Spices are the aromatic seeds, fruits, flower parts, barks, gums, roots or rhizomes of particular plants. They have long been valued as perfumes, in foods and as medications. Pepper, for example, was recorded in both Sanskrit and Chinese texts 12,000 years ago. Searching for and trading in these fragrant and coveted spices led over the centuries to wars over trade routes, the discovery by Europeans of the Americas, and vast riches for individual traders, cities, and countries. People in cooler climes had always had spices such as dill, caraway, juniper, horseradish, celery, mustard, caraway, fennel, lovage, coriander and cumin, but they wanted exotic spices such as cinnamon, ginger and pepper too. The world’s 70-80 commercially produced spices are widely available today. Pepper, chilli and cloves are the most traded. Saffron is by far the most expensive because each orange-yellow strand – a pistil from an autumn-crocus flower – is hand-picked. Vanilla and cardamom come second and third. Spices can make foods taste wonderful. Their curative properties are amazing. They can make our homes smell fragrant. And they benefit our skin and wellbeing. So read on, ‘own’ your spices … and enjoy!