Spices

1
Spices Herbs
2
Difference between spice and herb?

• No clear distinction
• Herbs usually leaves (sometimes seeds), usually
  from temperate-origin plants
• Spices usually flowers, fruits, or bark of
  tropical-origin plants

3
spice Part of plant used
Black pepper Dried fruits (peppercorns)
Ginger Rhizome (underground stem)
Nutmeg Seed
Mace Covering of nutmeg seeds
Cloves Unopened flower buds
Cassia and Cinnamon Bark
Cardamom Fruits, seeds
Turmeric Rhizome
Sesame Seeds
4
Herbs

• Usually aromatic leaves
• Used in cooking
• Also, in shampoos, cosmetics, soaps, medicines,
  aromatherapy (e.g., Vicks vaporub, with camphor,
  menthol, eucalyptus oils)
• See Table 17a

5
Spices herbs

• Scents flavors usually due to unique essential
  oils i.e., to secondary compounds, especially
  isoprenoids (terpenes).
• Natural plant function in pollinator
  fruit/seed-disperser attraction.
• And/or plant protection from herbivores,
  pathogens (mostly fungi, bacteria).
• Most of these secondary compounds have
  anti-microbial activities.

6
spice

• Derives from the Latin word species, meaning
  specific kind, and later, goods or merchandise.

Plants that Changed History, Joan Elma Rhan, 1982
7
First use of spices herbs

• Origins pre-date ancient Greeks Romans, etc.
• Today we use spices herbs primarily to make
  good food taste even better.
• In the days before refrigeration, spices were
  used to hide the taste and odor of
  less-than-fresh food, and to prolong the
  freshness of food (especially in warm climates).
  
• Today, some perfumes, soaps, and lotions are
  lightly scented with spices herbs.
• In the days before people took frequent baths,
  spices/herbs were used as deodorants. Those who
  could afford to do so had spices/herbs sown or
  tucked into their clothes to hide their body
  odors.

Plants that Changed History, Joan Elma Rhan, 1982
8
Herbs and Spices

• Herbs and spices have been used to flavor food as
  long as we have been cooking. They are among the
  earliest trade items. They have also been used
  as parts of incense and perfumes, as medicine,
  and as aphrodisiacs.
• There is no great difference between herbs and
  spices. Herbs are usually leaves or seeds from
  temperate climates, and spices are other plant
  parts (flowers, bark, roots, etc.) from tropical
  climates. There is clearly some overlap in the
  definition. Both are used to flavor food.

9
Herbs

• Before trade with Asia was widespread, food in
  Europe was flavored primarily with members of
  four plant families. These represent the
  majority of the herbs used in cooking. All are
  native to Europe.
• onion family (Allium)
• parsley (carrot) family
• mint family
• mustard family

10
Onion Family

• Important onion family members include onions,
  garlic, and chives (and also leeks, shallots, and
  scallions).
• They are monocots that form bulbs (underground
  stem bases with fleshy leaves).
• The flavor comes from sulfur-containing
  compounds. Some of these compounds pass
  undigested from the digestive tract into the
  blood, and then get excreted through the lungs
  and skin garlic breath.
• Eating fresh parsley helps with garlic breath.
• Most onion family members are cultivated for the
  bulbs, but the leaves of chives are used as an
  herb.
• Alliumphobia is the irrational fear of garlic.
• Garlic is also considered to be protective
  against werewolves and vampires, in Central
  European folklore.

Alliumphobia by Ambera Wellman
11
Mint Family

• Many familiar herbs are in the mint family
  (Lamiaceae) basil, oregano, marjoram, rosemary,
  sage, thyme.
• Mint family plants have a characteristic square
  stem.
• Many of these go well with tomatoes and Italian
  food. American soldiers in World War 2 developed
  as taste for Italian food and contributed greatly
  to the popularity of pizza after 1945.
• Mint itself is important as a flavoring for
  candy, toothpaste, tea, and cigarettes.
• For an intense experience the Celestial
  Seasonings factory in Boulder Colorado has a mint
  room that will overwhelm your sense of smell.
• In mythology, Menthe was a Greek nymph who got
  involved with Hades, god of the Underworld.
  Unfortunately, his wife Persephone found out, and
  she turned Menthe into the sweet-smelling mint
  plant.
• Salvia divinorum, Diviners sage, is a Mexican
  plant used to induce visions. Possession is
  illegal in Illinois.
• Catnip is also a mint. Cats love it, but it just
  smells bad to people.

12
Carrot Family Herbs

• The carrot family (Apiaceae) has characteristic
  umbel-shaped flowers. We discussed the family
  members used as vegetables carrots, celery and
  parsnips.
• Carrot family herbs include coriander, cilantro,
  cumin, dill, and fennel.
• Parsley is said to be the worlds most widely
  used herb. In this country it is widely used as
  a garnish, a decoration on the plate that is
  mostly just pushed aside. The custom of using
  parsley as a food decoration started in butcher
  shops it was a spot of green that contrasted
  nicely with all that red and white of the meat.
• Parsley is actually used as a breath freshener.
• Anise contains a licorice flavor, but real
  licorice is extracted from the root of another
  plant, a legume.

13
Mustard Family

• The mustard family is Brassicaceae, which we
  discussed earlier under Fruits and Vegetables.
• The flowers are yellow of white, with 4 petals.
• Two related species are used as a condiment,
  often mixed together black mustard and white
  mustard (which is milder than black mustard).
• Mustard seeds are ground up to make the spice.
• Horseradish is also in this family. Grated
  horseradish roots also produce a hot taste.
• Mustard gas, used as poison gas in World War 1,
  is not related to the mustard plant or the
  compounds it contains, although the color and
  smell are similar.

14
Early Spices

• Orient/Old World
• cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, black pepper, ginger,
  cloves, cardamom, anise, caraway, mustard,
  saffron
• New World
• allspice, chilies paprika, vanilla

15
Ancient History

• Egypt
• Greeks
• Romans
• Arabs Middle East
• After fall of Rome and during the Dark Ages (ca.
  600-1000 AD)
• Lost access to spices from the Orient

Trade between the empires of Asia and Rome
16
Why were spices popular for trading?

• it was very lucrative
• transported easily
• improved food health
• many diverse uses for most spices
• very popular with the upper classes
• spicy food considered classy, sign of wealth

17
Spice Trade, post-dark ages

• Crusades in 1096 Europeans are out fighting in
  the Middle East and taste exotic spices and want
  to bring them back.
• 1180s Pepperers guild, predecessor to
  herbalist and physicians.
• Middle Ages spices valuable trade item used to
  pay bills, taxes.
• 1300 Polo brothers travel to China and bring
  back tales of spices.
• By 1300s spice trade was a legitimate
  profession.

18
Pepper

• Pepper was the most important spice in Europe for
  a long time we consider it an essential part of
  a dinner table setting salt and pepper. Getting
  pepper from India was the initial driving force
  behind European exploration starting with Prince
  Henry the Navigator (from Portugal) in the early
  1400s.
• Pepper comes from the berries of the pepper vine
  Piper nigrum, which is native to India.
• Black pepper is made from the unripe berries,
  which become black when dried in the sun. The
  process is quite similar to the fermentation
  process used with cacao and coffee. The whole
  fruit plus the seed (one seed per fruit) are
  used.
• White pepper is made from ripe berries (which are
  red). The red fruit is removed by allowing it to
  rot away, and the seeds are dried to become white
  pepper.
• Red pepper gets its color from the ripe berries,
  which is preserved by soaking them in brine and
  vinegar (pickling).
• Currently, Vietnam is the largest producer of
  pepper.

19
More Pepper

• Alaric the Visigoth and Attila the Hun both
  demanded a ton of pepper from Rome when they
  besieged the city in the 400s. Eventually,
  Alaric sacked the city anyway.
• It was also imported to China at about this time.
• The flavor comes from piperine, an alkaloid.
  When purified, it is about 1 as hot as
  capsaicin, the active ingredient in chili
  peppers. Other terpene compounds in the
  peppercorns add other flavors. The flavors are
  lost through evaporation, so grinding whole
  peppercorns immediately before use gives the best
  flavor.
• Pepper is the worlds most traded spice, and has
  been for a very long time.
• There is a related species, the long pepper Piper
  longum, which was an important spice in Roman
  times. It comes from Northwest India, and so it
  was more accessible to the overland trade routes.
  Not used much today.

20
Cinnamon

• Cinnamon is the inner bark of the Cinnamomum
  zeylanicum tree, usually from young twigs.
  Originally from Sri Lanka and the southwester
  coast of India (the Malabar Coast).
• Closely related is cassia, the bark of Cinnamomum
  cassia and some related trees. It is native to
  Burma and was mostly imported through China. We
  dont usually distinguish between these, calling
  both cinnamon.
• Cinnamon was uses for embalming in ancient Egypt,
  and the Romans used huge amounts of it.
• After Nero killed his wife Poppaea (or perhaps
  she died as a consequence of miscarriage), he
  burned a years supply of cinnamon as a tribute.
  He also had her elevated to the status of
  godhood.

21
Nutmeg and Mace

• These two spices both come from the same plant,
  Myristica fragrans. Nutmeg is the seed, and
  mace is the red seed covering. The fruits grow
  on the nutmeg tree, which has male and female
  flowers on different plants. Since the males are
  unproductive and there is no way to tell males
  from females before they mature (8 years), most
  nutmeg trees are grown from cuttings.
• Connecticut is called the Nutmeg State, because
  sailors from there used to carve fake nutmegs
  from wood and sell them as the real thing.
• The Caribbean island of Grenada is a major source
  for these spices.
• Nutmeg has been used for hallucinogenic purposes,
  but it has variable and often unpleasant effects.
  

Grenada flag. On left a stylized nutmeg
22
The Spice Islands

• Before modern times, the nutmeg tree was found
  exclusively in the Banda Islands, a small group
  in eastern Indonesia. They are part of the
  Moluccas, the Spice Islands.
• Arab traders knew of the islands but kept their
  location secret.
• In 1511, the Portuguese captured the Strait of
  Malacca, the main sea route between China and
  India. From this they learned to location of the
  Spice Islands.
• The Dutch captured the islands from the
  Portuguese in the 1600s, and killed or enslaved
  the entire native population. The nutmeg trees
  were then confined to plantations to better
  control the supply. All other nutmeg trees were
  removed. The Dutch ruled for the next 200 years.
• To end a war in 1667, the Dutch traded with the
  British exclusive rights to the Spice Islands
  vs. New Amsterdam (Manhattan).
• A lapse in Dutch rule during the time of Napoleon
  (1800) allowed the British to transplant some
  trees to Zanzibar (island of the east coast of
  Africa) and Grenada (Caribbean), breaking the
  Dutch monopoly.

23
The Spice Islands
24
Cloves

• Cloves are the dried flower buds of Syzygium
  aromaticum, a tree in the same family as nutmeg.
• The name clove is derived from clavus, which
  means nail in Latin, because cloves looks
  vaguely like nails.
• Cloves originally came from two small volcanic
  islands, Ternate and Tidore, a few hundred miles
  north of the Banda Islands (source of nutmeg).
  The volcanoes are active, and the soil is
  regularly fertilized by volcanic ash.
• This is a bit north of the Equator the North
  Molucca Islands. The Banda Islands are the South
  Molucca Islands.
• The two islands were separate kingdoms that spent
  a lot of time warring with each other.
• The Portuguese found these islands on the same
  voyage that led them to the Banda Islands.
• A few years later, Magellans crew visited these
  islands during the first voyage around the world
  (Magellan himself had been killed earlier).
• Also, the Dutch eventually controlled the
  islands, forced all clove growing to be done on
  plantations while killing all other clove trees,
  and generally treated everyone horribly.
• The French managed to steal some trees and
  transplanted them to the Caribbean and east
  Africa. The island of Zanzibar is the main source
  today.

25
Cloves

• As with nutmeg, the location of islands was known
  to Arab and Chinese traders, but most of the
  crop was shipped through the port of Malacca. And
  then on to India and eventually to Europe. Both
  nutmeg and cloves were used in ancient Rome very
  expensive.
• The Chinese also used them when addressing the
  Emperor, a courtier would keep a clove or two in
  his mouth to sweeten his breath. This was in Han
  Dynasty times, 200 BC-200AD.
• Most cloves are used for cooking. However, they
  are sometimes stuck into an orange and used as a
  pomander ball, to improve the smell of a room or
  closet. Another important use in Indonesia is as
  a flavoring for tobacco clove cigarettes. They
  were outlawed in the US in 2009, and are now sold
  as clove cigars.
• Oil of cloves is very useful as a temporary cure
  for toothache. Dentists use it today, as both an
  anaesthetic and a disinfectant. The active
  ingredient is eugenol.
• It also works quite well as an anesthetic for
  aquarium fish.

26
Ginger

• Ginger is native to southern China and is made
  from the rhizome (horizontal underground stem
  base) of Zingiber officinale.
• The spice is made by harvesting the rhizomes
  after flowering is finished, then scalding it to
  prevent it from sprouting. It is usually ground
  up.
• The best ginger comes from Jamaica, where it was
  introduced by the Spanish in the 1500s.
• Turmeric and cardamom come from the same family.
• Turmeric produces a yellow dye, and it gives the
  yellow color to American mustard.
• Cardamom is made from the seeds, not the roots.
• The taste come from a volatile essential oil.
• Ginger ale is made from ginger it is a common
  folk remedy for an upset stomach.
• The North American plant wild ginger (Asarum
  canadense) also has an aromatic root, but it is
  not related to the real ginger plant.
• There are also several other ginger plants
  around the world.

27
Saffron

• Saffron comes from the autumn crocus, Crocus
  sativus, native to Asia Minor (Turkey). It has
  been cultivated for more than 3000 years, and it
  was well known in ancient Rome. It was brought
  to India and China 2000 years ago at least.
• It is mentioned in Shen Nungs book of herbal
  medicine.
• The spice come from the stigmas (the sticky parts
  at the end of the carpels that receive pollen
  grains). Each flower has 3 vividly red stigmas,
  and they are picked by hand. This makes saffron
  the most expensive of all spices by weight. It
  takes about 75,000 flowers to make a pound of
  saffron.
• This leads to a great deal of adulteration of
  saffron with cheaper yellow things like turmeric
  and marigolds.
• The plant is a sterile triploid, propagated
  through corms (swollen stem bases surrounded by
  fleshy leaves, like onions). It is unknown in
  the wild the triploid form has been the only
  cultivated form since antiquity.
• It was also used as yellow-red dye. The dye
  compound is related to carotene (carrot pigment).
  The flavor comes from a glucoside a sugar
  attached to the active principle.
• Saffron is used to flavor rice.
• Cleopatra used it in her bath, as an aphrodisiac.
  

28
Chili Peppers

• Chili peppers are a New World crop. They are in
  the nightshade family along with potatoes and
  tomatoes. They have been cultivated for
  thousands of years.
• The active principle, which makes peppers hot, is
  capsaicin, an alkaloid. It is 100 times as hot
  as the active ingredient in black pepper.
• When Columbus tasted chili peppers, he was sure
  he had reached India, the source of black pepper.
  
• There are 5 cultivated Capsicum species, and many
  varieties. Some have almost no capsaicin (such
  as sweet bell peppers) while others are extremely
  hot.
• Pepper hotness is measured in Scoville units. A
  panel of subjects tastes a series of dilutions of
  pepper extracts, to find the dilution where it is
  just barely detectable. Habanero peppers can
  have up to 350,000 Scoville units, and jalapeños
  are about 5000 units. Pepper spray is up to
  5,000,000 units.
• Capsaicin is used to relieve pain by rubbing it
  on the skin. It seems to deplete the supply of
  Substance P, the bodys main neurotransmitter for
  pain and heat.

29
Vanilla

• Vanilla planifolia is a tropical New World vine,
  from Central America. It is a monocot, a member
  of the orchid family.
• It was introduced into Europe by Hernan Cortes,
  who also introduced chocolate.
• Vanilla was a plant that proved hard to move to
  new locations. The problem was, it was
  pollinated by a species of bee that didnt make
  the move. Once this was discovered (after 300
  years!), artificial pollination was developed,
  and the plant is grown in tropical regions
  worldwide now, especially Madagascar and
  Indonesia.
• The hand pollination method was developed by
  Edmond Albius, a 12 year-old slave.
• This makes vanilla a very expensive spice
• The vanilla spice is produced by the fruit, which
  is a dry fruit that contains very tiny black
  seeds. Vanilla beans are dried, fermented
  (cured) pods. The flavor develops during the
  fermentation process.
• The most common form used in cooking in vanilla
  extract, in which the vanilla flavor is extracted
  from the beans by soaking them in alcohol.
• The main flavor comes from vanillin, which can be
  synthesized chemically. But vanilla beans
  contain other flavors.

30
Were Columbus and Magellan voyages failures ?

• Neither won for Spain the easy access to spices
  that she wanted.
• Columbus never found the spices or the lands he
  sought.
• Magellans expedition reached the Spice Islands,
  but the route across the Pacific Ocean was much
  too long and much too dangerous to be practical
  then.

Plants that Changed History, Joan Elma Rhan, 1982
31
What spice trade accomplished

• New lands were discovered, and the question of
  whether the world was spherical or flat was
  finally decided.
• New plants and animals were discovered some of
  them were transported to continents where they
  had never been before, but where the climate was
  suitable.
• Peoples diets became more varied and better
  balanced. Europeans, whose homelands were
  beginning to be overpopulated, colonized the
  newly discovered lands, some of which had plenty
  of space.
• Generally, this worked out well for the
  Europeans, but rather badly for the natives of
  the colonized countries.
• For better or worse, the search for species
  brought together the civilizations that had
  developed separately in the ancient worlds. They
  would never be isolated again.

Plants that Changed History, Joan Elma Rhan, 1982
32
Imperialism

• Portugal, via colonies and outposts, dominated
  spice trading for ca. 100 years (16th century).
• Thereafter, the Dutch, especially, and British
  took control of spice trading.
• Dutch took over the Indonesia Ceylon
• Dutch East India company
• England took over India, Singapore, Hong Kong
• British East India company

33
Spices Herbs

• A quick survey of representatives

34
Piper nigrum(black white pepper)

• Climbing vine native to India and East Indies in
  Piperaceae (pepper) family
• Berries picked green, darken shrivel upon
  drying.
• Biting flavor due to volatile oils, flavor
  dissipates after grinding.
• White pepper berries ripen on vine, outer hull
  removed.
• The most widely used spice today.

35
Cinnamomum zeylanicum(cinnamon)

• Parts used- oil bark
• Evergreen tree native to India Sri Lanka in
  Laurel family
• Properties- Astringent, stimulant,
  anti-infective, anti-fungal, digestive aid
• One of the oldest and most valuable spices
• Related spice, called cassia, from C. cassia.

36
Eugenia caryophyllata(clove)

• Parts Used closed flower buds
• Active Compounds  Clove oil is 60 to 90 percent
  eugenol, which is the source of its anesthetic
  and antiseptic properties.
• An evergreen tree, 15 to 30 feet tall in
  Myrtaceae (Myrtle) family
• Native to the Spice Islands and the Philippines,
  but also grown in India, Sumatra, Jamaica, the
  West Indies, Brazil, and other tropical areas.

37
Myristica fragans (nutmeg mace)

• Part used- dried kernel of the seed.
• Tree is about 25 feet high, has a greyish-brown
  smooth bark, abounding in a yellow juice.
• Native to Spice Islands Myristicaceae (nutmeg)
  family
• Fruit is source of 2 spices, nutmeg mace.
• Mace is derived from the net-like aril that is
  wrapped around the pit.
• Within the pit is a single seed, the source of
  nutmeg.

38
Zingiber officinale (ginger)

• Member of ginger family
• Perennial native to tropical Asia
• Plant part used Rhizome
• name from Sanskrit word stringa-vera, which means
  with a body like a horn, as in antlers.
• In English pubs and taverns in the nineteenth
  century, bar-keepers put out small containers of
  ground ginger, for people to sprinkle into their
  beer the origin of ginger ale.

39
Curcuma longa (turmeric)

• Member of ginger family
• Perennial native to tropical Asia
• Part used rhizome
• Culinary uses (e.g., Middle East India)
• Dyes uses too (yellow)

40
Crocus sativus(saffron)

• Member of Iris family
• From zafaran in Arabic
• From 3-parted Stigma of flower
• Dried by slow roasting
• Imparts delicate distinct taste color
• Used in French, Spanish, Middle Eastern Indian
  cooking
• Each saffron crocus flower has 3 stigmas
• Ca. 80,000 flowers (240,000) stigmas to make a
  pound of saffron
• 12 days to pick
• cost is gt 250 per ounce
• (so most costly spice)
• 1444 any merchant caught selling adulterated
  saffron in Bavaria was burned alive

41
Capsicum species(hot sweet peppers)

• Members of tomato family (Solonaceae)
• Many are cultivars of Capsicum annum
• E.g., bell pepper cayenne
• Four other common species
• E.g., C. clilense includes habenero and C.
  fructescens includes tabasco pepper
• Many varieties
• Origin New World used by 9000 y. ago
• Hot due to seven related alkaloids, including
  capsaicin (mostly in seeds fruit)

42
Scoville ratings(for pepper hotness)

• 16,000,000 Pure capsaicin
• 100,000-350,000 Habanero
• 30,000-50,000 Cayenne pepper
• 5,000-23,000 Serrano pepper
• 2,500-5,000 Tabasco sauce
• /Jalapeno
• 1,000-2,000 Poblano pepper
• 100-500 Pepperoncini pepper
• Ca. 0 Sweet Bell pepper

43
Vanilla planifolia (vanilla)

• flavoring comes from the seed pod, or the bean
  of the vanilla plant
• member of orchid family (Orchidaceae) perennial
  vine
• behind saffron and cardamom, vanilla is 3rd most
  expensive spice
• non-culinary uses, including aromatizing
  perfumes, cigars, liqueurs
• Europeans prefer the bean, while N. Americans the
  extract
• extract made by percolating alcohol water
  through chopped cured beans

44
Herbs
45
Bee balmMonarda fistulosa

• Kick a cold
• Breathe easy
• Help control oily skin
• Cook with a taste of native America

46
BorageBorago officinalis

• The heros herb
• Help heal the heart
• Squelch stubborn skin inflammations
• eczema
• Create stellar salads

47
CatnipNepeta cataria

• Calm after a storm
• Take the sting out of stress
• Make a cat happy
• Enjoy a roman salad

48
ChamomileMatricaria sp.

• Better than counting sheep
• Beat anxiety and insomnia
• Relieve indigestion
• Soothe irritated skin

49
Alliums (Lily family)(onion group)

• Onion- A. cepa
• Garlic- A. sativum
• Leeks- A. porrum
• Shallots- A. ascalonicum
• Chives- A. schoenprasum
• Most rich in volatile sulfur-containing compounds
• Culinary medicinal uses
• Among oldest cultivated plants

50
Onions

• Originated in Asia
• Ancient Egyptians worshipped the onion, believing
  that its spherical shape and concentric rings
  symbolized eternity. Of all the vegetables that
  had their images created from precious metals by
  Egyptian artists, only the onion was made out of
  gold.
• Ranks sixth among the world's leading vegetable
  crops.
• You can get rid of onion breath by eating
  parsley.
• Yellow onions make up more than 75 of the worlds
  production of onions.
• The official state vegetable of Georgia is the
  Vidalia onion.
• The official state vegetable of Texas is the
  Texas Sweet onion.
• According to the National Onion Association,
  onion consumption in the U.S. has increased
  approximately 50 over the past 20 years.

51
Chives

• Onion benefits without tears
• Help lower blood cholesterol levels
• Help reduce blood pressure
• Help prevent certain types of cancer

52
Garlic

• Culinary, medicinal, and religious use dates back
  more than 6000 years.
• Chicago got it's name from the American Indian
  word for the wild garlic that grew around Lake
  Michigan - "chicagaoua".
• California produces more than 250 million pounds
  of garlic each year. One farm in Monterey County
  (near Gilroy, "The Garlic Capital of the World")
  plants 2000 acres of garlic and produces almost
  25 million pounds annually.
• There is an all-garlic restaurant in Stockholm
  where they offer a garlic cheesecake.
• There is an all-garlic restaurant in San
  Francisco where they offer a garlic ice cream.
  The name of the place is a nickname for
  garlic...The Stinking Rose!

53
raw garlic

• Prevent cure infection
• 1 clove contains substances equivalent to 100,000
  units of penicillin (1/5 avg dose)
• Help prevent cancer heart disease
• Make lean foods taste robust
• Eat sprig of fresh tarragon for temporary relief
  of garlic breath or odorless garlic in capsules

54
purple cone flowerEchinacea purpurea

• Fight off colds and flu
• Heal minor cuts scratches
• Give your immune system a shot in the arm
• Compound echinsin, shown to be antiviral that
  behaves similarly to interferon
• Echinacoside has antibiotic properties

55
Evening primroseOenothera biensis

• Petals open at night
• Soothes PMS and menopause symptoms
• Help prevent high blood pressure
• Smooth soften dry skin
• Active compound gamma-linolenic acid (GLA)

56
FeverfewChrysanthemum parthenium

• Sooth a migraine
• Repel insects in the garden
• pyrethrin
• Keep bees at bay

57
English lavender(L. officinalis or L. vera)

• Create an herbal antiseptic
• Relax and rejuvenate mind and body
• Help normalize oily skin

58
Mustard (Brassicaceae)

• White yellow, Brassica alba black (brown),
  Brassica nigra.
• Volatile oil derived from sinigrin/sinalbin
  enzyme, myrosin.
• Mustard plants produce about 1,000 pounds of
  seeds per acre.
• In one year at New York's Yankee Stadium, more
  than 1,600 gallons plus 2,000,000 individual
  packets of mustard are consumed.
• Most of the mustard seeds used in Dijon, France
  are actually grown in the United States and
  Canada. Canada produces about 90 percent of the
  world's supply of mustard seeds.
• Over 700 million pounds of mustard are consumed
  worldwide each year.
• The Mustard Museum is in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin.
• world's largest collection of mustards, with over
  3,500 varieties.

59
Horseradish(Amoracia rusticana Brassica Family)

• prized for its medicinal and gastronomic
  qualities for centuries.
• Same volatile oil as mustard
• Did you know that . . .
• Horseradish is still planted and harvested mostly
  by hand?
• Sales of bottled horseradish began in 1860,
  making it one of the first convenience foods?
• In the American South, horseradish was rubbed on
  the forehead to relieve headaches? (Some folks
  still swear by it.)
• Horseradish is added to some pickles to add
  firmness and "nip"?
• Before being named "horseradish," the plant was
  known as "redcole" in England and as "stingnose"
  in some parts of the U.S.?
• Horseradish has only 2 calories a teaspoon, is
  low in sodium and provides dietary fiber?
• Researchers at M.I.T. claim that the enzyme
  "horseradish peroxidase" removes a number of
  pollutants from waste water?
• Germans still brew horseradish schnapps . . . .
  some also add it to their beer?

60
ParsleyPetroselinum crispum

• Related to wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa) (in
  the Umbel family, along with carrots, celery,
  dill, parsnips, fennel, caraway, anise,
  coriander, cumin, poison hemlock)
• Has low levels of same toxin as the wild species
• Many of these look gorgeous in the garden.

61
St Johns wortHypericum perforatum

• Relieve aches pains
• arthritis, rheumatism, sciatica
• Find herbal help for depression
• Have soft silky hair
• Red color of oil from hypericin

62
SpeedwellVeronica arvenis

• Calm a cough
• Leptandrine, acts as expectorant
• Mix with Chinese licorice root to balance bitter
  flavor
• Soften tough calluses

63
TarragonArtemisia dracunculus

• Give high blood pressure the boot
• Discover possible link in cancer prevention
• Compound rutin

64
YarrowAchillea millefollium

• Famous fever fighter
• Help heal cuts scratches
• Smooth stressed skin
• Stimulate the compost heap

65
Mint Family (Lamiaceae)

• Native to Mediterranean region
• Includes thyme, sages, marjoram, oregano,
  rosemary, savory, hyssops, basil, the various
  mints, catnip, and horehound.
• Common garden mint is spearmint, not peppermint .
• Square stems aromatic simple leaves with oil
  glands.

66
PeppermintMentha piperita

• Soothe your stomach
• Refresh itchy skin
• Cool spicy foods
• Active ingredient menthol

67
Lemon balmMelissa officinalis

• Help relieve high blood pressure
• Digestive aid
• Volatile oil, eugenol, which calms the
  gastrointestinal tract
• Add a lemon lift to foods

68
RosemaryRosemary officinalis

• De-stress the stomach
• rosmaricine
• Help heal a headache
• Have shiny hair
• Use as hair rinse

69
SageSalvia officinalis

• Sore gum soother
• Subdue a sore throat
• Refresh skin after shaving
• Boost flavor of low-fat foods
• Camphor other volatile oils