Herbs and spices are quite different. Herbs are plants used for flavoring, texture, fragrance or dyeing that grow in a temperate zone. They are plants that have a culinary, medicinal or practical use that you would expect to find in a traditional herb garden. That temperate zone is one reason we all have so many wonderful herbs in our gardens. Spices on the other hand, tend to come from woody plants in tropical zones, a reason why the majority of spices are imported. The Mediterranean region brought us herbs as the Romans conquered the world and the south Asian area brought spices along Marco Polo’s spice trail.
Often we associate herbs with savory flavors found in daily cooking while spices go with sweet delectable desserts. We are of course big advocates for the culinary use of herbs. However, we do also use spices and think there is no reason herbs and spices can’t go together. The holiday stuffing could have shredded or chopped apples and/or cranberries added and along with the sage-y Poultry Blend seasoning sprinkle in a little cinnamon and/or ginger. Winter squashes of all kinds pair well with the traditional French Herbes de Provence Blend and a little nutmeg and cinnamon.