Spice. The essence of a certain plant, and thus of a certain place, distilled down into some crumpled leaves or a fine powder. Flavor. A mixture of taste and smell that stimulates the senses and invokes feelings, memories, and a sense of place. Culture. The values, behaviors, and practices that define a group of people. One of the key things that define a culture is their foods. And their foods are defined by their spices. This book contains recipes for more than 150 spice blends from over 65 countries around the world. And because the ingredients used in some of the recipes may be unfamiliar to you or go by different names in different parts of the world, at the back of the book you'll find an exhaustive index that cross references hundreds of names of various spices, herbs, and other ingredients.