Lists over one hundred herbs, spices, and condiments, providing information on their nutritional profile, benefits, possible side effects, chemical makeup, and various uses.

The term spices and condiments applies to such natural plant or vegetable products and mixtures thereof, used in whole or ground form, mainly for imparting flavor, aroma and piquancy to foods and also for seasoning of foods beverages like soups. The great mystery and beauty of spices is their use, blending and ability to change and enhance the character of food. Spices and condiments have a special significance in various ways in human life because of its specific flavours, taste, and aroma. Spices and condiments play an important role in the national economies of several spice producing, importing and exporting countries. India is one of the major spice producing and exporting countries. Most of the spices and herbs have active principles in them and development of these through pharmacological and preclinical and clinical screening would mean expansion of considerable opportunities for successful commercialization of the product. Spices can be used to create these health promoting products. The active components in the spices phthalides, polyacetylenes, phenolic acids, flavanoids, coumarines, triterpenoids, serols and monoterpenes are powerful tools for promoting physical and emotional wellness. India has been playing a major role in producing and exporting various perennial spices like cardamoms, pepper, vanilla, clove, nutmeg and cinnamon over a wide range of suitable climatic situations. To produce good quality spice products, attention is required not only during cultivation but also at the time of harvesting, processing and storing. Not as large as in the days when, next to gold, spices were considered most worth the risk of life and money. The trade is still extensive and the oriental demand is as large as ever. Some of the fundamentals of the book are definition of spices and condiments nomenclature or classification of spices and condiments, Indian central spices and cashew nut committee, origin, properties and uses of spices, forms, functions and applications of spices, trends in the world of spices, yield and nutrient uptake by some spice crops grown in sodic soil, tissue culture and in vitro conservation of spices, in vitro responses of piper species on activated charcoal supplemented media, soil agro climatic planning for sustainable spices production, potentials of biotechnology in the improvement of spice crops, medicinal applications of spices and herbs, medicinal properties and uses of seed spices, effect of soil solarization on chillies, spice oil and oleoresin from fresh/dry spices etc. The present book contains cultivation, processing and uses of various spices and condiments, which are well known for their multiple uses in every house all over world. The book is an invaluable resource for new entrepreneurs, agriculturists, agriculture universities and technocrats.

A comprehensive A-Z listing of the herbs, spices and flavourings that are used to season food, detailing all their nutritional benefits, adverse effects and various applications.

For centuries herbs and spices have been an integral part of many of the world’s great cuisines. But spices have a history of doing much more than adding life to bland foods. They have been the inspiration for, among other things, trade, exploration, and poetry. Priests employed them in worship, incantations, and rituals, and shamans used them as charms to ward off evil spirits. Nations fought over access to and monopoly of certain spices, like cinnamon and nutmeg, when they were rare commodities. Not only were many men’s fortunes made in the pursuit of spices, spices at many periods throughout history literally served as currency. In Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World, Ben-Erik van Wyk offers the first fully illustrated, scientific guide to nearly all commercial herbs and spices in existence. Van Wyk covers more than 150 species—from black pepper and blackcurrant to white mustard and white ginger—detailing the propagation, cultivation, and culinary uses of each. Introductory chapters capture the essence of culinary traditions, traditional herb and spice mixtures, preservation, presentation, and the chemistry of flavors, and individual entries include the chemical compounds and structures responsible for each spice or herb’s characteristic flavor. Many of the herbs and spices van Wyk covers are familiar fixtures in our own spice racks, but a few—especially those from Africa and China—will be introduced for the first time to American audiences. Van Wyk also offers a global view of the most famous use or signature dish for each herb or spice, satisfying the gourmand’s curiosity for more information about new dishes from little-known culinary traditions. People all over the world are becoming more sophisticated and demanding about what they eat and how it is prepared. Culinary Herbs and Spices of the World will appeal to those inquisitive foodies in addition to gardeners and botanists.