Spices

Spices as a currency

Did you ever think about how easy we can pay nowadays? The usage of coins, credit cards and pay-pal has become an of-course situation. But this is a recent achievement. In the past, desired things and necessary goods were changed against rare goods of a high constant value. For quite a long time, spices have been among those rare goods, which needed to be brought from afar under very hard conditions. Pepper was one of these. After Alexander the Great's Indian campaign in 326 BC pepper found its way to the Europe's Southeast: Caravans brought pepper and other spices into the Mediterranean area on camel-back. Oriental spices were exclusive luxury goods for the dishes of the rich and noblemen. In the early middle ages spices were a kind of status symbol of a good and wealthy cuisine in Europe. Pepper was sold in single grains and weighed against pure gold! It was also accepted as a currency to pay one's taxes or lease. Merchants who made a lot of money with that business soon were called „pepperbags“ by ordinary people.

Arabic Salesmen kept origin of pepper goods top secret for centuries. The most important trading centre for spices was Venice until the end of the 15th century. The Venetians kept and defended successfully the privilege of controlling the shipping of goods from and to oriental countries, not giving other seafarer nations the slightest chance to compete with them in trading. Discovering America in 1492, Christopher Columbus' journey was not only inspired by the thought to proof his geographical theories but to discover new future „trading partners“ overseas. Plenty of gold could be found there and Vanilla in huge amounts, but no spices! Asia still kept its leading position in exporting pepper. In 1498 the Portuguese seafarer Vasco da Gama found the proper sea way to India and Goa became a Portuguese colony. Thus Lisbon became the new Capital of spices, keeping this title for roughly 100 years until they had to yield to the Dutch, which have become a mighty sea power. Amsterdam became then the new centre for the spice trade until they had to bow before the English crown. England's sea power defended London's role as the new capital of spices.

Meanwhile pepper is grown not only in Asia, but in Africa and South America as well. In German kitchens, fresh herbs can be found just next to exotic ones from countries far beyond. Even In high organic quality. Spices are not only to spice up a dish, but to improve one's health. Some of them, esp. mustard, capsicum and pepper improve the taste, others like garlic, and horseradish show antiseptic effects. Spices like caraway, anis and fennel are digestives.

In 2000 a law was passed in Germany which legalized treating dried herbs with ionized rays to kill fungus and bacteria. But: this does not apply for organic products. Herbaria, Sonnentor and Lebensbaum just use water steam treatment, an absolute harmless method for humans. But the main target is, to fight germs. Thus, good selection of raw materials, drying, storing and regular checks of the remaining humidity in the herbs are the most important issues of quality management. On organic farms, the usage of pesticides and herbicides is totally banned. Gene altered plants are also not allowed to be grown there. Of course organic products therefore need more time and care than others, but your tongue and your taste will for sure realize the difference.

White, green, red, black or colourful pepper?

Pepper is the most used spice in Germany. But the whole variety of taste of this berry is only known to few. There are big differences in taste, depending o the provenance and the kind of the grains themselves, there stage of maturity and they way they are processed. To enjoy the whole aroma you should ground it in your own mill right before use. Not every spice which is called pepper comes from the piper nigrum plant. Some plants have a similar taste to pepper. The so called Cayenne Pepper for example is a hot spice but it dried and ground chilli.

„Real“ Pepper is a flowering wine, which needs trees where it can wind up. Its maximum length can be up to 10m. The first fruits can be harvested after three years. During the stages of maturity the colour changes from green to red-yellow. The right point of time of harvesting and the way of processing the grains determine their colour and taste. Green Pepper is immature. After harvesting it is put in vinegar or in brine to be preserved. Another method of preserving is dry and freeze.

Black pepper is also made of green, immature grain, which is harvested just before becoming mature. After harvesting they are thrown into boiling water for a short while, which turns their colour into black. Drying in the sun they get their typical wizened surface. The later the pepper is picked, the more aromatic it becomes. But you should not miss the right point of time for harvesting, because if you wait too long, the sugar content in the grains becomes to high and the pepper cannot be fermented. That's why they should be picked once they have a yellow/red colour.

Black Pepper made of almost-mature grains has a good and powerful aroma. Its grains are larger than the green ones and its colour is dark brown/black. This pepper only grows in India and is called Tellicherry pepper.

White pepper is made from mature grain. After the harvest they are put into water for several days. The shells are swelling and can be removed easily so that you can get the white cores, which are dried in the sun. The heat of the pepper is right below the shell and once you remove this shell, most of the heat is gone.

Kubeben Pepper is of southeast Asian provenance. In Indonesia it is used as a Spice, whereas Indians use it as an aphrodisiac. This spice is part of several spice mixes. It is harvested at an immature stage and dried in the sun. Its black grains taste hot, a light bitter and remind of clove-pepper.

Kerala pepper (actually Jungle pepper, but this does not exist in English) is quite an extraordinary Spice: In India's national parks (e.g. Periyar) old, almost extinct pepper plants are grown organically and harvested manually. These eco-projects are financially supported by the government. Compared to conventional pepper, this pepper contains more essential oils and is more powerful in spice and taste. It is also available in different kinds: green, black, white and Tellicherry.

Pink Pepper (growing in Brazil) does not belong to the pepper plants mentioned above, although they are very similar in taste. It is a bit less spicy, a bit more mawkish and fruity than black pepper. Because of its shining pink colour you will find it in every pepper grain mix. Brazilian pepper, sometimes also called Christmasberry (not to be confused with Ruscus). Branches of this tree with its noticeable berries, which are very close to each other, are used for Christmas decoration in snow-free regions. Breaking the branches or rubbing the leaves a „peppery“ smell can be noticed.

The high prices which were once paid for pepper was only exceeded by the costs of one thing: long pepper, which is a close relative to black pepper. The berries can be found in a short brown cone (they look like fir cones but only about 1 inch in length). Since long pepper contains much more piperine than black pepper, it is much hotter in taste and has a fruity note. To grind it a pepper mill will be of no use, you will need a mortar to crush it there.

Capsicum and its kind

Although there are different kinds of capsicum there are two important main groups. The mild ones and the hot ones. Chilli and red pepper for example, belong to this group. This difference in taste is made by an alkaloid called: Capsaicin. The more capsaicin the hotter it is. Green, yellow and red capsicum contains only a small amount of that alkaloid, that's why they have a mild taste. The colours show the different stages of maturity. The green ones are immature, the yellow ones are at further stage and the red ones are mature. The yellow ones have the mildest taste, whereas the red ones taste mawkish and the green ones taste bitter.

The chillies also belong to the same family. They are also called red pepper but to avoid confusion with pepper grains, the term chilli is used. The heat is caused by capsaicin which can be found in the seeds of the chilli. The stage of maturity follows a different pattern in colour compared to capsicum. First green, followed by light brown, dark brown and finally dark red. After harvesting the fruits are dried and ground. The more ground seed, the hotter it is.

By selection of the kind and by the dose of the ground seeds the heat can be influenced. There are different levels of quality and heat: The best capsicum will be proceeded to „Delikatess Paprika“ which has a mild aroma gives a light red colour to the dishes. Sweet Pepper powder has got a mild, but very spicy heat and colours the dishes dark red. It is the most used pepper powder in Germany. The so called half sweet pepper is spicier. It is used to spice up meat dishes. Since it contains a lot of grated capsicum seeds, the burning hot „Rose Paprika“ is the hottest of the capsicum based pepper powder (the chillies not included!). It also colours the dishes dark red and is used to spice up Hungarian dishes like Goulash. Sometimes hot „Paprika“-powder is also often called Cayenne-pepper. The name refers to a kind of chilly named Cayenne. Its taste is quite penetrating and biting.

Dosing: Some teaspoons of mild paprika powder can be added to meals, whereas only a knife point of Rose Paprika could be enough to spice up a meal. The spice needs to be added soon enough, once the meal is boiling the taste of the spice cannot be passed onto it. But be careful, the sugar contained in paprika will caramelize in boiling fat and give a bitter taste to the meal. If the dish is too hot you can compensate it with rice, curd, or sweets. However, water does not help since capsaicin does not solve in water.

Caraway, jeera and black cumin

Caraway is one of the oldest spices in Europe. Excavating Settlements dating from the bronze age caraway seeds were found. It was also found in ancient Egypt burial chambers amongst the grave goods. In the middle ages caraway was of additional use: Wearing small bags of caraway underneath one's clothes was said to protect from witchcraft.

Today caraway is a firm component of cooked cheese, jeera is an important part of the Indian cuisine and black cumin is necessary in oriental flatbread.

Germans are some of the highest consumers of caraway. There are two reasons for that: first it can be grown very simply in huge amounts in central Europe and their love and passion for Sauerkraut. Sauerkraut without caraway is unthinkable. Since the German words for this three spices look quite similar one should stay away from confusing them! From a botanic point of view they belong to the same line: umbelliferous plants. But they grow in different climate zones and have a different taste.

During the cooking process the taste of caraway does not mix with other spices. It provides a mawkish sweet taste and is similar to anis. Jeera is even more mawkish in taste but also more spicy. After roasting or frying the taste becomes milder. Black cumin seeds are quite spicy and a bit bitter. Its Taste reminds you of oregano. Black cumin is also known for its healing effects, because of its essential oils. The prophet allegedly said that black cumin was a cure against everything except death.

Even experts disagree whether caraway should be used in the whole or grated. „Caraway supporters“ will always use the whole fruit, whereas others may find it too strong in taste. Fresh ground Caraway is of the same power in spicing like whole fruits but is free of essential oils. Unground caraway can be stored for a long time, once it is grounded it loses its taste after a short time.

Cinnamon: Cassia-Cinnamon and Ceylon Cinnamon

Cinnamon is also one of the oldest spices in the world. 5000 years ago merchants from ancient Egypt imported cinnamon from Asia. Precious oils and perfumes are made of cinnamon and the Pharaos loved its subtle aroma very much. Julius Caesar was said to have brought this spice from Egypt to Rome. The Romans did not only use it as a spice but also as an aphrodisiac. After the decay of the Roman Empire cinnamon was doomed to oblivion until the returning crusaders brought it again back to Europe. But only noblemen were able to afford this precious spice and did not only add it to sweet dishes, but also to meat and fish as well.

Today we distinguish between two different kinds of cinnamon: Cassia and Ceylon cinnamon. Both are made of the dried bark of the cinnamon tree. But there are two differences: Ceylon cinnamon uses the inner bark only, whereas Cassia uses the all the layers of the bark. A Ceylon cinnamon stick reminds clearly of a cigar. The subtle sub-layers of the inner bark look like tobacco leaves. In taste it has a subtle, light and sweet aroma.

A Cassia cinnamon stick is thicker, of reddish brown colour, they are stronger in taste but also a bit harsh. Since they lose their aroma only very slowly, you can store them for quite a long time. On the European market grated cinnamon is mostly sold. The two kinds of cinnamon lose their difference in taste after grating.

Salt is not just salt

Salt is vital for the human being. Salt contains chlorine and sodium. The human organism can not produce these two elements, but needs them urgently. Sodium steers the liquid household of the body. Looked at it objectively, salt is not a spice but a mineral, but a mineral that influences the taste of food. Therefore, it has a vital role in context with spices. Basically, salt can be subdivided in three main groups, which can again be split in sub-groups: evaporated salt, rock salt and sea salt. Evaporated salt is the one you can buy for a cheaply, with all kinds of incorporations, at any convenient store. As a rule, the salt was cooked as long as there was no mineral left before entering the package. This is comparable to cooking fresh vegetables. The longer they cook the fewer vitamins they hold. Evaporated kitchen salt is most likely pure NaCl. A small fraction of it reaches our plates. The main part is needed by industry, for producing detergents and plastic...

Herbs or Spices?

Asking oneself this question the answer can be given easily, as long as the herbs are fresh. But what about dried and grated herbs? Do they count as herbs or spices? What about fresh curry which is used in India? Is it actually spice or herb? Many among the spice producers distinguish herbs from spices on their lists. Although there is no clear definition of what a herb or a spice actually is, there are many theories. One is based upon the different motivation of the usage. Herbs, so the theory sais, are used to improve the taste of a dish (like basil, rosemary, oregano), whereas spices (capsicum, pepper, cinnamon) are used to spice up and to cover the original taste of a dish. Another theory follows a biological approach: If the leaves, they be dried or fresh, of a plant are used, you call it a herb. If you use aromatic parts of the plant such as the root, the stem, or the bark you call it a spice. However, this theory is not 10% true. If it comes to coriander it can be both, since the leaves and the seeds are used as well and they both are called coriander. In addition to that one can point out that the leaves themselves are also aromatic parts. Others claim that trading conflicts and colonial wars were fought because of spices, herbs were always grown peacefully and never a reason for a trading conflict or a war. Nowadays herbs and spices are so cheap that we cannot imagine them to be a reason even for a little quarrel. Another approach is the so called geographical one: Herbs are plants which grow in our Latitudes, imported leaves, dried and grated, are counted as spices then. In medical books of every culture many plants are listed as a cure and many dried plants from Asia we use for spicing show healing effects if you use them freshly cut or picked. On the Violey homepage you can find under „Herbs“ also common spices, which you can also add to your private spice garden.