HISTORY OF SPICES EARLY HUMANS ( APE-MAN)

The story started from a very early period around 6-million years ago early men used to eat meat in wrapped leaves of different trees they realized that the wrapping of leaves changes the taste of food. This is where the discovery of spices started. The abundant informational documents show the historical uses of spices for health benefits. Ancient civilizations did not differentiate between the plants that gave flavor and medicinal uses. It was later on distinguished based on seed, root, stem, and leaves flavor and their smell. And the flavors which were good in taste came in demand and the demand increased day by day. Became a norm for that culture as a flavor enhancer.

BIBLICAL TIME AND ANCIENT EGYPT In ancient times the spices were used for a lot of things like religious offerings, demand rituals, medicines, and trade. In Bible, spices are mentioned numerous times. In the song of Solomon, some species are mentioned it like cinnamon and saffron. Works who constructed the Great Pyramid of Cheops consumed garlic and onion because it provides good stamina and promotes health. So, onion and garlic were major promoted spices for health benefits. Egyptians also liked to flavor their food with cardamom and cinnamon which they sourced from Ethiopia.

INDIAN ORIGINS Black paper, cinnamon, turmeric, and cardamom have been used by Indians for thousands of years for both culinary and health purposes. The spices indigenous to India were cultivated in the 8th century BC in the gardens of Babylon. An ancient surgeon used Mustard and other, aromatic plants in bedsheets To worm off malignant spirits. Medical writer of Charaka and Sushruta ll referenced spices and herbs. Species such as cloves and cardamom were wrapped in betel nut leaves and chewed meals for increasing the flow of saliva and aid digestion.

MORE ABOUT THESE SPICES

Garlic: Garlic is a botanical vegetable. It is generally used to spice up your favorite food. It is not like most, vegetables, it is not cooked off it’s on. Mainly it is used to add flavor to the food.

Cinnamon: Cinnamon is the inner dried bark of evergreen trees. Cinnamon varies in color pigment from yellowish-brown, reddish-brown to darker brown. The characteristics of its flavor are woody, musty, sweet, astringent, and bitter. Cinnamon is used in baked dishes, with fruits, and in confections. There are two types of cinnamon ground and stick cinnamon. Both ground and stick are readily available.

Cloves: They are the fired unopened flower buds, which are nail shaped, they are obtained from the evergreen trees of Syzygium aromaticum. Cloves are primarily grown in Indonesia and Madagascar. Whole and ground cloves both are brown. The flavor enhanced by cloves is fruity, medicinal, minty, woody and Eugenol.

Black paper: Black paper is obtained from small dried berries of vine piper nigrum. It is primarily grown in Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Brazil and, Malaysia. The flavor which is enhanced by the black paper is bitter, cardboard, heat, musty, oxidized lime, soapy, pine, and terpene like.