History of Spice Notes

History Of raciness Egyptians used a lot of racinesss for cooking and stuffed mummies Burned cinnamon to hide stench scratch line recorded spice businessd spice with India Spice trade silk road alone roads go to fertile crescent Arabs created a monopoly on the spice trade moving tocellblock Europe Arabs Kept Europeans in the dark roughly the root of spices brought from India Created secrets and Myths Might b crude seeds so Europeans couldnt grow it Crusaders brought approve new spices when they returned from battle which increased demand in Europe and had in any case developed a taste for spice increasing demand Spice Obsessions Only attainable by ruling classEmblems of power, gifts of state, heirlooms, currency Pepper outlay its weight in gold, used as currency Plagued by counterfeiting desiccated juniper berries (added to extend capsicum pepper plant) Spice Obsession Theories surmisal 1 employ spice as preservative (pepper) Not much evidence (salt deeds fine, local s pices, afford fresh meat) Theory 2 Medicine Theory 3 Medieval palate was dull Theory 4 Trade Route Inflation Middle man increase prices along silk road End of Obsession (17th century) Figure out you could grow spice Markets were vestal Moderate use of spice New groups of thundering chilis coffee tea sugar, chocolate Pepper- Piper nig suspiciousMost important spice economically America is the worlds largest importer Woody, perennial (3 seasons or more), tropical climbing vine No synchronization Monsoon tropical forests of Malabar coats, SW India Heat Alkaloid irritants piperine Inner core perfume From essential oil Pericarp, outer(a)shell Green pepper comes from unripe berries (least hot) Black pepper fully grown and dried unclouded pepper removed(p) strip down (hottest) Cinnamon Cinnamomum verum Small cone-bearing tree in ribbon family (true Cinnamon Ceylon) native-born to Sri Lanka light flavor, fine texture, little Coumarin 2 yr old branches cut and fermented for 24 hrs nner bark peeled and dried to manikin quills Cassia (fake) evergreen native to India, Indonesia and Vietnam Closely related, mostly US Thicker bark, tout ensemble tree used Heavy flavor, coarse texture, high coumarin Coumarin appetite suppressing medical exam/ research antioxidant, antimicrobial, type II diabetes Saffron Crocus sativus Iran major exporter, very high-priced Perennial bulb, 2 f visits per bulb, completely domesticated 3 stigmas, manual collect Egypt Cleopatra, healers Disappeared with Roman Empire but came back as plague refine Afghanistan poppy vs. Saffron Flowers Pollination the transfer of pollen from anther to stigmaCross pollination Chance (pollen in air out or water), or animals Mutualism, coevolution (trick or reward animals to pollenate) Egyptians thought divine power, no-good lotus Ancient Greece floral wreaths Ancient Rome Floralia festival Christian flowers where pure no sex Theophrastus date palms pollinated by hand, proved counterpart Fall of rom an empire, fall of flower, (great suspicion) Gained popularity Europe 600 AD Posies thought to ward off plague Saint Thomas plants look at reproductive virtues Linnaeus taxonomic system based on flowers Botanophilia Victorian Age women grew flowersSexual repression, low allowance account of crime, and strong social ethic Grew orchids (a massive man-made liquidation event) Epiphytic plant plant grow on some other plant (non-parasitic) Orchidmania Biggest flowering plant family, highly evolved (very guarded against self-pollination), native species on every continent Grow slowly (7 yrs to mature and flower), long lived genus Catasetum orchid inspired Darwins early book Ghost orchid Tulipmania native heterozygote First cultivated around turkey because moved to Holland Tulip rupture potyvirus (suppressed anthocyanin) (weakened plant) Spread by peach/potato aphidMutability, novelty, favored by royalty, bubonic plague era, scarcity/ demand 1635 shift, traded in future promissory no tes great Fool Theory (1637 crash) Smell 1 0f 50 human genes in the human genome are devoted to perceive Olfaction sense of opinion, chemical molecules Olfactory tract transmits signals to limbic system To smell must have Volatile must easily evaporate Water soluble lipid soluble Essential oils is what makes plants smell (2nd ary plant metabolite) Isolation of Essential Oils rouse effects the smell Expression simplest, squeezed out, citrusDistillation most used, boil, collect steam, condense to oil light upnt extraction delicate flowers, grind up, steep in chemicals, then evaporate Effleurage oldest method, plant material in dilate, dissolve out fat Synthetic molecule Scent and Memory Proustian Effect smell linked to memories, takes you back Scent marketing Billboard smell makes impolite statement (popcorn) Thematic smell compliments decor (Christmas smell) Ambient smell cover foul odor Signature smell Sugar (refers to umteen groups of carbohydrates) Monosaccharides simple sugars, cant be broken down Glucose basic source of energy (produced photosynthesis)Disaccharides 2 monosacc. Are joined together and H2O removed Glucose can from starch (storage in plants) or glycogen (storage in animals) dear was the first sweetener used by humans Sugarcane Native to S/SE Asia, cultivated in India Large tropical grass, stores saccharose in internodes Stems crushed, boil sap, separate sugar crystals US 150 lbs/ yr consumed Arab traders brought to Mediterranean, sugar reached Europe after crusades, Columbus to Dominican Republic projection first from indigenous people and forced labor from Europe Solve labor shortage imported slave British dominant traders in slaves and sugarSeen as butcherly and replaceable Malnutrition and starvation Triangle trade Sugar, rum to Europe guns, salt, iron to Africa slaves to Carib covered stadium Sugar, molasses to America rum to Africa, slaves to Car. Why so rude? Very profitable, high demand, triangle trade Occurred in isolati on unskilled labor abolitionists end in 1834 Chocolate Cacao tree genus Theobroma cacao, native tropical S America, Grows tall, hot climate, lots of rain, understory tree (shaded, damp) Cauliflory flowers from torso or large branches Each flower potential fruit, insect that pollinates besides in understory Olmec, Mayan, AztecProcess Fermentation pulp liquefied, seeds briefly germinate (choc. Flavor) Drying lose weight, outer shell loosens Roasting refines flavor Winnowing removes outer shell Cravings caffein and theobromine (humans not very sensitive to ) Cannabinoid mimics Phenethylamines chemicals associated with love Serotonin Coffee Coffea, understory tree, tropical evergreen, produc berries 3 yrs old Coffee fruit (drupe) contains 2 coffee beans Center of origin Ethiopia highlands Coffea Arabica 1st cultivated, wimpy (lower caffeine and yield) Coffea canephora (robusta) 2x caffeine, greater yieldShade Grown (traditional) coffee Originally understory trees Diverse habitat Mini mal need for pesticides and fertilizers Sun Grown Coffee Monoculture system produced by clear cutting forest Increased fertilizers herbicides and insecticides Increased soil eroding Coffee berry borer, natural predator ants Tea Popularity tea, coffee, beer Camellia sinensis, evergreen tree/shrub China tea, 1st discovered and cultivated, cool climate, lower yield, lighter flavor Assam Tea, tree, less resistant to cold, high yields, brisk flavor Center or origin chinawareOxidation=fermentation Startch to sugar, tannins released Polyphenols Antioxidant properties Catechines 25% Concentrated in fresh, unbroken, unfermented Tannins 50% break leaves tannins released Types Tulsi tea related to mint, not china tea Medical/religious, India Hinduism Black withered, full fermentation, crushed, dries (usually assam tea) brick Oolong btw withered, short fermentation, rolled or ball form Green Tea little withering, dried, high polyphenols (china tea) White tea young leaves, no oxidation, higher catechins, healthyiest *