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Guides

Some questions are not about a spice. These are the ones SpiceHQ answers directly, each assembled from sourced sections and each stating what it does not cover.

All guides

  • American spice traditions, and why there is no single answer

    What spices are used in American cooking?

    The regional seasoning traditions of the United States, treated separately because they developed separately, with the spices and blends SpiceHQ holds records for in each.

  • Spices for curry, and what the word is hiding

    What spices do I need to make curry?

    What "curry" actually covers, the small set of spices behind the most commonly meant style, and how the regional directions diverge from there.

  • Starting a spice collection

    What spices do I actually need to start with?

    How to think about building a spice collection: what spices do, how cuisines organise them, how to choose for your own cooking, and the mistakes that cost beginners the most.

  • The most expensive spices, and what actually makes them cost

    What are the most expensive spices in the world?

    Why some spices cost hundreds of times more than others, which ones consistently sit at the top, and why any exact price list is out of date before it is published.

  • Herbs and spices: what actually separates them

    What is the difference between herbs and spices?

    The leaf-versus-everything-else rule is a good working distinction and not a scientific one. This explains where it comes from, where it breaks, and why the ingredients that break it are the interesting ones.

  • Making and keeping your own spice blends

    How do I make my own spice blends, and how should I store them?

    How to build a blend from whole spices, why ground spices fade so much faster, how to store what you make, and how to grind without special equipment.

  • Spice adulteration: what it is and what you can actually detect

    What is spice adulteration and how would I know?

    What adulteration means, the forms it takes, which spices carry the most documented risk, and a clear account of the limits of home detection — including why several popular tests do not do what they claim.

  • The spice routes: networks, not a road

    What was the spice route and why did it matter?

    How the spice trade actually worked — the maritime and overland networks, the monopolies built on a handful of crops, and the violence that followed European entry — with the simplifications the popular story depends on.