Herbs and spices

Herbs and spices are worth about 3 of the 150 questions on the Red Seal Cook exam. The standard (RSOS task C-10) expects you to select them for freshness and quality, clean fresh herbs, and process herbs and spices for recipes.

Herbs are the leaves of plants, used fresh or dried. Examples: basil, mint, thyme, rosemary and parsley.

Spices come from other parts of plants and are usually dried: seeds (cumin, nutmeg), berries (peppercorns), bark (cinnamon), flower buds (cloves), roots and rhizomes (ginger, turmeric) and flower stigmas (saffron).

Some plants give both. Cilantro leaves are a herb, and the seeds of the same plant are the spice coriander. Dill gives both dill weed and dill seed.