play in the lives of the plants themselves? One simple clue is their very potency Try the experiment of chewing on an oregano leaf, or a clove, or a vanilla bean The result is far from pleasurable! When eaten as is, most spices and herbs are acrid, irritating, numbing And the chemicals responsible for these sensations are actually toxic The purified essence of oregano and of thyme can be bought from chemical supply companies, and come with bright warning labels: these chemicals damage skin and lungs, so don’t touch or inhale This is precisely the primary function of these chemicals: to make the plants that produce them obnoxious and therefore resistant to attack by animals or microbes The flavors of herbs and spices are defensive chemical weapons that are released from plant cells when the plant is chewed on Their volatility gives them the advantage of counterattacking through the air, not just on direct contact, and of being a warning signal that can train some animals to be deterred by smell alone Turning Weapons Into Pleasures: Just Add Food And yet humans have come to prize these weapons that are meant to repel us What makes herbs and spices not only nontoxic and edible but delicious is a simple principle of cooking: dilution If we bite into an intact leaf of oregano or a peppercorn, the concentrated dose of defensive chemicals overwhelms and irritates our senses; but those same chemicals diffused throughout a dish of other foods — a few milligrams in a pound or two — stimulate without overwhelming They add favors that our grains and meats don’t have, and make those foods more complex and appealing The Chemistry and Qualities Of Herbs and Spices ...that can train some animals to be deterred by smell alone Turning Weapons Into Pleasures: Just Add Food And yet humans have come to prize these weapons that are meant to repel us What makes herbs and spices not only nontoxic and edible but delicious is a simple principle of. .. diffused throughout a dish of other foods — a few milligrams in a pound or two — stimulate without overwhelming They add favors that our grains and meats don’t have, and make those foods more complex and appealing The Chemistry and Qualities... edible but delicious is a simple principle of cooking: dilution If we bite into an intact leaf of oregano or a peppercorn, the concentrated dose of defensive chemicals overwhelms and irritates our senses; but those same chemicals