• Though many pungent spices are available in ground form, the whole spice gives the fullest flavor.Spices in bags image by Tomasz Cebo from Fotolia.com
  
  As far back as Marco Polo's journeys to the Far East in the 13th century, Western cultures have been tuned into the power of pungent spices in flavoring food. Thankfully for modern cooks on a budget, a little goes along way with these spices.
  
  Pungent spices can come from nearly any part of the plant, from the bark to the delicate stamens nestled inside a flower. While many pungent spices, like cumin and coriander, are available in powdered form, the strongest flavor is produced by using the whole spice.
  
  

Seeds and Seed Pods

• Roast or fry seeds such as mustard to release their flavors.senfk??rner image by Silvia Bogdanski from Fotolia.com
  
  Many common pungent spices are seeds or seed pods. It is common to powder these spices, and in the U.S., seed spices such as cardamom, cumin, coriander, mustard and pepper are most frequently available in their ground form.
  
  These spices are used throughout many Asian cuisines. Cardamom, star anise, and nutmeg, which all use both the seed pod and seed, are typically used to flavor sweets or desserts.
  
  Heat whole seeds either by frying or roasting before consumption. This allows the seeds to fully release their flavors. In Indian curry dishes, cooks fry cumin, coriander, mustard, or fennel in oil before adding vegetables and other ingredients. This pungent, spice-flavored oil is what imparts the singular flavor to these dishes.
  
  

Other Spice Types

• Rhizomes such as ginger are potent pungent spices when dried and powdered.ginger root image by Neelrad from Fotolia.com
  
  In the ginger family, several rhizomes serve as cooking spices. The most common is ginger itself, which you can use fresh, fried or in dried and powdered form. Turmeric, a related rhizome, is primarily used dried and powdered. Use it sparingly, as it is particularly strong and pungent. Certain Asian cooking styles, particularly Balinese and other Indonesian cuisines, use fresh turmeric and other ginger-like rhizomes such as kencur and galangal.
  
  Several prominent pungent spices originate from less often used plant parts. Cinnamon is tree bark, saffron comes from flower stamens--the male reproductive organs--and cloves are dried flower buds. Unlike seed and rhizomes, you should use spices such as these for flavoring but not consume them. Remove them from dishes before serving.
  
  

Five Buddhist Pungent Spices

• In the Buddhist religion, strict followers avoid onions, scallions, chives, leeks and garlic. Buddha forbade his disciples from eating these foods because he believed they caused anger if eaten raw and acted as an aphrodisiac if consumed cooked. The vegetarian Buddhist diet is also free from other pungent spices such as mustard and peppers.