Spices

I

Introduction

Spices, aromatic flavorings made from parts of plants. The term spice is usually applied to pungent plant products, especially plants native to tropical Asia and the Moluccas, or Spice Islands, of Indonesia. It frequently also includes herbs, which are the fragrant leaves of herbaceous plants, many of which are native to temperate regions. With few exceptions, the spices and herbs known today were being used early in human history. Spice trade with the Orient was flourishing well before the advent of Christianity. The discovery of many spices probably predates the earliest civilizations, when primitive humans were attracted to the aromatic effects produced by what are now called essential oils, which are found in various plant parts. Interestingly, many of the same oils that attracted humans evolved in nature as toxins or repellents against animals; the leaves of the mint plant and the bark of the cinnamon tree, for example, evolved as protection against grass-eating ungulates and bark-boring insects.

Besides their long use in preserving foods and enhancing food flavor, spices and herbs played important, sometimes magical, roles in medicine. Before the advent of industrially prepared medicines, herbal remedies were commonly prescribed and were often effective, as some practitioners are now rediscovering.

II

The Spice Trade

The great value put on spices is best reflected by economic developments that began before 2000 bc in the Middle East, in the form of lucrative commerce in cinnamon, cassia (see Senna), and pepper. For many centuries Arab merchants controlled the overland trade routes to India, but when sea routes were discovered, Roman-controlled Alexandria, in Egypt, became a commercial center. From the 13th to the 15th century, Venice monopolized spice trade with the Middle East. Venice demanded such exorbitant prices, however, that Portugal and Spain looked eastward for routes to the Spice Islands around the Cape of Good Hope, and then, with the voyage of Christopher Columbus, searched westward. Although many of the early explorers set out to find gold, these expeditions gained much of their financial backing from trade in spices.

III

Modern Production

Today nearly all spices and herbs can be easily purchased, not only because of advances in commerce and shipping but also because many of the once-rare spices of the Orient have been naturalized in other parts of the world. The treasured cloves (see Clove) of Tidore, for example, with which the only surviving ship of Ferdinand Magellan's fleet returned to Spain, are now cultivated in groves on the islands of Zanzibar and Madagascar. Ginger, once found only in China, is now grown in Jamaica and Nigeria. Nutmeg, native to the Moluccas, now grows in Grenada. Even chili peppers (see Capsicum), one of the few spices discovered in the New World, are now cultivated in Kenya and Pakistan.

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Herbs such as oregano (see Marjoram) and thyme are now shipped in bales to London and New York City, the two largest spice centers, for processing and distribution. Among the few spices that may be less readily available are saffron, the most expensive spice, and vanilla—both of which require considerable labor to produce. Saffron, used to color and flavor Mediterranean and Oriental dishes, comes from the hand-extracted stigmas of autumn-blooming crocuses grown in Spain, Italy, and the Middle East. Vanilla comes from an orchid, which must be hand-pollinated and the pods specially cured before the beans produce their aroma. A much less costly vanilla is now synthesized from the hydrolysis of wood.

IV

Types of Spices and Herbs

The great variety of herb and spice flavors are produced from nearly all parts of plants, from the leaves to the roots. Among those producing fragrant leaves are basil, rosemary, sage, savory, tarragon, and thyme, all of which are small annual or perennial plants. Bayleaf, or sweet laurel (see Laurel), used to flavor meats, sauces, and vinegars, comes from a shrub or tree.

Among the many spices derived from the ripe fruit or seeds of plants are aniseed (see Anise), caraway seed, chili peppers, coriander seed, dillseed (see Dill), fennel seed, juniper berry, mustard seed, nutmeg, pepper, poppy seed, and sesame seed. Licorice-flavored aniseed, which comes from Pimpinella anisum, a member of the carrot family, is used whole for baking and as an essential oil in candies and the liquors absinthe and anisette. Juniper berry, used to flavor gin, comes from the low evergreen shrub Juniperus communis. The strongest mustard seed comes from black mustard, Brassica nigra, which was probably the large plant mentioned in the Bible and which now grows in Israel to a height of 3.7 m (12 ft). Mustard seed releases its pungent flavor when its powder is moistened. The flavor is preserved by lemon juice, vinegar, or wine in prepared mustard. Nutmeg is the seed of an apricotlike fruit of the tropical evergreen tree Myristica fragrans. The red sheath around the seed is made into mace, another spice used to flavor pickles, ketchups, and sauces. Sesame seeds were ground into flour by the Egyptians and used by the Chinese 5000 years ago. The pearly, nut-flavored seeds, used especially in Middle Eastern cooking, come from the annual Sesasmun indicum and are scattered by the drying pod, making hand harvesting necessary.

Among the spices derived from roots are garlic and ginger. Garlic, Allium sativum, which is a bulb made up of many cloves and closely related to the onion, originated in Central Asia and is one of the oldest spices. Ginger comes from the fleshy, aromatic, bulblike rhizomes of the perennial Zingiber officinale. The rhizomes are sold commercially as gingerroot or dried and ground into ginger powder. The essential oil is used to make ginger-flavored beverages, sauces, and chutneys.

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