PLANTS THAT CHANGED THE WORLD CLOVES: How a mysterious spice made its way into the world

摘要

Modern cuisine is flavored with a rich medley of spices from the farthest corners of the globe. We take for granted the fact that we can buy jars of spices, even scarce and exotic ones, for a few dollars each and use them in our everyday cooking. Because spices occupy a small space in the supermarket and in our kitchen cabinets, we often overlook their importance in shaping the modern world. It is hard to comprehend the centuries of exploration, conquest, slavery and war that brought these products to our shelves, and it is impossible to estimate the number of lives and fortunes that were risked and lost along the way. Spices were among the first commercial products to be traded over long distances. Used to flavor food and preserve meat, spices such as black pepper, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom were carried from the tropics to emerging civilizations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe.