Think of your favorite breakfast, lunch, or dinner food. What does it taste like? What makes it so yummy? Chances are your favorite meal is made with herbs and spices!
What Are Herbs?
Herbs are flavorful or fragrant leaves from different kinds of plants. Spices come from other parts of plants, such as seeds, bark, roots, or even hardened sap. Both spices and herbs are often used to season food or to make tea but are also used in beauty products or medicine.
Herbs and Spices in Your Kitchen (Scavenger Hunt!)
Herbs can grow in most temperate (cool and mild) places with good soil and plenty of sun. You can also grow herbs in your home or in a greenhouse. Maybe there are some growing on your kitchen windowsill!
Ask for an adult’s help to see if you can find the following herbs and spices in your kitchen:
Basil: Basil is an herb with dark green leaves. You might have dried basil in your spice cabinet. It looks like small, green flakes. Basil is used in lots of Italian dishes, such as pizza and spaghetti sauce.
Cinnamon: Cinnamon comes from the bark of trees that grow in southeast Asia, South America, and islands of the Caribbean. The dried bark can be ground into the powder you’re probably used to seeing.
Dill: Dill is an herb in the celery family. Its unique flavor is used in seasoning eggs, salads, and pickles.
Garlic: Did you know that garlic is part of the lily family? It also shares some characteristics with onions—they both grow underground and have a very strong smell. Though garlic is really a vegetable, we usually treat it like a spice or herb. It is used in many dishes to add flavor and is also used to help fight sickness.
Did you find any of these herbs and spices in your kitchen? What do they smell like? What foods do you eat with these spices? Did you find any other herbs in your kitchen that are not on this list?
Herbs for When You're Feeling Sick
Making tea with some herbs and spices can help you feel better when you are sick. Have you had any of these herbs or spices when you aren’t feeling well?
- Chamomile
- Licorice root
- Mint
- Elderberry
- Catnip
- Echinacea
Herbs in the Bible (Scavenger Hunt!)
Did you know that spices and herbs are talked about in the Bible? Read the following Bible verses and draw a line to match them to the correct herb or spice.
| a. Garlic | Exodus 30:23 |
| b. Hyssop | Matthew 2:11 |
| c. Cinnamon | Matthew 23:23 |
| d. Dill, mint, and cumin | Numbers 11:5 |
| e. Myrrh and frankincense | Leviticus 14:49 |
About the Author
Christin Baker is a full-time stay-at-home mom who also writes for Faith Alive. She is a member of Resurrection Fellowship Church in Grand Rapids, Mich.
