What Your Favorite Spices Look Like Before They Make It to the Grocery Store

Favourite Spices

What Your Favorite Spices Look Like Before They Make It to the Grocery Store

While we usually use no more than 30 different spices in the kitchen, there are more than 100 types of them in the world. And many of them are not just herbs — for example, sesame grows in pods, saffron is the stamen of a flower, and black pepper can be found on a liana!

Here at Bright Side we always want to know more about things that surround us, especially when it comes to food. So here’s a list of 15 popular spices and what they look like before they make it to your grocery store’s shelves.

1. Sesame

Those tiny fragrant black or white seeds that we often find on pastries or in various dishes, actually grow in pods. The plant, that has lilac or white flowers, can grow up to 9 feet in length. One pod, which is usually very small — about 3 to 5 cm in size, can have up to a hundred seeds. Sesame grows in hot, dry climates, since they are very drought-tolerant plants.

2. Saffron

The name of this spice in Greek means “thread” or “fiber.” The most valuable part of it are its red stamens. The pestle of the bud needs to be collected quickly, since the flower dies fast, that`s why saffron is known as an exquisite and very expensive spice.

3. Wasabi

Not all sushi lovers realize that wasabi is a root and that it’s even sometimes called Japanese horseradish. The plant itself has heart-shaped leaves and small white flowers, and the root is grated into pastes and powders. Wasabi likes to grow in dark, wet places, but can also be grown in a garden.

4. Cardamom

Cardamom is one of the most expensive spices on the market, which is why it`s sometimes called the “Queen of Spices.” The unripe fruits of the plant have a very strong aroma. They need to be collected, dried in the sun, then moistened and re-dried. This results in white trihedral capsules with a length of 1-1.5 cm.

5. Nutmeg

The nutmeg tree itself is really tall, standing around 10-12 m (32-39 ft). The most important part of it are its large fruits that look like peaches. Once fully ripe, they burst in half, so the bone gets exposed — the bones are then collected, dried, and pulverized.

6. Black pepper

Peppers grow on lianas (woody, climbing plants that grow on trees) in high humidity and stable heat, like in Asia, and its length can reach 15 m (49 ft). Peppers bloom simply, with small white flowers collected in a long spikelet-like shape. The round green fruits are exactly what black pepper looks like when it grows.

Mustard

7. Mustard

If you’ve ever wondered why mustard has a yellow color, it’s because of these beautiful flowers. The plant grows in fields, and the yellow flowers start blooming in late September—early October. Then their seeds are harvested and dried. They are mostly used in cooking and medicine.
Sage grows in open places, hillsides, and the banks of streams and rivers on shrubs that are 30-40 centimeters tall. It has pretty violet-blue flowers, but it`s the leaves that we use as a spice. Dried sage is actively used not only in cooking, but also in medicine.

Do you use any of these spices at home? Do you know of any other spices that look unusual while they’re growing? We’d be happy to hear from you in the comment section below!