Her allspice of choice — Evergreen myrtle grows from the Mediterranean to India. Chefs use it interchangeably with rosemary or bay leaf, but the berries taste bitter. Some use it to clear the lungs, improve lower GI function, and more. Artists depict Aphrodite with myrtle adorning her head, so it represents love, marriage, and safeguarding…

Dragon’s Heat — Cayenne is a chili indigenous to Mesoamerica with which we spice our food. Its active compound capsaicin heats food and enables self-defense as part of pepper spray. You can extract with an organic solvent like ethanol, let that evaporate, and emulsify the remaining resin in propylene glycol to suspend in…

Ferment like root beer — Humans used horehound in candy and as an expectorant since at least 1st century BCE. Roman Encyclopaedist Aulus Cornelius Celsus mentioned its use in De Medicina. Caesar’s antidote contained it, and so did the tombs of mummified pharaohs. Modern horehound candy is much sweeter. This herb repels grasshoppers, and livestock…

A big bird feeder — Sesame originated in sub-Saharan Africa, but India mainly developed its cultivar. Many consider it the oldest grown oil seed, proving its utility. Plentiful protein and nutrients lie inside. Sesame seeds tolerate drought well, changing climates considered. However, it’s full of oily fats compared to other seeds. Charred remains suggest it…

A powerful root herb — Ginger comes from the root of a native plant likely cultivated by Austronesian peoples. It doesn’t grow wild, but evidence points to these peoples trading it as they expanded trade routes over 5000 years ago from Madagascar to Hawai’i. We know this because they also domesticated turmeric, another ginger with…

A woody spice — True cinnamon goes by Ceylon, like the previous name for Sri Lanka — where it originates. It possesses a subdued flavor compared to what we buy in stores. The bold seasoning in the grocery aisle goes by cassia, one of three other trees in the same family. Cinnamon consists of…