In preparing a meal for my family the other night. I probably used somewhere between 20 and 30 different spices in all the various dishes for the meal (and yes, I will admit that a good bit of the variety came from pre-made spice mixes).
It is truly fabulous how many delicious and varied herbs and spices we have at our fingertips in any well-equipped kitchen. It makes it hard to imagine going back to the age when you would need to go gather herbs in the forest / garden and you may be lucky to have salt and black pepper to season with. We are spoiled.
By the way, I am really glad that I was not on the committee of folks who went about trying all the various vegetation in the woods and meadows to discover which ones made for good herbs and which ones were just nasty to eat.
In my house the wife and daughter refer to basic, black pepper as “that radical spice”.
I live with heretics.