13 August 2004

A Closer Look: Spice

Bill Dembowski

At last, a use for all those unopened jars in the spice rack you received as a wedding or house-warming gift. Being primarily plant matter, spices fall into two general categories: Dried seeds and dried leaves. That may sound like a rather uninteresting group of objects, but, as with all of nature, they are far from dull when viewed close up.

Dill Weed

A very pungent seed. Incidentally, don't be taken aback by the word weed. If you take an objective look at most spice plants, that's all they appear to be. Besides, a weed is nothing more than a nice plant that isn't where you want it to be.

Coriander

Coriander is a pleasant surprise under magnification since it looks virtually smooth and featureless to the casual, unaided eye.

Sesame Seed

They look like seeds, what can I say?

Fennel

Compare to dill deed above. The plants themselves are also quite similar, although fennel will grow to twice the height of dill (4 ft. as compared to 2 ft.) and it is a perennial. Dill is an annual.

Ground Cloves

Any spice prefixed by the word "ground" is probably visually boring, since the grinding process will have removed the plant's unique identity. This image could be any of a half-dozen such spices.

Crushed Pepper

Crushed (not ground) spices are another matter. Crushed red pepper is a mixture of seeds and the pepper fruit itself. The seeds, contrary to popular belief, are not the hottest part of this spice. Try a couple and "see" for yourself; they are tasteless and definitely not hot.

Basil

A pinch of basil is a jumble of plant parts that include twigs, leaves and seed casings.

Parsley Flakes

While examining a parsley leaf, what struck my eye was how small a piece of vegetation can be and still clearly exhibit the veins which carry the plants vital fluids. The large piece of Parsley was only about 4mm in length (about 1/8 inch).

Oregano

As with many of the spices, the large piece of oregano (on the right) is covered with the fine threads of what is probably a fungus. Dead at this point, and presumably benign, the ever-present fungi could provide us with the subject of a "Closer Look" in the future.