Fragrant Cane Spices

Fragrant cane spices fill the room with a sweet or spicy fragrance that remind people of apple pie or spicy chicken soup, depending on the spice. The aroma is brought out through the cooking process as the spices melt and blend with other flavors. Cane spices usually come from the bark of trees or seed pods (beans) of certain plants. These spices often look like chunks of bark or small canes. Cinnamon is one of the most commonly known fragrant cane spice that blends well with many types of foods. You can buy cane spices whole or you can purchase ground up cane spices if you prefer.

Cinnamon

• Add a stalk of cinnamon to your morning tea to enhance flavor.

  The smell of cinnamon is enough to awaken the senses and clear out your nasal passages in the morning. This spice has a very sweet yet slightly tangy fragrance. This cane spice is often ground up to make it easier to consume, but you can also chew on fresh cinnamon stalks or chop the stalks up into smaller pieces. Add cinnamon chunks to oatmeal or cereal. Ground cinnamon is also an excellent addition to buttered toast, french toast or other morning snacks. According to The World's Healthiest Foods website, cinnamon is high in calcium, manganese, calcium and iron. "Healthy and Fit" magazine says that cinnamon can also boost your metabolism. This spice is generally light brown in color.

Vanilla

• Add pure vanilla beans to baked dishes.

  Vanilla looks similar to cinnamon, but this cane spice has a very different flavor and fragrance. The fragrance is sweet and musty. Vanilla is cultivated from the seed pods of the vanilla orchid plant. The size and shape varies because there are over 150 different types of viable vanilla plants. The plant is actually a flower that only opens up once per year. Vanilla beans are only produced when bees or hummingbirds pollinate the flowers, but growers have gotten around this by hand pollinating the orchids when they open. The fact that the plant only opens once per year is why pure vanilla is more expensive than other spices or imitation vanilla. Vanilla beans are dark brown or black.

Caraway

• Caraway is another type of cane spice that is similar to vanilla, but this spice has smaller stalks because the seeds pods from the caraway herb are smaller. This spice has a musky fragrance that smells similar to cedar wood. The spice has a light brown color and firm texture like other types of cane spices. This spice is ground up to make rye bread, cakes and other dishes. You can also make caraway tea or simply chew on the stalks for added nutrition. This spice is high in fiber and protein.