Food & Cooking · Unit 8
Herbs and Spices
Flavour, aroma and the trade that moved the world
Spices were once worth more than their weight in silver, and the search for them redrew the map of the world. This unit is about flavour and about the trade it drove.
It covers fresh herbs and how they differ from dried, the major spices and where they grow, salt as the one seasoning that changes everything, chilli and heat, and the spice trade's history.
This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 119 questions, starting at difficulty 2 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 20
- Questions
- 119
- Difficulty
- 2-3
What this unit covers
- Spices and Where They Grow
- Salt and Seasoning
- Chilli and Heat
- Fresh Herbs
- The Spice Trade
Where this fits
Self-contained. Connects to History's The Age of Exploration.
Where people slip
Chilli heat is not a taste. Capsaicin triggers heat receptors rather than taste buds, which is why water does not help and fat does.
How the unit is structured
Herbs and Spices runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 2 and climb to 3 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 119 in the unit altogether.
Chilli and Heat
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
1. Which foods can add heat to a dish? Pick all that apply.
- Chillicorrect
- Black peppercorrect
- Mustardcorrect
- Sugar
Chilli, black pepper and mustard all add pungency.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
2. Drinking ____ helps more than water when chilli is too hot.
- milkcorrect
- juice
- soup
- tea
Milk carries away the oily heat compound.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
3. What helps most if a chilli is too hot in your mouth?
- Milk or yoghurtcorrect
- More chilli
- Fizzy water
- Breathing fast
Dairy such as milk or yoghurt washes away the heat compound better than water.
- True or falseLevel 2
4. Chillies are not really hot in temperature, they only feel that way.
Answer: True
True. They trigger the same nerves that detect real heat.
- Type the answerLevel 2
5. What small red or green pod makes food spicy hot?
Answer: chilli
Chillies are used fresh, dried or powdered.
- Sort into groupsLevel 3
6. Sort each sensation by whether it is a taste or a chemical irritation.
Answer: Sweetness = A true taste; Saltiness = A true taste; Chilli heat = Chemical irritation; Mint coolness = Chemical irritation
Some familiar sensations are not tastes at all.
Fresh Herbs
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
7. Which are herbs? Pick all that apply.
- Parsleycorrect
- Mintcorrect
- Basilcorrect
- Pepper
Parsley, mint and basil are all leafy herbs.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
8. Dried herbs and fresh herbs taste exactly the same.
Answer: False
False. Drying changes the aroma, and dried herbs are usually stronger by weight.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
9. What is a herb in cooking?
- The leafy part of a plant used for flavourcorrect
- A dried root
- A type of meat
- A kind of flour
A herb is the leafy green part of a plant used for flavour.
- Picture questionLevel 2
10. 🌿 Which part of a herb plant do we usually use?
- The leavescorrect
- The roots
- The bark
- The seeds only
Herbs are the leafy green parts of the plant.
- True or falseLevel 2
11. Herbs can be used fresh or dried.
Answer: True
True, though the flavour changes between the two.
- Build the sentenceLevel 3
12. Build a sentence about aroma.
Answer: Essential oils carry the aroma of fresh herbs
Essential oils carry the aroma of fresh herbs.
Salt and Seasoning
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
13. Which are ways of seasoning food? Pick all that apply.
- Saltcorrect
- Peppercorrect
- A squeeze of lemoncorrect
- Water
Salt, pepper, herbs and lemon all season food.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
14. Where does most salt come from?
- Rock mines or evaporated seawatercorrect
- Plants only
- Animals
- The air
Salt is mined from rock or evaporated from seawater.
- Odd one outLevel 2
15. Which of these is NOT a way to add flavour?
- Adding plain watercorrect
- Adding herbs
- Adding spices
- Adding lemon juice
Adding plain water dilutes flavour rather than adding it.
- True or falseLevel 2
16. Eating too much salt is not good for your health.
Answer: True
True. High salt intake raises blood pressure over time.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
17. Sea salt contains dramatically less sodium than table salt.
Answer: False
False. By weight the sodium content is very similar.
- Put in orderLevel 3
18. Put these seasoning steps in order for a stew.
Answer: Season the base as you soften it -> Season again when adding liquid -> Taste near the end -> Adjust before serving
Season early, build layers, taste, adjust at the end.
Spices and Where They Grow
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
19. Build a sentence about spices.
Answer: Spices come from seeds bark and roots
Spices come from seeds bark and roots.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
20. Which are spices? Pick all that apply.
- Cinnamoncorrect
- Cumincorrect
- Clovescorrect
- Parsley
Cinnamon, cumin and cloves are all spices.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
21. Match each spice to the part of the plant it comes from.
Answer: Cinnamon = Bark; Ginger = Underground stem; Cumin = Seed; Saffron = Flower part
Spices come from many different plant parts.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
22. What is a spice?
- A seed, bark, root or fruit used for flavour
- Any green leaf
- A kind of salt
- A type of oil
A spice comes from the seed, bark, root or fruit of a plant, not the leaf.
- Fact or fibLevel 3
23. Ground spices keep their flavour indefinitely in the cupboard.
Answer: False
False. Volatile oils escape, so ground spices fade within months.
- Put in orderLevel 3
24. Put these steps of building a curry base in order.
Answer: Bloom whole spices in hot oil -> Soften onion, garlic and ginger -> Stir in ground spices briefly -> Add liquid and simmer
Bloom whole spices, soften aromatics, add ground spice, add liquid.
The Spice Trade
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
25. Build a sentence about spice history.
Answer: Spices once travelled thousands of kilometres by ship
Spices once travelled thousands of kilometres by ship.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
26. Which spices are used in sweet baking? Pick all that apply.
- Cinnamoncorrect
- Nutmegcorrect
- Gingercorrect
- Chilli powder in every cake
Cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger all appear in sweet recipes.
- Multiple choiceLevel 2
27. Why do different countries use different spices?
- They use what grows nearby and what trade broughtcorrect
- They are told what to use
- Spices only grow in one country
- There is no difference
People cook with what grows nearby and what trade brought them.
- Sort into groupsLevel 2
28. Sort each flavouring as a herb or a spice.
Answer: Basil = Herb; Mint = Herb; Cinnamon = Spice; Cumin = Spice
Herbs are leaves, spices come from other plant parts.
- True or falseLevel 2
29. Spices were carried across the world by ship and caravan long ago.
Answer: True
True. Trade routes moved spices thousands of kilometres.
- Type the answerLevel 2
30. Which spice comes from dried unopened flower buds and looks like tiny nails?
Answer: cloves
Cloves are dried flower buds.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 12 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise Herbs and Spices
119 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about Herbs and Spices
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- What Is the Difference Between Herbs and Spices?Which part of the plant each comes from, why spices drove global trade, and when to add each one.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
- Why Was Pepper Worth Its Weight in Gold? The Spice Trade That Moved EmpiresBlack pepper was once so valuable that rents were paid in it and the hunt for its source sent Columbus west. Where it grows, why it cost so much, and its mark.September 15, 2026 · 4 min read
- What Makes Chillies Hot?The molecule that tricks your heat receptors, why water does not help, and how the Scoville scale actually works.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
- Why Does Salt Make Food Taste Better?Why does salt make food taste better? It does more than add saltiness. Here is how salt suppresses bitterness, boosts aroma and changes texture.August 28, 2026 · 5 min read
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- What We EatFood groups, meals and where our food comes from
- Fruit and VegetablesGrowing, picking and eating plants
- In the KitchenTools, hygiene and staying safe while you cook
- From Farm to PlateThe journey food takes before it reaches you
- Grains and BreadThe crops that feed the world and the loaves they become
- Dairy and EggsMilk, cheese, butter and the remarkable egg
- Meat, Fish and ProteinProtein foods, how they cook and how they are caught or raised
- Cooking MethodsBoiling, roasting, frying and everything in between