The history contained within your kitchen staples cupboard is a lot more exciting than you thought (although those instant noodles dated best before last year should probably go in the bin).

In a modern world where every type of food is just a click away, it can be very easy to take things for granted. How much thought, for example, do you give to the weird and wonderful spices we use to season our food every day? Not much, we wager. Author Ms Caz Hildebrand, however, does – and she has put all of her findings into a rather lovely book called The Grammar Of Spice, published by Thames & Hudson. Covering more than 60 spices, she looks into the history and forgotten facts of everything from tamarind to the tonka bean, and includes some nifty recipes to get the best out of them. The Grammar Of Spice is far from your average encyclopedia, however. It is inspired by a book called The Grammar of Ornament, published in 1856 by architect and designer Mr Owen Jones, which documented decorative art and design from various countries like never before. Just as it influenced Mr William Morris, Mr Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier, Mr Owen’s work has influenced Ms Hildebrand to pair her exploration of spices with various accompanying patterns and decoration to further illuminate her study. You can see examples of this, below, along with what we learnt about five of the most common spices in our kitchen.

What to find out more? You can buy the book here.

Ginger is the rhizome (the underground stem, as opposed to the root) of a bamboo-like plant native to Southern Asia. An important spice for millennia, records in Sanskrit literature show that it was used in Indian cooking since antiquity and it was famously a staple in the diet of the philosopher Confucius. The Romans brought ginger to Europe. The English tradition of making gingerbread men originates with Queen Elizabeth I, who gave them to guests made in their likeness. Ginger is known to work as potent bait for fishing.

Try: make ginger and honey tea by putting 1 cup water and a finely chopped knob of ginger in a small pan and bringing to the boil. Leave to infuse for three to four minutes, then strain into a mug and sweeten with honey to taste, adding a squeeze of lemon if you like.

Pepper is the dried unripe fruit of a vine native to the Western Ghats of Kerala. It can enhance the flavour of sweet dishes as well as savoury ones – bringing out the flavour of strawberries, pears, apples and berries. One of the first known examples of pepper use dates back to 1224 BCE, but it wasn’t to season food. Shortly after his death, peppercorns were inserted up the nose of the Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses II as part of the mummification process.

Try: salt and pepper squid. Lightly toast 1 tsp each black pepper corns and Sichuan peppercorns, then grind in a mortar and pestle with 4 tsp sea salt. Stir in 4 tbsp cornflour and toss well with squid rings. Deep-fry until golden and then serve with a dipping sauce.

Vanilla comes from the vanilla vine – a variety of orchid native to Mexico, but also found in Madagascar, Indonesia, Tahiti and Guadeloupe. Vanilla flowers last only about eight hours and are pollinated either by hummingbirds and melipone bees, or by hand. Vanilla was discovered by Europeans in 1519 when the Aztec king Moctezuma II welcomed Spanish conquistador Mr Hernán Cortés as the emissary of a feathered serpent god – treating him to a vanilla-flavoured chocolate drink.

Try: add a split vanilla pod when making jam – especially good with peach, apricot or strawberry jam. Make crème Chantilly by whisking 300ml whipping cream to soft peaks with 2 tbsp icing sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract; fold in a whisked egg white for a lighter cream.

The dried oval seeds, taken from the flowering Cuminum cyminum plant, are technically fruits and it is thought they originated around the Nile valley of Egypt. Their harvest is described in the bible. Arab spice traders took cumin to India; the Phoenicians then carried it through North Africa to the Iberican peninsula; and the Berbers transported it across Sahara in their spice caravans. It is now cultivated in India, China, Japan, Indonesia, North Africa and the Americas.

Try: lightly toast 2 tbsp cumin seeds then grind them in a mortar and pestle with 1½ tbsp sea salt. Serve with boiled quail’s eggs, dipping the peeled eggs into the cumin salt.

Dried by oven, oak fire or sun, paprika is the ground flesh of various members of the pepper family. The dried red powder comes in different hues of crimson and accompanying tastes: from bright red lipstick-red and sweetly smoky to brownish-red and fiercely fiery. The pepper varieties we use today for paprika were developed in Hungary, and the “ika” in its name speaks to its Slavic roots.

Try: Mix a little paprika into mayonnaise to serve with crab or other shellfish. Sprinkle paprika over egg dishes. Toss potato wedges with olive oil and paprika before roasting.

The Grammar Of Spice (Thames & Hudson) by Ms Caz Hildebrand is out 14 September