40
submitted 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) by cheese_greater@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.world

Cinnamon, spice, and everything nice?

Would they have like came themself if they knew about allspice?

top 15 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] neidu3@sh.itjust.works 39 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I remember reading somewhere that "regular" pepper, such as black and white pepper were popular, because they were reasonably easy to get once you had a trade fleet up and running.

Also, salt was popular, but it was easy to make anywhere, so the colonialism didn't really factor in to supply:demand, other than a little increase in need for food preservation for long sea journeys.

Nutmeg basically caused east india company to commit genocide because of the popularity.

[-] Xatolos@reddthat.com 11 points 1 day ago

Townsend has a great YouTube video about the spices that the more poor would eat.

Nutmeg, cinnamon, peppercorns, and mace were expensive and so were desired/popular, but so are caviar, foie gras, and truffles today. But being popular doesn't make it what people really ate.

[-] RobotToaster@mander.xyz 19 points 1 day ago

Saffron, it's still pretty expensive today.

[-] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 6 points 1 day ago

because it has to be picked by hand, and sadly involves a lot of child labor

[-] yesman@lemmy.world 18 points 1 day ago

"spices" were valued for their exclusivity, or because rich people ate them.

For example, allium plants like garlic and onion were viewed with suspicion and disgust, even considered poisons. This isn't because they don't taste good, more that anybody with a garden could grow them. Meanwhile, spices like nutmeg, which only grow in far-off places were coveted.

This is also the probable explanation for prohibitions on pork. Pigs are the meat of the poor, because you don't need much land or resources to raise them. That old wives tale about trichinosis implies that ancient people were too stupid to cook their pork thoroughly while consuming chicken and fish that had the same illness and parasite problems as pigs.

[-] Semi_Hemi_Demigod@lemmy.world 13 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

And when spices became cheap enough for the masses, rich people suddenly wanted flavorless food.

ETA: This is an oversimplification. Rich people also wanted to show they didn't have to eat spoiled food, so they instructed their chefs to get the freshest ingredients and barely cook them to highlight its "natural flavor."

Poor people used cheap spices to hide spoilage, one example of which we know today as corned beef.

[-] DragonsInARoom@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago
[-] swordgeek@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 day ago
[-] AmidFuror@fedia.io 6 points 1 day ago
[-] thisbenzingring@lemmy.sdf.org 5 points 1 day ago

Fear is the mind killer...

[-] tal@lemmy.today 11 points 1 day ago

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice_trade

The spice trade involved historical civilizations in Asia, Northeast Africa and Europe. Spices, such as cinnamon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, star anise, clove, and turmeric, were known and used in antiquity and traded in the Eastern World.[1]

[-] JohnnyCanuck@lemmy.ca 10 points 1 day ago

The Wikipedia article on Spice has some pretty good details on the subject:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spice#%3A%7E%3Atext=Early+history

[-] altima_neo@lemmy.zip 7 points 1 day ago
[-] palordrolap@fedia.io 1 points 2 hours ago

More than you ever wanted to know about nutmeg, and its colonial history 105 minute documentary.

Insultingly simplistic TL;DW: New York might not have become New York if it wasn't for the nutmeg trade.

[-] Carrolade@lemmy.world 4 points 1 day ago

You know how you can put salt and pepper on most things? Salt comes from just about everywhere, but pepper does not.

this post was submitted on 26 Dec 2024
40 points (91.7% liked)

Ask Lemmy

27277 readers
1613 users here now

A Fediverse community for open-ended, thought provoking questions


Rules: (interactive)


1) Be nice and; have funDoxxing, trolling, sealioning, racism, and toxicity are not welcomed in AskLemmy. Remember what your mother said: if you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. In addition, the site-wide Lemmy.world terms of service also apply here. Please familiarize yourself with them


2) All posts must end with a '?'This is sort of like Jeopardy. Please phrase all post titles in the form of a proper question ending with ?


3) No spamPlease do not flood the community with nonsense. Actual suspected spammers will be banned on site. No astroturfing.


4) NSFW is okay, within reasonJust remember to tag posts with either a content warning or a [NSFW] tag. Overtly sexual posts are not allowed, please direct them to either !asklemmyafterdark@lemmy.world or !asklemmynsfw@lemmynsfw.com. NSFW comments should be restricted to posts tagged [NSFW].


5) This is not a support community.
It is not a place for 'how do I?', type questions. If you have any questions regarding the site itself or would like to report a community, please direct them to Lemmy.world Support or email info@lemmy.world. For other questions check our partnered communities list, or use the search function.


6) No US Politics.
Please don't post about current US Politics. If you need to do this, try !politicaldiscussion@lemmy.world or !askusa@discuss.online


Reminder: The terms of service apply here too.

Partnered Communities:

Tech Support

No Stupid Questions

You Should Know

Reddit

Jokes

Ask Ouija


Logo design credit goes to: tubbadu


founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS