SPICEography 
Parsley’s name comes from the Greek word “petro.” Petro means stone because parley was first discovered growing on Greece’s rocky hillsides. Greek legend stated that the herb grew up from the places where Archemorus’s blood was spilled when he was bitten by a serpent. The ancient Greeks used parsley as …
Kaffir lime leaves are often marketed as “Makrut lime leaves” in order to avoid the racist connotations of the word “Kaffir.” The lime tree that produces the leaves has its origins in Southern Asia. The origins of the name are somewhat more complex. A British reference text written in 1888 …
Lemon basil is cultivated mostly in southern Asian and Northern Africa. It is a hybrid of sweet basil and African basil and is a relative of mint. The history of basil goes all the way back to Ancient Greece where it was a symbol of mourning. It was also an …
The Aztecs were using chia seeds as far back as 3500 BC. The seeds were considered a staple of the Aztec diet during the pre-Columbian era. Chia seeds were used as both medicine and food. Historians consider chia one of the five main crops of the Aztecs. It was the …
Flax was first cultivated on a large scale between 4,000 and 2,000 BC in the areas around the Mediterranean. At the same time, flax was also being cultivated in certain parts of the Middle East. The first attempts to grow flax may have begun much earlier during the Neolithic era. …
Curry leaves are from the subtropical sweet neem (Murraya koenigii) tree. The sweet neem tree is native to the foothills of the Himalayas. The Tamil name for curry leaves literally translates to “leaf used to make curry.” The usage of curry leaves in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking stretches all …
Celery seed does not come from celery. It comes from a wild ancestor of the celery plant sometimes called smallage, lovage or Chinese celery. Celery along with its ancestor plant is in the same family as parsley and the carrot. These plants originated in the Mediterranean region. Both the leaves …
The chicory herb is yet another plant that has been in use since ancient times. It was used in ancient Egypt and has been mentioned in texts dating back to 4,000 BC. In that era, this relative of the endive was grown for its seeds. The ancient Egyptians used the …