Fenugreek is one of the earliest spices known to man. Ancient Egyptians used it as a food, medicine and an embalming agent. The ripe, dried fruit of a quick-growing annual leguminous herb, fenugreek has a strong, pleasant and quite peculiar odour reminiscent of maple. Traditionally, fenugreek grows best in well-drained loams with a low rainfall. In India, this spice is often cultivated as a cover crop in citrus-fruit groves to take advantage of their leguminous nature.