A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, or vegetative
substance primarily used for flavoring, coloring or preserving food. Sometimes
a spice is used to hide other flavors. Spices are distinguished from herbs,
which are parts of leafy green plants also used for flavoring or as garnish. Many
spices have antimicrobial properties.
This may explain why spices are more commonly used in warmer
climates, which have more infectious disease, and why use of spices is
especially prominent in meat, which is particularly susceptible to spoiling. A
spice may have other uses, including medicinal, religious ritual, cosmetics or
perfume production, or as a vegetable. For example, turmeric roots are consumed
as a vegetable and garlic as an antibiotic.
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