by Holly Huffstutler

Created on: May 07, 2009

The addition of herbs and spices to the ingredients we cook with is practiced by anyone who knows how to get the most out of the meat they cook, the fruit they puree or the breads they bake. But what makes a spice and what makes an herb?

According to Gisslen's "Professional Cooking," "Herbs are the leaves of certain plants that usually grow in temperate climates" and "Spices are the buds, fruits, flowers, bark, seeds, and roots of plants and trees, many of which grow in tropical climates." Gisslen also says remembering the differences is not as important as learning to identify each spice and herb by sight, smell and how it reacts in your recipes, but since you asked let me describe which of the major spices fit into each of these two confusing categories.

Allspice: Spice (obviously) because it's a small brown berry that's ground up to make seasoning that tastes like someone combined cinnamon cloves and nutmeg.

Basil: Herb, leaf of a plant in the mint family.

Bay leaf: Herb, this valuable stock ingredient is another leaf.

Cardamom: Spice, this is comes from a pod and is used as a pod or for the seeds inside.

Cayenne: Spice, as this is comes from a ground red pepper.

Celery seed: Spice.

Chervil: Herb, another leaf.

Chives: Herb, long slender leaf.

Cilantro: Herb, the leaves used as cilantro are from the plant that produces Coriander which is a seed and therefore a Spice.

Cinnamon: Spice, in its stick form its clear that this is a bark of a tree.

Clove: Spice, the whole version of this Christmasy ingredient is actually a dried flower bud of an Indonesian tree.

Cumin: Spice, seed.

Curry: Spice, as it is a mixture of many spices that derive from barks to vegetables.

Dill: Herb and Spice, depending on whether you select the seeds or the leaves of a dill plant.

Fennel: Spice, this licorice like spice is a seed.

Garlic: Spice, as this is a bulb that is broken into separate cloves and minced or crushed.

Ginger: Spice, the intense yellow seasoning comes from the root of the ginger plant.

Mace: Spice, actually the outer covering of the Nutmeg which is a Spice because it's a small fruit.

Marjoram: Herb, another leaf.

Mint: Herb, the leaves of different mint plants.

Mustard seed: Spice.

Oregano: Herb, leaf.

Paprika: Spice, a ground up pepper

Parsley: Herb, leaf.

All Peppers: Spices, peppercorns are in fact berries.

Rosemary: Herb, yes they look like seeds but are in fact leaves.

Saffron: Spice, this rare precious flavor comes from the stigma of the saffron crocus.

Sage: Herb, leaf.

Savory: Herb, this sounds like a blend of other spices but is the leaf of its own plant.

Star anise: Spice, seed pods.

Tarragon: Herb, leaf.

Thyme: Herb, one more leaf.

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