling to others transformed the way of cooking, preserving, and eating food. According to UNESCO, the formation of the Silk Road created Spice Routes, formed by traders buying and selling spices; cassia from China and cinnamon from Sri Lanka, for example, traveled along the Spice Routes to end up in the Middle East. Along with this came the exchange of knowledge, religion, languages, and artistic and scientific skills, setting spices up as a truly fundamental way of connecting others with just something so simple as the flavoring of their food.

Today, you can likely find most spices within your local grocery store or even online, depending on what you’re looking for. Additionally, with the internet, different methods and recipes are now available at the touch of a button, making the divide between continents and cultures practically nonexistent. 

Common Spices You’ll Find 

There are numerous spices you can find in any grocery store, given their everyday use within cuisines worldwide. You can find most in both their whole and ground-up form, but whole spices typically maintain their aromatic flavors for more extended periods than their counterpart. While specialty spices are utilized more often than others, keeping some standard spices on hand is good to make cooking easier. Some spices you should keep in your pantry include:

Salt and pepper

Salt and pepper, two of the most common spices available, are essentials for your pantry and recipe rotation. This combination is commonly used to season foods eaten in many European countries but is a staple in kitchens and cuisines all over the world. The history of these spices goes way back, but today you can find various varieties of each, including sea salt, white pepper, and many seasoned salts to make cooking even easier!

Cardamom

Another classic spice worth keeping in your pantry is cardamom! This classic spice is a game changer in many recipes; cardamom can truly level up any dish, whether you’re making coffee, pastries, or even more savory foods. Interestingly enough, cardamom is a member of the ginger family and can be found whole or ground, depending on what you are looking for. This spice can typically be found in many Middle Eastern or South Asian dishes, although it has become much more popular in recent years within other cultures globally!

Cinnamon

This timeless spice is likely one you are most familiar with (and may already have in your pantry). Cinnamon is quite an old spice, but its smell and flavor speak for themselves, making both sweet and savory dishes taste oh-so-delicious! Cinnamon was originally found to have been used back in Ancient Egypt, but it became a commodity within Asia and the Middle East, slowly making its way into Europe. Cinnamon has become a classic favorite worldwide and can be found in coffees, teas, baked goods, rice dishes, and many meat dishes!

Coriander

Coriander is the leaves of the cilantro plant, even though both give off completely different tastes! Coriander comes in both the whole seed form and powder and typically has a warm, nutty flavor and can be found in many spice mixes.

Cumin

Cumin, a rich and bold spice available globally, is a spice that’s flavor profile stands out from the rest. Available as whole seeds or as a ground powder, cumin’s earthy, spicy, and warm flavor adds dimension to dishes of all sorts, including chili, tamales, and within Indian curries. This spice boasts many health benefits when consumed often, including promoting digestion, aiding in treating diabetes, and much more!

While there are so many different spices available on the market (covering each will lead us to write an encyclopedia!), but we hope this brief guide has provided you with a bit of insight into the power and the prevalent use of spices to recreate a variety of different cuisines. Whether you’re looking to travel to another country within your kitchen or revolutionize your favorite recipes, spices can change the way you see the cooking world and can allow you to transform the way you enjoy food.