are difficult to define. ‘One or other of various strongly flavoured or aromatic substances of vegetable origin obtained from tropical plants, commonly used as condiments, etc.’ (OED). This needs two corrections and one rider. Some of the plants which produce spices belong to temperate climates (e.g. caraway seeds); and spices are more often used in cooking, not as condiments (at table, when cooking has already been completed). The rider is that there are some substances of animal origin, e.g. ambergris, which are often included in lists of spices, if only for want of any other category into which to put them. Otherwise, the OED definition may be regarded as helpful.
Several authors have demonstrated the possibility of writing a book about spices, or about herbs and spices (a popular combination in books, as in the kitchen) without attempting to say what a spice is. Redgrove (1933) is not one of these. He addresses the question squarely, pronounces it insoluble, yet hints at a solution: ‘herbs’ are the herbaceous parts of aromatic plants; ‘spices’ are their dried other parts— rhizome, root, bark, flower, fruit, seed; and ‘condiments’ are spices or other flavourings added to food at the table. Thus mustard greens would be a herb, and mustard seeds a spice, while mustard in a mustard pot, at table, would be a condiment. This would be a convenient set of definitions, and has the merit of being as close to common usage as any rational definitions could be expected to come.
That complete coincidence is unattainable is a fact explained to some extent by the history of spices, which also explains why the OED declares that they have to be from tropical plants. The history of the spice trade, of great importance from remote antiquity to medieval times as a stimulus to voyages of exploration, is treated separately. Here it is relevant to note that this trade was with the Orient, and resulted in the term ‘spice’ (which comes from the same root as ‘species’ and originally meant a kind of merchandise) being applied to oriental products rather than to European ones. The meaning of the term widened when American spices came into the picture, and widened still further when it became convenient to use the term as one of gastronomic use rather than geographical provenance and value. But it has not yet been extended to include certain flavouring substances common in Europe, such as garlic, although logically it should; and there are other anomalies such as the exclusion of horseradish (although wasabi, ‘Japanese horseradish’, is included by some authors).
The most expensive spices are saffron, vanilla, and cardamom, in that order. Some spices have a preservative effect on foods, exercised by their essential oils. It is, generally, these same essential oils which provide the flavour. For an explanation of what they are, and their characteristics, see essences.
A separate survey is given of spice mixtures.
Alan Davidson was a distinguished author and publisher, and one of the world's best-known writers on fish and fish cookery. In 1975 he retired early from the diplomatic service—after serving in, among other places, Washington, Egypt, Tunisia, and Laos, where he was British Ambassador—to pursue a fruitful second career as a food historian and food writer extraordinaire. Among his popular books are Seafood of South-East Asia, North Atlantic Seafood, and Mediterranean Seafood. In 2003, shortly before his death, he was awarded the Erasmus Prize for his contribution to European culture.
Redgrove, H. S. (1933), Spices and Condiments, London: Isaac Pitman.
