Spices
Wars were fought over them, kingdoms were lost because of them, and new lands were discovered in search of them. In ancient times and for centuries to follow, spices were often more precious than gold.
But before they were money, spices were medicines. Turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, ginger, and black peppercorns—healers all—are among the oldest spices, with their use dating back to the world’s first civilizations. Sanskrit writings from the India of 3,000 years ago describe the varied therapeutic uses of spices, and ancient medical texts from China are filled with remedies using spices for hundreds of ailments.
Spices Throughout History
Spices originated in India, Indonesia, and other parts of south and southeast Asia and—as anciently as 2600 BCE—were imported from Asia to the countries of the eastern Mediterranean, such as Syria and Egypt.
The Egyptians revered spices—literally—using cinnamon and cassia for mummification, and putting them in the tombs of pharaohs as a necessary accompaniment in the afterlife.
The Romans saw spices as the ultimate luxury item. They perfumed palaces and temples with them. At banquets, heaps of spices were on display to enthrall guests, and were used to flavor foods and wines. Even legionnaires headed off to battle wearing spice-scented perfumes. In the first century, Roman officials were outraged when the Emperor Nero burned a year’s worth of precious cinnamon on his wife’s funeral bier. In the fifth century, the raiding Visigoths agreed to call off their siege of Rome for a bounty of gold, silver—and pepper.
In the 8th to the 15th centuries, the spice trade was controlled by the Republic of Venice, which became fabulously wealthy as a result—with Arabs playing the role of middlemen, zealously guarding the secret sources of most spices, to keep demand and prices high. In the late 15th century, Portugal and Spain sought to break that monopoly—and the sea voyage of Christopher Columbus, looking for a new Western route to the “Spice Islands,” inadvertently “discovered” the Americas.
As Columbus sailed west, others sailed east. Over the following centuries, the Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, French, and British colonized the countries that were the source of spices. By the 17th century, the spice-trading Dutch East India Company was the richest corporation in the world, with 50,000 employees, 30,000 soldiers, and 200 ships. Spices, says an article in The Economist, are the “world economy’s oldest, deepest, most aromatic roots.”
By the 18th century, spices were grown around the world and in large quantities—and spices had become one among many commodities in world trade.
In the 21st century the dramatic history of spices is repeating itself—in terms of scientific exploration. Modern medical and nutritional researchers are discovering unimaginable riches of health in the spices that have been such an integral part of human history.
The Jewels of the Plant Kingdom
Spices contain an abundance of phytonutrients, plant compounds that bestow health and promote healing in a variety of ways. Most of them are powerful antioxidants that control and disarm the reactive oxygen species (also known as “free radicals”) that can damage cells, causing illness and aging. Phytonutrients are also anti-inflammatory—and chronic, low-grade inflammation has been linked to the development of many of our most debilitating and deadly health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Spices also derive their healing power from their large concentration of volatile oils, the compounds that supply their pungent aromas. (Volatile, a word used by chemists, means a rapidly evaporating oil that doesn’t leave a stain and that smells like the plant it’s from.)
Epidemiological studies that explore the link between diet and health show that populations eating a diet rich in spices have lower rates of certain diseases. The United States, for instance, has three times the rate of colon cancer as India, which is well known for its spicy cuisine. India also has one of the world’s lowest rates of Alzheimer’s disease. Greece, well known for a healthy diet rich in garlic, onions, rosemary, and marjoram, enjoys a low rate of heart disease. Spain, the country that consumes the most saffron, has low levels of the “bad” LDL cholesterol that clogs arteries and increases the risk of heart disease.
But, you might ask, can’t you get all of those phytonutrients from fruits and vegetables? Quite simply, no. Spices contain many unique phytonutrients. Here are just a few examples:
•Curcumin has potent anti-cancer properties, and studies show it can fight dozens of other diseases. Its only source: the spice turmeric.
• Thymoquinone, a powerful immune booster, is found only in the Indian spice black cumin.
• Piperine, the compound that makes you sneeze when you eat black pepper, protects brain cells and has a dozen other healing actions.
• Carbazole alkaloids, which fight type 2 diabetes, colon cancer, and Alzheimer’s disease, are found only in curry leaf, an Indian spice.
• Galangal acetate, which eases arthritis, is found only in galangal, an Asian spice.
• Diosgenin, found in fenugreek, can douse inflammation and kill cancer cells.
• Anethole, found in both anise and fennel, relaxes menstrual cramps and can quiet a colicky baby.
• Eugenol, which gives clove its distinctive aroma, is a powerful natural painkiller.
• Rosemarinic acid makes rosemary one of the most powerful antioxidants on earth.
• Gingerol, a compound in ginger, tames nausea.
• Hydroxycitric acid, abundant in the Indian spice kokum, powerfully inhibits appetite (and is already a leading ingredient in many weight-loss formulas).
• Capsaicin, found only in chiles, can help relieve the symptoms of arthritis and psoriasis.
As you’ll read in Healing Spices, these and other compounds have many different mechanisms of action, along with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory powers. Many spices are powerful battlers of microbes—bacteria, viruses, and fungi. They limit the release of histamine, the biochemical that causes allergic symptoms. They strengthen the disease-fighting immune system. They regulate blood sugar and insulin levels, preventing or treating diabetes. They calm nerves, easing anxiety and pain. They boost metabolism, burning calories. They play hormone-like roles, balancing, strengthening, and regenerating the body. They relax the muscles of the digestive tract, relieving intestinal ills. With all these abilities and more, they can even slow aging.
How to Use This website section
You can gain the health benefits I just mentioned by eating plenty of spices. How do you do that? Read and use this website!
Healing Spices is a voyage to a wondrous new world of spices, in which you’ll discover important and useful knowledge to improve your health—while experiencing an unforgettable culinary and sensory adventure along the way! Even if spices are totally foreign to you, I promise that by the time you finish this website, you’ll feel like an old hand.
Just promise me one thing: Don’t be intimidated by spices that are unfamiliar to you, or by what appears to be a lot of spices in a recipe. First, these spices may not be as foreign as you think. (I’ll say more about that in a moment.) And the fact that a recipe contains a lot of spices doesn’t necessarily mean the recipe is hard to make, time-consuming, or fiery-hot. I know that once you’ve read the entry on any one of the 50 healing spices in this website, all the foreboding and confusion you may have felt about what to do with that spice will have vanished. You’ll feel just as confident shaking a little galangal or star anise into a stir-fry as you are sprinkling it with salt and pepper!
You may want to start reading about the spices that:
• interest you the most,
• help you manage a health problem you have,
• help guard against a health problem you want to avoid,
• are a part of your favorite ethnic cuisine,
• or simply pique your curiosity.
I just have one suggestion before you get started. Read the next posts. It offers the basics on buying spices and working with them in the kitchen. Contrary to what you may think, putting more spice in your life doesn’t require a big investment or special tools. (Yes, you will need a tool to grind spices, but chances are you already have a suitable appliance that will do the job.)
The healing potential of each spice. I put a spice in this website only if there is intriguing or established science showing the spice may help prevent or heal specific conditions and diseases. That science is presented in everyday language—in fact, you might find yourself actually enjoying reading about scientific studies! For quick reference, all of the health conditions potentially affected by each spice are highlighted in a box in the post.
Getting to know the spice. I offer the most interesting highlights into each spice’s medicinal and culinary history. You may be surprised to discover that a spice you swear you’ve never tasted is actually a key ingredient in some of your favorite ethnic dishes. Did you know, for example, that galangal is to Thai dishes what garlic is to Italian food? It’s practically in everything Thai. Did you know that authentic Mexican cooks are just as passionate about putting cocoa in a sauce or savory dish as they are about chiles? That’s why I say the spices you may think are “foreign” to you are probably already in foods you enjoy.
How to buy the spice. You’ll get specific advice on making the best purchase—the best form in which to buy a spice in order to derive the most flavor, the country reputed to be the exporter of the most flavorful variety of the spice, where you can buy the best (sometimes for less), how a particular spice should smell, and even how to examine a spice for flaws and age. You’ll also learn how to store a spice for maximum lifespan.
In the kitchen with the spice. This section provides great culinary advice for each spice. It removes all the mystery (but not the magic) from using the spice in cooking, offering specific suggestions on creatively using it to enhance your meals, so you can enjoy the spice’s health- giving benefits. It also offers a list of other spices that are good complements, and dishes where the spice shines—indispensable information for creating your own recipes.
A recipe showcasing the spice. For each spice, you’ll find a recipe that showcases its special flavor. All the recipes were developed and tested just for this website. Many of the recipes selected are classics, such as: Chicken Oreganata (featuring oregano, of course); Spain’s romescu sauce, a tomato-based sauce thickened with pulverized almonds, which is featured in Prawns with Almond Hot Pepper Sauce; or Hungarian Goulash, which wouldn’t be authentic without caraway. There are also sparkling originals, such as Roasted Tomato Soup with Fennel and Mint, Pears Poached in Port and Star Anise, and Shellfish in Saffron Broth.
That’s right, curry is neither a spice nor a dish. It is a method of cooking, using a variety of spices to produce unique mouth-watering aromas.
I also offer curry spice mixes and pastes from the world’s most famous curry-making nations so you can duplicate the tastes on your own. Plus, I offer more than two dozen spice mixes—also among the world’s most famous—that you can make ahead, so you can whip up a spice delight with the least amount of effort. I also offer suggestions on the best ways to use these mixes.
“Spices as Natural Medicines,” is a condition-by-condition reference guide that lists all the spices that have been scientifically shown to have preventive or healing potential for each one of more than 150 health conditions, from acne, arthritis, and anxiety to stroke, ulcers, and wrinkles. In cases where a scientific study successfully tested a therapeutic dosage, that amount is included.
“Resources,” is a buyer’s guide that eliminates the legwork in finding some of the more hard-to-find healing spices. Out of this spices in this website, perhaps a dozen aren’t likely to be available in even the best stocked grocery store. No problem! Thanks to the Internet, even the most exotic spice is just a click away. By using this guide, all the spices in this website can be in your kitchen nearly overnight. (My recipe testers had no problem getting them and none live in a big city.)
That’s how to use this website. I know I don’t have to explain why—spices are an incredibly tasty and healing addition to a healthy, healing lifestyle. Enjoy!
What Is a Spice?Think of coal becoming a diamond. Think of the 0/1 of bytes blossoming into the images you see on the computer screen. Think of a tablespoon of cocoa powder transforming an ordinary glass of milk into a delicious treat. Think of anything concentrated—a distillate of the original—that delivers a bounty of whatever the original contained, plus its own unique (and often more delightful) qualities.
That’s a spice.
A spice is edible, aromatic, and dried, and it comes from a plant’s root, bark, stem, bud, leaves, flower, fruit, or seed. Spices come in a veritable rainbow of rich hues—brilliant reds, oranges, browns, greens, blacks, and whites. Unlike herbs, all spices are edible.
A spice is not an herb. Herbs are usually leaves, and they’re not always edible. For example, cilantro (the herb) is the fresh leaves of a plant; coriander (the spice) is the dried seed of the same plant. When leaves are dried, they become a spice.
(Like all definitions, however, the definition of a spice is not so, well, cut-and-dried. In this website, I’ve included a few spices that don’t exactly fit the above definition of a spice, but which are widely used to spice foods. Onion is one example. Lemongrass—a leaf that is used fresh rather than dried—is another. But for the most part, the definition above is the best way to understand what a spice is and what it isn’t.)
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire