When you see a plate of delicious food in front of you, there are many elements that you sense all at once. The ingredients, the colour of the dish, the aroma… ever wondered how it all comes together? Apart from the main ingredients of the dish, it is the spices and herbs used in the cooking and garnishing that give it the special flavour and kick.
What Are Herbs and Spices?
Herbs are the leaf part of a plant that is used in cooking – these can be used fresh or dried. Herbs are short plants with green, delicate and tender stems. They may have no or less branches.
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A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavouring or colouring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavouring or as a garnish.
All types of herbs and spices add their own unique properties to any food, and are thus an important element in cooking. Various regions of the world have their own local herbs and spices which lend a flavour, colour and aroma to the dish.
Types Of Herbs And Spices That Kids Must Know About
1. Cilantro/Coriander
Coriander is also known as Chinese parsley, dhania, or cilantro. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the parts most traditionally used in cooking.
2. Artichoke
The globe artichoke, also known by the names French artichoke and green artichoke in the U.S., is a variety of a species of thistle cultivated as food. The edible portion of the plant consists of the flower buds before the flowers come into bloom.
3. Rosemary
Rosemary is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region.
4. Bay leaves
The bay leaf is an aromatic leaf commonly used in cooking. It can be used whole, either dried or fresh, in which case it is removed from the dish before consumption, or less commonly used in ground form. It may come from several species of tree, the bay laurel and the California bay tree being the most common.
5. Mint leaves
Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial herbs. They have wide-spreading underground and overground stolons and erect, square, branched stems.
6. Basil
Basil, also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide.
7. Clove
Cloves are the aromatic flower buds. They are native to the Maluku Islands in Indonesia, and are commonly used as a spice, flavouring or fragrance not only in food but also in consumer products, such as toothpaste, soaps, or cosmetics
8. Olive
Olive is a species of a small tree or shrub in the family Oleaceae, found traditionally in the Mediterranean Basin.
9. Shallot
The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion. Until 2010, the shallot was classified as a separate species, Allium ascalonicum. The taxon was synonymised with Allium cepa in 2010, as the difference was too small to justify a separate species.
10. Turmeric
Turmeric is a flowering plant, Curcuma longa, of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, the rhizomes of which are used in cooking.
11. Garlic
Garlic is a species of a bulbous flowering plant in the genus Allium. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion.
12. Ginger
Ginger is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice and a folk medicine. It is a herbaceous perennial which grows annual pseudostems about one meter tall bearing narrow leaf blades.
13. Onion
An onion, also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classified as a separate species until 2010. Its close relatives include garlic, scallion, leek, and chive
14. Lemongrass
Lemongrass is known as barbed wire grass, silky heads, Cochin grass, Malabar grass, oily heads, citronella grass or fever grass, is a genus of Asian, African, Australian, and tropical island plants in the grass family.
15. Chives
Chives are a species of flowering plant that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and Chinese onion.
Other Herbs and Spices Names
Here is a list of kitchen spices and herbs that you may be familiar with
- Oregano
- Thyme
- Cardamom
- Star Anise
- Cumin
- Black Pepper
- Red Chilli Peppers
- Green Chillies
- Celery
- Chicory
- Dill
- Fennel
- Nutmeg
- Parsley
- Sage
- Spring Onions
- Wasabi
We hope this exhaustive list of herbs and spices with pictures helped your child in getting to know their food better. Next time when you go for grocery shopping, let them identify some of these herbs that they can look around. Share with them some information about which herb and which spice tastes nice in various recipes. For instance, if you’re making tomato soup, ask them what herb would go best in it. They will choose their favourites like basil, garlic or oregano and may be come up with creative combinations too! Isn’t this a fun way to familiarise your child with herbs and their uses!
Also Read:
Fruit Names in English for Kids
Vegetable Names for Children in English
Animal Names in English for Kids to Learn
