The use of spices in culinary experiments are on the rise across
cuisines of the world. This is true for both professional and
amateur chefs. Food lovers are diversifying their tastes and are
very keen to expose taste buds to new flavours and aromas. Most
of this is of course driven by the seasoning, the herbs and the
spices that are added to food ingredients.
There is some historical evidence to suggest that in the days of
the ‘hunters and gatherers’, the flavour from leaves and barks
was accidentally discovered when food was wrapped in these.
Many herbs and spices were originally used for medicinal
purposes and their ability to enhance the taste of food was
possibly an incidental corollary to the original theorem. It might
have also been the case that certain herbs, leaves and other
seasonings might have been added to certain foods to help mask
their unpleasant odour or taste.
So, where did all this start? Where did spices come from and who
were the early users of spices? Here’s the spicy trail.
In 1555 BC, Papyri documented that coriander, juniper, fennel,
cumin, garlic and thyme were widely used both as preservative
agents and for their medicinal
values. In fact, there is ancient
documentation that prove that
the workers who built the great
Pyramids ate garlic and onion for
enhancing physical strength.
The inhabitants of ancient Egypt
were aware of saffron and often
flavoured their foods with seasalt, thyme and marjoram.
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