Herbs and Spices Word Search

About this puzzle

Herbs are usually the leaves of plants — basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary, parsley — while spices come from other parts: cinnamon is bark; cumin and cardamom are seeds; ginger and turmeric are underground stems called rhizomes; cloves are dried flower buds; saffron is the thread-like part of a crocus flower; nutmeg is a seed; and paprika is made from dried, ground peppers. Many of these names look alike, which is why the list opens on Hard.

The default layout is Hard on a 15×15 grid. Easy, Medium and Hard each use their own checked layout of the same words, and every one can be printed in standard or large print on US Letter or A4.

Word notes

Basil

A tender herb in the mint family, central to Italian pesto and to many Thai dishes.

Rosemary

An evergreen shrub with needle-like leaves, native to the Mediterranean.

Cinnamon

Made from the inner bark of trees.

Nutmeg

The seed of a tropical evergreen tree; the lacy red covering around the seed is dried separately as the spice mace.

Paprika

Ground dried red peppers; it can be sweet, hot or smoked.

Turmeric

A root related to ginger that gives curries a golden color.

Saffron

The threads are the stigmas of a crocus flower, picked by hand.

Cardamom

Small green pods full of aromatic seeds, used in both sweet baking and savory curries.

Try this after the puzzle

Set out small jars of three or four spices from the list and let solvers smell them with their eyes closed before the puzzle. Afterwards, sort the words into leaves, seeds, bark, roots and flowers. Older solvers can match each spice to a dish they know.

All 14 words

Basil · Oregano · Thyme · Rosemary · Cinnamon · Nutmeg · Paprika · Cumin · Ginger · Turmeric · Saffron · Parsley · Cardamom · Clove