spice
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spice
A substance, usually of plant origin, that is added to food to improve or change its flavor.
Für das Curry benötigst du Gewürze wie Kurkuma, Kreuzkümmel und Koriander.
For the curry, you need spices like turmeric, cumin, and coriander.
The word consists of the prefix 'Ge-' and the stem 'würz'. The prefix 'Ge-' here, as often with nouns, forms a collective term. So 'Gewürz' (spice) refers to the whole group of things used for seasoning.
In der indischen Küche werden viele verschiedene Gewürze verwendet.
Many different spices are used in Indian cuisine.
'Das Gewürz' (the spice) belongs to a word family related to taste. The related verb is 'würzen' (to season, to give flavor to a dish), and the adjective is 'würzig' (spicy, savory, strongly and pleasantly flavored).
Ich muss die Suppe noch etwas würzen.
I still need to season the soup a little.
In connection with cooking, 'Gewürz' (spice) is often combined with certain verbs. Typical phrases are: 'Gewürze hinzufügen' (to add spices), 'eine Speise mit Gewürzen abschmecken' (to season a dish to taste with spices), or 'Gewürze im Mörser zerstoßen' (to crush spices in a mortar).
Zum Schluss schmeckt man die Soße mit Salz und Pfeffer ab.
At the end, you season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
salt
'das Salz' and 'das Gewürz' are both used in cooking so that food tastes better. Still, they are not the same thing. 'Salz' is a specific white substance with a salty taste. 'Gewürz' is a more general word for ingredients such as pepper, paprika, or cinnamon, usually from plants. Learners may confuse the words because salt is often placed next to spices and is also used for seasoning. If you mean exactly the salty ingredient, you say 'Salz'. If you are talking generally about flavor-giving ingredients, 'Gewürz' fits.
Meine Mutter kauft für das Curry ein neues Gewürz.
My mother is buying a new spice for the curry.
Adam hat zu viel Salz in die Suppe getan.
Adam put too much salt in the soup.