Herbs and spices quiz
Checked on 11 November 2026
Question 1 of 10
Discover
Cinnamon comes from which part of a tree?
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The answer is The bark.
Cinnamon is the dried inner bark of trees in the Cinnamomum family, rolled into curls called quills.
Discover
Which bright yellow spice gives many curries their golden color?
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The answer is Turmeric.
Turmeric powder, made from the dried rhizome of the turmeric plant, adds a deep yellow color to curries.
Discover
Black peppercorns are the dried what of the pepper plant?
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The answer is Fruits.
Black pepper is a flowering vine grown for its small fruits, the peppercorns, which are dried and used as a spice.
Discover
The ginger we cook with is which part of the ginger plant?
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The answer is The underground stem (rhizome).
Ginger root is really a rhizome, a fleshy underground stem, even though most people call it a root.
Practise
Saffron threads are which part of the crocus flower?
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The answer is The stigmas.
Saffron is made from the crimson stigmas of the saffron crocus, collected and dried.
Practise
Cloves are the dried what of a tropical tree?
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The answer is Flower buds.
Cloves are flower buds picked just before they open and dried until they turn dark brown.
Practise
Which spice is made from the lacy red covering around the nutmeg seed?
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The answer is Mace.
The nutmeg tree gives two spices from one fruit: nutmeg from the seed and mace from its covering.
Expert
Despite its name, allspice is not a blend. What is it?
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The answer is The dried berry of one tree.
Allspice is the dried unripe berry of the Pimenta dioica tree, named because it tastes like several spices at once.
Expert
Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of which country?
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The answer is India.
Black pepper first grew wild in the tropical forests of the Malabar Coast in southwestern India, in today's Kerala.
Expert
The nutmeg tree is native to which small group of islands?
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The answer is The Banda Islands.
The true nutmeg tree comes from the Banda Islands in eastern Indonesia, where it grows naturally.