Spice with no Flavor or Aroma?

Question

I lost the label on a bag of some sort of spice, and trying to figure out what it is got me really curious of what it possibly could be and what use it could ever serve.

It is light brown, even slightly tan (reminiscent of natural sugar).
It has a very slight woody smell, with possibly an undertone of heat. 
It has no real taste, possibly woody again, and is slightly gritty. It makes me think of ground up bark, if 99% of the flavor was removed.

What spice does not have any flavor or aroma? This seems like an contradiction.

ChefAndy · Accepted Answer

What spice does not have any flavor or aroma?

A stale, old one. The flavors in spices are volatile— they don't last forever.

Jonathan · Answer

I was searching for a spice that has no flavor and found this question. If a spice has no flavor, then it probably has no aroma either. Such a spice would be used for texture or color. I was specifically looking for a spice that only was used for its color. If I were to make a guess about what you have found was a cinnamon-sugar mix for cinnamon toast. It would explain the graininess from the sugar and the lightness in color. You mentioned an undertone of heat. This reminded me of cinnamon candy. They can mix cassia (Chinese cinnamon aka false cinnamon) with cinnamon and there is no regulation on quantity or percentages for store-bought cinnamon powder.

Answered by Jonathan on February 27, 2021

Spice with no Flavor or Aroma?

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