ORGANIC SPICES

The difference between herbs, spices, aromatic plants and condiments is a question we're often asked. To answer it, we can already say that all these categories come from the plant world, so salts don't fit into any of these categories, and that they are essentially used to season culinary preparations to add flavour and/or spice. Aromatics, spices, herbs and condiments come either from the whole plant ( rosemary, basil, chervil, parsley), from the stem(chives), from the bark ( cinnamon or cassia), or from the bulb(shallot, onion or garlic), seeds ( fennel, coriander), roots ( turmeric, ginger ), leaves(sage, bay laurel, basil), flowers/pistils (cloves, saffron), berries and fruits ( true and false peppers of the zanthoxylum type). The list goes on and on.

As far as we're concerned, and I'm speaking under the responsibility of Frédérique, the botanist at Place des Epices, herbs and aromatic plants are generally eaten unprocessed, like basil, parsley or chives. This is not the case with spices, which are generally added to a preparation and cannot be eaten on their own. Spices often undergo processing such as drying, fermentation or bleaching, and we can mention peppers, cumin, fenugreek, cardamom...

Finally, condiments, often used to accompany a dish, are often transformed from their natural state and preserved in vinegar (gherkins, small onions, capers) or prepared as a puree (mustard).

The main thing is to use all these categories of organic spices, condiments and herbs on a regular basis, with family and friends, and to have a great time. Use quality spices.