Spices & Herbs?

Question

it is confusing, when you read a spice pack you will find this,

basil, thyme, rosemary,.... spices, herbs.

aren't basil , thyme , rosemary..... HERBS??

I mean what are herbs?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Spice comes from a dried seed, fruit, root, bark which is used as a flavoring, and sometimes as a preservative by killing or preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. Spices, are dried and often ground or grated into a powder. Small seeds, such as fennel and mustard seeds, are used both whole and in powder form. Many of them are also used for other purposes, such as medicines, or are ingredients in cosmetics, perfumery or in some instances that are eaten as vegetables. For example, Turmeric is also used as both a preservative and a digestive aid and as both a dye for cloth and a deterrent for ants; licorice is used as both a flavoring and as a medicine; garlic is also used as both a vegetable and an antibiotic.

In the kitchen, spices are distinguished from herbs, which are leafy, green plants used for flavoring of food and for medicinal purposes as well. Mint, for example, is a wonderful aid to calming an upset stomach. Culinary Herbs, such as basil or oregano, may be used fresh, or dried. The fresh are less concentrated in flavor and are more subtle.

Many recipes use these ingredients and each cultural cuisine is identified by the predominance of the herbs and spices used.

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Answer 2

herbs are leaves, stems,roots.

Spices are seeds,fruits.

Answer 3

they basically the same thing

Answer 4

I am guessing that they are "secret ingredients" that the manufacturer doesn't want to reveal, proprietary information that they don't want copied.

Spices come from the bark (cinnamon), root (ginger, onion, garlic), buds (cloves, saffron), seeds (yellow mustard, poppy, sesame), berry (black pepper), or the fruit (allspice, paprika) of tropical plants and trees.

Herbs are leaves of low-growing shrubs. Examples are parsley, chives, marjoram, thyme, basil, caraway, dill, oregano, rosemary, savory, sage and celery leaves. These can be used fresh or dried. Dried forms may be whole, crushed, or ground. Many herbs can be grown in the United States in or out of doors.

Answer 5

Spices are flavorings, often of tropical origin, that are dried. Most spices come from plant fruits, as is the case for mace, nutmeg, black pepper, and cardamom. Cinnamon comes from the bark of a shrubby tree, and ginger comes from the underground rhizome of a plant. Herbs, in the culinary sense, are leaves of plants that can be used either fresh or dried to season food. In the botanical sense, an herb is any plant that does not have woody perennial stems like a tree or shrub.

Answer 6

Yes, they are.

I'm guessing there are small amounts of other herbs in there that the manufacturers do not want to reveal, and so they are classed together as 'herbs' at the end.