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Garlic is not a spice. It is an allium, in the same family as onions and leeks.
by buildsjets 5y ago
Garlic is not a spice. It is an allium, in the same family as onions and leeks.
- margalabargala 5y agoNot sure what definition of spice you're using, but Wikipedia calls it "a plant substance primarily used for flavoring food", which garlic definitely is.
- buildsjets 5y agoI would define a spice as a non-nutritive plant substance used for flavoring and not consumed as an independent entity. Garlic is not non-nutritive, and it is consumed by many people as a whole food. Whole roasted heads of garlic are awesome.
- zajio1am 5y agoChilli peppers are also consumed as independent entities, but chilli powder is definitely a spice. Similarly ginger.
- margalabargala 5y agoWhy does it need to be non-nutritive? That would rule out things like ginger, many chili peppers, some plant greens like basil, even sesame seeds. I would consider all of the above spices, as well as garlic.
- buildsjets 5y agoI would consider all of those to be vegetables, herbs, or other types of consumables, not spices. I would consider dried and ground chili peppers a spice, and fresh whole ones to be a vegetable.
- margalabargala 5y agoThat seems reasonable. But then to bring it back around full circle- would garlic then indeed be a spice, when used as an individual clove finely chopped in a larger dish for flavoring purposes (or garlic powder), by the same logic you're applying to peppers? Not a big deal though. It sounds like you apply stricter categorical food definitions than I do, and that's fine. It's hard to draw exact lines.
- thevagrant 5y agoMy apologies - fresh ingredients like those would be fine in my case. I was unclear and meant processed spices in powdered form which seem to act as some kind of gut irritant (for me)
- malwarebytess 5y agoI guarantee you just about every spice eaten at the same bulk as a head of garlic would be 'nutritive.' Especially fresh.