James Cook's culinary voyages. Continued. How spices changed the world

 

When I walked into the kitchen, it was immediately obvious to me that something important was brewing.

The frying pan was bobbing excitedly on the hob, the tomato was squirming suspiciously in the corner of the table, and the coffee beans were arranged in a pile as if preparing for an emergency meeting.

- They've changed the world! - exclaimed the frying pan, clinking loudly.

- They made people fight wars, discover new lands, perform great feats and even greater follies! - The coffee beans picked up on this.

- Who's ‘they’? - I asked, carefully pouring myself a cup of tea.

- Spices, of course! - exclaimed the tomato.

I raised an eyebrow and sat down.

- Ah, yes, the great strategists, the conquerors... and their majesty Pepper the First and Cinnamon the Great.

- Laugh, laugh,’ the frying pan said instructively. - But did you know that in the Middle Ages nutmeg was more valuable than gold?

- Gold?! - I questioned, taking a sip of tea.

- Exactly! - confirmed the frying pan. - They killed for it, they equipped flotillas for it, people died for it on the seas and on the battlefields.

- Yes, yes,’ said the tomato. - And all for a tiny spice that grows only on a few islands.

- Let's go in order,’ I leaned back. - Why were spices so important?

- Well, for one thing,’ the pan spoke, ’they were the only way to make food edible.

- Are you talking about a medieval chicken that could write its own will before it got to the table? - I clarified.

- Exactly! - The frying pan clinked happily. - Without spices, meat turned into something so sinister that even rats would flee.

- And spices were also medicine,’ the coffee beans added. - Pepper was used for healing, cloves for toothaches, and cinnamon was considered the cure for all diseases.

- They were also a status symbol! - said the tomato. - If you could afford to put saffron in your food, you were a big shot.

I looked thoughtfully at my cup of tea.

- So... it turns out that the whole history of the world was largely driven by the fact that people could eat better and get sick less?

- That's about right,’ the pan replied contentedly.

I sighed.

- Okay, you've convinced me. Let's talk about how spices changed the world.

The kitchen came alive as the pan began its story...

To be continued.