Spice is a substance added to food to make it taste more interesting or flavorful. Spices come from different parts of plants: cinnamon comes from tree bark, pepper from dried berries, ginger from roots, and cloves from flower buds. Each spice adds its own distinctive flavor. Cinnamon makes apple pie taste warm and sweet, while black pepper adds a sharp, hot kick to soup.

People have valued spices for thousands of years. Before refrigerators existed, spices helped preserve food and mask the taste of meat that wasn't quite fresh anymore. Ancient Romans paid enormous sums for pepper from India. In the 1400s and 1500s, European explorers sailed across dangerous oceans searching for faster routes to Asia's spice markets. Christopher Columbus was actually looking for spices when he reached the Americas.

As a verb, spice means to add spice or excitement. A teacher might spice up a lesson with a funny story or a game. If someone says “variety is the spice of life,” they mean that trying new things keeps life interesting, just as different spices keep food from tasting boring and repetitive.