Editing Spice (section)

== Definition ==
Although defining spice is difficult, varying definitions cover several common aspects. One such aspect is the biological source of spices: the ''[[Oxford English Dictionary]]'' (''OED'') identifies the source as vegetables, while Redgrove (1933) is more specific as to the part of the plant, specifically the [[root]], [[rhizome]], [[flower]], [[fruit]], [[seed]] and [[bark (botany)|bark]] when they are dried, in contrast with herbaceous parts which constitute [[herb]]s. [[The Oxford Companion to Food|''The Oxford Companion to Food'']] challenges spices as sourced from plants being a hard rule, pointing to [[ambergris]] being often identified as a spice despite its animal origin.{{Sfnp|Davidson|Jaine|2014|loc=spices}}

Another aspect is the geographical source: The ''OED'' specifies spices are sourced from the tropics, while ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' gives the example of [[Caraway|caraway seeds]] as demonstrating that spices can come from temperate climes. The notion that spices have a tropical origin is historic: originally "spice" was understood as a type of merchandise from the Orient. As Europeans encountered the Americas, beginning the [[Columbian exchange]], the meaning expanded to capture new aromatics, and the meaning later shifted again to refer to culinary use. This historic development has led to some ingredients indigenous to European cooking such as garlic and horseradish not being considered spices despite sharing many attributes.{{Sfnp|Davidson|Jaine|2014|loc=spices}}