On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from spices freepik article title. For the sensation of eating spicy-hot foods, see Pungency. A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food.

A spice may be available in several forms: fresh, whole dried, or pre-ground dried. Spices may be ground into a powder for convenience. A whole dried spice has the longest shelf life, so it can be purchased and stored in larger amounts, making it cheaper on a per-serving basis. Although health benefits are often claimed for spices, there is currently not enough research conducted to prove these benefits.

Indian subcontinent, as well as in East Asia and the Middle East. The spice trade developed throughout the Indian subcontinent by at earliest 2000 BCE with cinnamon and black pepper, and in East Asia with herbs and pepper. Cloves were used in Mesopotamia by 1700 BCE. The ancient Indian epic Ramayana mentions cloves. Indonesian merchants traveled around China, India, the Middle East, and the east coast of Africa. Arab merchants facilitated the routes through the Middle East and India. This resulted in the Egyptian port city of Alexandria being the main trading center for spices.

Spices were prominent enough in the ancient world that they are mentioned in the Old Testament. In Genesis, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. Illustration from a French edition of The Travels of Marco Polo. Spices were all imported from plantations in Asia and Africa, which made them expensive. From the 8th until the 15th century, the Republic of Venice held a monopoly on spice trade with the Middle East, using this position to dominate the neighboring Italian maritime republics and city-states.

The trade made the region rich. Spain and Portugal were interested in seeking new routes to trade in spices and other valuable products from Asia. The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed to India in 1499. Another source of competition in the spice trade during the 15th and 16th century was the Ragusans from the maritime republic of Dubrovnik in southern Croatia.