Envoy at 05:12, 2 October 2007

2007-10-02T05:12:56Z

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{{cuisine}}
{{otheruses}}
{{redirect|Spiciness|the sensation of eating spicy-hot foods|Pungency}}

A '''spice''' is a dried [[seed]], [[fruit]], [[root]], [[bark]] or vegetative substance used in [[nutrition]]ally insignificant quantities as a [[food additive]] for the purpose of [[flavoring]], and indirectly for the purpose of killing and preventing growth of pathogenic bacteria<ref>[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980305053307.htm]</ref>.

Many of the same substances have other uses in which they are referred to by different terms, e.g. in [[food preservation]], [[medicine]], religious [[rituals]], [[cosmetics]], [[perfumery]] or as [[vegetable]]s. For example, [[turmeric]] is also used as a [[preservative]]; [[licorice]] as a [[medicine]]; [[garlic]] as a [[vegetable]] and [[nutmeg]] as a [[recreational drug]].

Spices are distinguished from [[herb]]s, which are [[leaf]]y, green plant parts used for [[flavor|flavoring]] purposes.{{Fact|date=July 2007}} Herbs, such as [[basil]] or [[oregano]], may be used fresh, and are commonly chopped into smaller pieces; spices, however, are dried and usually ground into a [[powder]].

==Classification and types==
{{seealso|List of herbs and spices}}
[[Image:Morocco, Spices.JPG|thumb|250px|Shop with spices in [[Morocco]]]]
[[Salt]] is a very common [[seasoning]], often mistakenly considered as a spice, but it is in fact a [[mineral]] product.

The basic classification of spices is as follows:
* [[Leaves]] and/or [[branch]]es of aromatic plants, all or part of the plant can be used as one pleases. [[Basil]], [[bay leaf]], [[parsley]], [[rosemary]], [[tarragon]], and [[thyme]] are all good examples.
* [[Ripe]]ned [[fruits]] or [[seed]]s of plants. Examples include [[dill]], [[fennel]], [[Mustard seeds|mustard]], and [[Black Pepper|pepper]].
* [[Root]]s or [[bulb]]s of certain plants, [[garlic]] and [[ginger]], for example.

== History ==
Spices have been prominent in [[history|human history]] virtually since their inception. Spices were among the most valuable items of trade in the ancient and medieval world. The culinary use of spices originated in the [[India]]n Sub continent and South-East Asia. In the story of [[Genesis (Old Testament)|Genesis]], [[Joseph (Hebrew Bible)|Joseph]] was sold into slavery by his brothers to spice merchants. In the biblical [[poem]] [[Song of Solomon]], the male speaker compares his beloved to many forms of spices. Generally, [[Egypt]]ian, [[China|Chinese]], [[India]]n and [[Mesopotamian]] sources do not refer to known spices.

The spice trade developed throughout the [[Middle East]] in around 2000 BC with [[cinnamon]], [[Cinnamon#Cinnamon_and_cassia|Indonesian cinnamon]] and [[Black Pepper|pepper]].

A recent archaeolgical discovery suggests that the [[clove]], [[indigineous]] to the [[Indonesia]]n island of [[Ternate]] in the [[Maluku Islands]], could have been introduced to the [[Middle East]] very early on. Digs found a clove burnt onto the floor of a burned down kitchen in the Mesopotamian site of [[Terqa]], in what is now modern-day [[Syria]], dated to 1700 BC <ref>Buccellati et Buccellati (1983)</ref>. The ancient [[India|Indian]] [[Indian epic poetry|epic]] of [[Ramayana]] mentions cloves. In any case, it is known that the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] had cloves in the 1st century AD because [[Pliny the Elder]] spoke of them in his writings.

In [[South Asia]], [[nutmeg]], which originates from the [[Banda Islands]] in the [[Moluccas]], has a [[Sanskrit]] name. Sanskrit is the language of the sacred [[Hindu]] texts, this shows how old the usage of this spice is in this region. Historians estimate that nutmeg was introduced to [[Europe]] in the 6th century BC <ref>Burkill (1966)</ref>.

Indonesian [[merchants]] went around China, India, the Middle East and the east coast of Africa. [[Arab]] merchants controlled the routes through the Middle East and India until [[ancient Rome|Roman]] times with the discovery of new sea routes. This made the city of [[Alexandria]] in [[Egypt]] the main trading centre for spices because of its port.

===Middle Ages===
[[Image:Le_livre_des_merveilles_de_Marco_Polo-pepper.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Harvesting pepper. Illustration from a French edition of ''[[The Travels of Marco Polo]]''.]]
Spices were among the most luxurious products available in the [[Middle Ages]], the most common being [[black pepper]], [[cinnamon]] (and the cheaper alternative [[cassia]]), [[cumin]], [[nutmeg]], [[ginger]] and [[clove]]s. They were all imported from plantations in [[Asia]] and [[Africa]], which made them extremely expensive. From the 8th until the 15th century, the [[Republic of Venice]] had the monopoly on spice trade with the [[Middle East]], and along it with the neighboring Italian city-states. The trade made the region phenomenally rich. It has been estimated that around 1,000 [[ton]]s of pepper and 1,000 tons of the other common spices were imported into Western Europe each year during the [[Late Middle Ages]]. The value of these goods was the equivalent of a yearly supply of grain for 1.5 million people.<ref>Adamson, p. 65</ref> While pepper was the most common spice, the most exclusive was [[saffron]], used as much for its vivid yellow-red color as for its flavor. Spices that have now fallen into some obscurity include [[Aframomum melegueta|grains of paradise]], a relative of [[cardamom]] which almost entirely replaced pepper in late medieval north French cooking, [[long pepper]], [[nutmeg|mace]], [[spikenard]], [[galangal]] and [[cubeb]]. A popular modern-day misconception is that medieval cooks used liberal amounts of spices, particularly black pepper, merely to disguise the taste of spoiled meat. However, a medieval feast was as much a culinary event as it was a display of the host's vast resources and generosity, and as most nobles had a wide selection of fresh or preserved meats, fish or seafood to choose from, the use of ruinously expensive spices on cheap, rotting meat would have made little sense.<ref>Scully, pp. 84-86.</ref>

===Early modern period===
The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that [[Portugal|Portuguese]] navigator [[Vasco Da Gama]] sailed to [[India]] in 1499. [[Spain]] and [[Portugal]] were not happy to pay the high price that Venice demanded for spices. At around the same time, [[Christopher Columbus]] returned from the [[New World]], he described to [[investors]] the many new, and then unknown, spices available there.

It was [[Afonso de Albuquerque]] (1453–1515) who allowed the Portuguese to take control of the sea routes to India. In 1506, he took the island of [[Socotra]] in the mouth of the [[Red Sea]] and, in 1507, [[Ormuz]] in the [[Persian Gulf]]. Since becoming the [[viceroy]] of the [[Indies]], he took [[Goa]] in [[India]] in 1510, and [[Malacca]] on the [[Malay peninsula]] in 1511. The Portuguese could now trade directly with [[Siam]], [[China]] and the [[Moluccas]]. The [[Silk Road]] complemented the Portuguese sea routes, and brought the treasures of the [[Orient]] to [[Europe]] via [[Lisbon]], many of which are coveted spices.

==Common spice mixes==
[[Image:Spice-shelf.jpg|thumb|250px|right|A kitchen shelf of spice.]]
* Colombo ([[paprika]], [[cumin]], [[coriander]], [[nutmeg]], [[ginger]], [[black pepper]], [[star anise]], [[cardamom]], [[clove]]s, [[Mustard seeds|mustard grains]], [[saffron]]);
* [[Curry powder]];
* Five bays;
* [[Five-spice powder]];
* [[Garam masala]];
* [[Quatre épices]];
* [[Ras el hanout]];
* [[Za'atar]].

==Production==
{{Cookbook|Spice}}
{{wiktionary}}
{{commons|Category:Spices|{{PAGENAME}}}}
{| style="border: 1px solid rgb(153,153,153); padding: 2px;"
|-----
| colspan="6" align="center" bgcolor=#DDFFDD |
'''Production in tonnes. Figures 2003-2004'''<br /> <small>Researched by FAOSTAT ([[FAO]])</small>
|-----align="right"
|align="left"| [[India]]||1 600 000||86 %||1 600 000||86 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| [[Republic of China|China]]||66 000||4 %||66 000||4 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"|[[Bangladesh]]||48 000||3 %||48 000||3 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| [[Pakistan]]||45 300||2 %||45 300||2 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| [[Turkey]]||33 000||2 %||33 000||2 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| [[Nepal]]||15 500||1 %||15 500||1 %
|------align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| Other countries ||60 900||3 %||60 910||3 %
|-----align="right" style="padding: 2px;"
|align="left"| '''Total'''||'''1 868 700'''||100 %||'''1 868 710'''||100 %
|}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | author=[[Jack Turner (writer)|Turner, Jack]] | title=Spice: The History of a Temptation | publisher=Knopf | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-375-40721-9}}
*[http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/03/980305053307.htm Food Bacteria-Spice Survey Shows Why Some Cultures Like It Hot] Quote: “...Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano, for example, were found to be the best all-around bacteria killers (they kill everything)...Top 30 Spices with Antimicrobial Properties...”
*[http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/pr_fsaf/News%20Releases/relspicfung.htm August 18, 1998, Common Kitchen Spices Kill E. Coli O157:H7] Quote: “...The study is the first in the United States that looks at the effect of common spices on E. coli O157:H7. Previous studies have concluded spices kill other foodborne pathogens. “In the first part of our study, we tested 23 spices against E. coli O157:H7 in the laboratory,” Fung said. “We found that several spices are good at killing this strain of E. coli.”...”
*[http://www.thespicehouse.com/info/lore/ The Lure and Lore of Spices] Quote: “If the appearance of spices were to reflect their real importance in the history of the world, the bottles of spices would be filled with bright glittery substances, diamonds, rubies, emeralds or gold would be appropriate. When you opened the bottle, a poof of vibrantly colored, mystically fragrant, magical smoke would slowly billow softly throughout the room.”

==Notes==
<references/>

==Sources==
*Adamson, Melitta Weiss (2004), ''Food in Medieval Times''. ISBN 0-313-32147-7.
*Scully, Terence (1995), ''The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages''. ISBN 0-85115-611-8.

==See also==
*[[List of herbs and spices]]
*[[List of Indian spices]]
*[[Spice trade]]
*[[Run (island)]]: Seventeenth-century British-Dutch rivalry for a source of nutmeg, lead to the British exchanging this Indonesian island for Manhattan (New York)
* [[International Spicy Food Day]]

==External links==
*[http://www.mccormick.com/content.cfm?ID=8291 Enspicelopedia] at McCormick.com

[[Category:Spices|*]]

Spice - Revision history

Envoy at 05:12, 2 October 2007