Spices

Plant products with a pungent odor and taste, added in small quantities to food. The most popular spices are mustard, pepper, bay leaf, cinnamon, cloves, cumin, anise, cardamom, nutmeg and others.

Spicy vegetables include garlic, onions, horseradish, as well as parsley and dill. Various types of pepper are added to food - red, black, allspice beans and ground. The pungent taste and smell of pepper are due to the content of essential oils and specific pungent substances. Spicy vegetables contain essential oils and other aromatic and flavoring substances, giving them a specific pleasant smell and taste. Unlike spices, spicy vegetables contain vitamins, mainly ascorbic acid, carotene, folic acid, and pyridoxine.

In addition, spicy vegetables are distinguished by a high content of substances that have bactericidal (disinfecting) properties, and therefore they are used as a medicine.

In different countries and regions, many plant products are used as spices. Their consumption should not be excessive, and in certain diseases it should be sharply limited due to their irritating effect.