That 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 l

That 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.