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<< A variety of spices from Peshawar, Pakistan Thomas J. Abercrombie

Create a map showing the origins of the spices and herbs that help flavor your favorite dish.

What makes your favorite food taste sooo good? Chances are, that fabulous flavor owes a lot to herbs and spices—plants or plant parts used in cooking and healing.

As you savor each mouthful of a delectable dish, you're also biting into a tasty way to explore the world. The spices and herbs in your kitchen are probably seasoned travelers. Joy of Cooking, a mainstay in many kitchens, recommends buying bay leaves from Turkey, cinnamon from Sri Lanka, cloves from Madagascar, and poppy seeds from the Netherlands—to name just a few.

Try some food for thought:

• Get the recipe of your favorite food and find out what spices and herbs it contains. You can find a menu of cooking sites at Yahooligans.
• Gather the ingredients you need.
• Do some digital detective work to find the origin of each spice or herb. You can make a good start with the spice information at McCormick & Company.
• Print a pair of world maps—one blank, the other political.
• Using the political map as a guide, find the countries that produce your spices and herbs.
• Glue a bit of each spice or herb onto its "home" country on the blank map. Add labels and any adornments you wish.
• Show your map to family and friends. It should spark some interesting conversations!

Younger Xpeditioners: Pick one of the spices or herbs on your map and learn about the country where it is produced. Plan an imaginary trip there.

Older Xpeditioners: What do people eat in the country where your favorite spice or herb is produced? Working with an adult, track down and try a recipe from that part of the world.

Parents: Think of the spice map as an intellectual appetizer. Then challenge the family to bite into some meaty questions: Did your favorite spices tend to come from a few places or many? What kind of climates do these places have? How close are they to the Equator? Could you produce the same spices where you live? Why or why not? What other items come from the countries that produced your spices and herbs? What would it be like to live in one of those countries?

The resources that accompany this Family Xpedition can help your family find answers.