The Spice Trail

Archeological evidence shows that cloves and other spices indigenous to the Moluccas were used in Middle Eastern cooking around 2000 BC. The insatiable desire for spices developed trade routes that crisscrossed the ancient world between China and Africa. Control of the spice trade was highly lucrative for Indian, Indonesian and Arab traders. By Roman times, the Egyptian port of Alexandria had become an important centre for spice trading, from where exotic spices found their way across Europe. Eventually, European explorers made direct contact with spice growing regions, offering local rulers gold and silver in exchange for their precious produce. Controlled at first by the Portuguese, the sea routes to India and South East Asia were later dominated by the Dutch and the British as the spice trade played an important role in the history of colonization.

What Are Spices?

Spices are seeds, buds, fruit, bark and roots of certain plants that when added to food during cooking create flavour. Spices may be used whole, but are often grated or ground into powders which, when combined in different proportions, offer thousands of flavour permutations. Spices are often dry roasted, a process that intensifies their natural fragrance and flavour.

Where Are Spices Grown?

Grown mostly in tropical regions, there are more than 80 spices in regular use. India is the most important spice growing country in the world. Wild spices from Kerala in southwestern India were first cultivated thousands of years ago, and from this area they spread across the rest of the subcontinent. The ‘spice islands’ of the Moluccas (modern Indonesia), another ancient spice producing region, are also significant in the history of the spice trade.

Why Are Spices So Popular?

As well as adding incredible flavour and colour to food, spices have a variety of other important uses. In some cultures they are used in religious rituals, in others they are recognized as natural curatives and are used in all sorts of remedies. Certain spices are considered to have aphrodisiac qualities.

Understanding Spice Favours

Spices contain volatile essential oil, which holds chemical compounds that control flavour and aroma. Thus, the flavour and aroma of a spice depends on the amount and concentration of essential oil and the balance of the flavouring compounds it contains. Experts have suggested a classification system to categorize the flavour and aroma of spices. There are ‘hot’, ‘pungent’, ‘tangy’ and ‘sweet’ spices, although some may fall into more than one of these categories! Another category comprises ‘amalgamating’ spices, an important group that ensures the success of mixes by ‘smoothing’ all the other spice ingredients together.

Some flavour compounds present in spices are resistant to heat, while others are not. This means that flavours can be altered or enhanced with appropriate cooking techniques. It is interesting to note that some of the most popular spices must first be treated with heat to rid them of bitterness, astringency or other unwanted taste components.

Culinary Herbs

Culinary herbs are green, non-woody plants that impart ‘savoury’ flavour and fragrance to food – albeit in more subtle ways than spices. Best used fresh, herbs may also be dried for storage and used out of season. Cooking with fresh herbs is an art unto itself. The delicate flavours and aromas of herbs can easily be lost if subjected to high temperatures.