Understand Spices Properly- "The Five Sources of Spices: Stems, Roots, Fruits, Seeds, and Flowers"-

 

                                                                    Spices

What is Spice?

Spice are plant parts loaded with flavor than most other ingredients and are used in cooking. These plant parts can be seeds, fruits, roots, stems, flowers, or bark and are used when dried. Contrary to this, herbs always come from leafy parts.

Does spice contain chemicals?

Yes, spice contains chemicals, and therefore they are called vessels of chemicals and are known as flavor (aroma) compounds. These flavors or aromas help plants survive and reproduce, performing roles such as repelling animals or protecting against bacteria. It is the beauty of nature that the chemicals present in these plants have aromas that are loved by humans and these aromas or flavors are utilized by humans in their cooking. So, We can say that Spice flavors are chemicals produced by plants for their defense. Is it not Great?? 

1. Spices from Stem:- 

The basic duty of the stem of a plant is to distribute water and sugar to where they are needed. The few spices that derive from the stem of a plant are Cinnamon(Dal Chinni) and Cassia(Junglee Dal Chinni). These spices are dried pieces of inner and outer bark respectively of Cinnamomum trees.

Aroma for Communication:- The spicy woody aroma of cinnamon comes from a chemical compound present in cinnamon called Caryophyllene. when any plant of the Cinnamomum tree is eaten, its role is to act as an airborne signal that primes downward plant to produce defensive chemicals. Thus the chemical (Caryophyllene) which is the flavor or aroma present in Cinnamon is used for Communication. 

2. Spices from Roots:- The root is the lifeline of any plant and it provides water and nutrients to the entire plant. Further the rhizomes, corns, and bulbs are storage chambers, which have the ability to produce new shoots and roots. The examples of dried spices from the roots of their plant are Turmeric, Ginger, Liquorice (Mulethi), Garlic, Galangal (Kulanjan), and Asafoetida (Hing). The rhizomes are the plant's food store and comprise up to 70% carbohydrates. 

Aroma for animal discouragement:-  Turmeric flavor contains a compound called 

cineole which has a strong, penetrating, and slightly medicinal flavor and acts as a bitter-tasting obstruction to animals who try eating the rhizomes. 

If you like the above article then, please give your comment so that I complete the literature on spices i.e. spices from fruits, seeds and flowers