Book of Spices by Huayue Zhang

BOOK OF SPICES

Daniel Gilbert

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The secret of happiness is variety, but the secret of variety, like the secret of all spices, is knowing when to use it.â&#x20AC;?

Cinnamon is one of the oldest spices known to man since before the 1500s.

BOOK

OF SPICES

ORIGIN

NURTURE

MODERN

CLOVES: AN EARLY CHINESE SPICE

GROWING, PRESERVING AND MIXING YOUR OWN HERBS AND SPICES

POUR SOME PEPPER ON ME

LOS ANGELES: HOME OF AMERICAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOTTEST CULINARY SCENE

COVER STORY; WHERE SPICE OF LIFE IS THE VITAL VARIETY

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

ANCIENT EGYPT SPICE FACT: Red peppers are unusually rich in vitamin C, and that paprika made from them retains more vitamin C by weight than even lemon juice. Paprika is also high in other antioxidants.

Historically, culinary spices and herbs have been used as food preservatives and for their healthenhancing properties. Papyri from Ancient Egypt in1555 BC classified coriander, fennel, juniper, cumin, garlic and thyme as health promoting spices. Records from that time also note that laborers who constructed the Great Pyramid of Cheops consumed onion and garlic as a means to promote health.

When 19th-century British explorers first discovered the tombs of the ancient Egyptians, Abundant anecdotal information documents the the folks back home in England were captivated. historical use of herbs and spices for their health Stories abounded in the popular press about cursed benefits. Early documentation suggests that hunters mummies, haunted crypts and ancient gods whose and gatherers wrapped meat in the leaves of wrath followed the despoilers home and hounded bushes, accidentally discovering that this process them to an early grave. enhanced the taste of the meat, as did certain nuts, seeds, berries, and bark. Over the years, spices and Newspapers ran breathless accounts of how the herbs were used for medicinal purposes. Spices and returning heroes, their families and their fortunes herbs were also used as a way to mask unpleasant were cursed forever by the vengeful spirits of that tastes and odors of food, and later, to keep food far-off land. Sudden illness, thwarted love and fresh. Ancient civilizations did not distinguish ruined finances were thought to follow in the wake between those spices and herbs used for flavoring of the Egyptian explorer, and spines tingled to hear from those used for medicinal purposes. When the tales of bad luck and supernatural misfortune leaves, seeds, roots, or gums had a pleasant taste or carried home from the East. agreeable odor, it became in demand and gradually became a norm for that culture as a condiment. The archaeologists rolled their eyes and went about Spices were also valuable as items of exchange and their business, but the public ate it up. trade. For example, the Bible mentions that in 1000 BC, Queen Sheba visited King Solomon in Jerusalem Literally, in some cases. The heady aromas and and offered him â&#x20AC;&#x153;120 measures of gold, many spices of the Middle East were suddenly in very spices, and precious stones.â&#x20AC;? high demand. Exotic flavors from the mysterious region were in vogue, just like the tales of high drama and daring adventure that accompanied them. The truth was usually a fair bit more pedestrian. Though no less tasty. Ancient Egyptians ate well. Even the poorest workers had access to plenty of bread, beer and a certain amount of fish and game when times were flush. You could even indulge your sweet toothâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;if you could save up enough money every now and then for some precious honey or ground-up dates. Egypt sat right on the crossroads of the ancient spice road. Its population would have had access to spices from the East like cumin, coriander and

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BOOK OF SPICES

DESCRIPTION Dukkah Roasted Vegetables Chopped Salad is a simple vegan friendly, Middle eastern recipe. It’s easy to make, delicious, and healthy. Serve it as a vegetarian main course or filling side dish. Paleo option.

INGREDIENTS 5 cups chopped cauliflower 2 cups sliced or chopped white button mushrooms 1 cup sliced peeled pearl onions or 1 shallot 1 cup grape tomatoes (sliced in half) 1/4 c olive or avocado Oil (extra if needed) 1 tbsp or more dukkah (see notes for homemade mix) 1 tsp minced garlic minced or 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 cup chopped mixed greens (spinach, kale, or shredded brussel sprouts) 1/4 c raw pumpkin seeds (pepitas) pinch of black pepper pinch of sea salt 2 tsp lemon juice 2 mint leaves (chopped, to garnish) – optional 1 sprig of oregano leaves, to garnish sliced lemon to garnish Micro-greens or sprouts to garnish Optional crumbled feta or parmesan to serve (omit for paleo/vegan) Optional dried fruit to garnish. optional creamy dressing of choice

INSTRUCTIONS

Dukkah Roasted Vegetables Chopped Salad

Preheat oven to 425F. Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper or grease. Set aside. In large bowl, place all your diced/chopped cauliflower, mushroom, tomatoes, and onions. Toss in 1/4 cup oil and then add in your dukkah spice mix, garlic, salt, pepper, and toss again. Mix in your chopped greens and toss again. Feel free to add in any more vegetables if you’d like more bulk to the salad. Lay the chopped vegetables on the baking sheet and sprinkle the pumpkin seeds on top. Season with salt, pepper, and fresh lemon juice. Roast in oven for 15-20 minutes, checking at 15 minutes for doneness. Once cauliflower is golden brown, remove from oven and toss in pan. Garnish with just a touch fresh mint leaf (optional), lemon slices, and a few leafs of fresh oregano. Serve onto plates with extra green or sprouts. You can also just place in large serving bowl. Drizzle with extra olive oil if needed. Or use your favorite creamy dressing. I love using my warm onion dressing. If you want to make this salad more filling, add in a few tablespoons of chopped dried fruit and crumbled feta.

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BOOK OF SPICES

cinnamon. Pepper would be a much later arrival, most likely with the Greeks, but salt was available and used as a preservative—even in the dry air that left meat considerably less exposed to rapid decay than it would be in Europe. Coriander was prized as an aphrodisiac. There’s evidence that coriander seeds were planted in tombs as early as the 21st dynasty (around 1000 B.C.) as a symbol of eternal love and enduring passion. Cumin was also regarded as a sign of faithfulness, and cumin seeds were sometimes carried in pockets by soldiers and merchants as a memory of those waiting for them back home. They were also thought to settle the stomach and aid in digestion. Cinnamon, meanwhile, was considerably more expensive than cumin and coriander, and was therefore less readily available to the common laborer of ancient Egypt. Often used in the embalming process, it is in fact a powerful antimicrobial agent, which means it can help prevent the spoilage of meat. When available, it would be used very sparingly, mixed in with other spices so that its flavor and effectiveness would be enhanced. A mixture of these three spices— along with toasted nuts, salt and garlic—was used to sweeten the coarse bread of daily life in ancient Egypt. That

tradition lives on today in dukkah, a popular spice blend that modern Egyptians enjoy just as their ancestors did thousands of years ago. Follow the recipe below to bring a taste of ancient Egypt into your own kitchen. It can be used as a condiment for roasted meat, as a topping for hummus or as a dip for good, crusty bread.

EARLY CHINESE INFLUENCE According to ancient myths, Shen Nung likely wrote “Pen Ts’ao Ching” or “The Classic Herbal” around 2700 BC. The early publication mentioned more than a hundred medicinal plants including the spice cassia, which is similar to cinnamon (called “kwei”). A later, more comprehensive Chinese herbal, “Pen Ts’ao Kang Mu” was published in 1596 by Li Shih Chen. Other historical evidence suggested that cassia was an important spice in south China when the province “Kweilin,” meaning “Cassia Forest,” was founded around 216 BC. Early on, nutmeg and cloves from Moluccas were brought to China. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Chinese courtiers in the 3rd century BC carried cloves in their mouths so their breath was sweet when addressing the emperor. During the 5th century, ginger plants were grown in pots and carried on long sea voyages between China and Southeast Asia to provide fresh food and to prevent scurvy.

Pen Ts’ao Ching

Cloves: An early Chinese Spice by Jacqueline M. Newman Winter Volume: 2003 Issue: 10(4) page(s): 13 and 14

A whole clove is an unopened bud of an evergreen tree. Syzygium aromaticum is one botanical name of this very aromatic spice-member of the Myrtle family. Another and older one is Caryophyllus aroAmaticum. The Chinese knew this flavoring item as early as the 3rd century BCE. They indicated it was a foreign product and called the buds of this tree the ‘chicken-tongue’ spice. During early imperial times, those that came before the emperor, subject or staff, were required to chew one or more of them to sweeten their breath, remove any bad odors, and not offend their ruler. Cloves were traded on the Silk Road. Then they were popular, whole or pulverized, and used in foods, medicines, perfumes, and hair dressings. Also popular were the open flowers of the clove tree. These are purple and sometimes referred to as ‘the mother of clove.’ Less important, though also traded and used, was clove oil, an item not used in the Chinese spice larder. What is, are the buds and flowers, and sometimes the branches and leaves. These latter two items are rich in various clove oils, some called essential oils. Eugenol is the most popular and primarily a non-culinary item. Imported into China thousands of years ago, ding xiang or cloves are small dark tan to brown dried buds with rounded heads and spikes at their other end. Hence, that ‘chicken-tong’ name. Most are used dried. Whole cloves are picked when pink and the bottom spiked end already somewhat nail-like. The fresher the clove, the hotter and spicier it tastes when first chewed, and the greater its anesthetic properties as they slightly numb both mouth and tongue. The Chinese use cloves alone or in combination with other seasonings in their cooking, baking, and pickling. They are not alone, the French use them in their quatres e’pices, the Asian Indians in garum masala. The Chinese mixture is called ‘five-spice powder.’ See an article called ‘Five Spice Magic’ in Flavor and Fortune,’s Volume 3(3) on pages 5 and 6. It and other related topics are listed in the index at this magazine’s website. Go see and use it at: www.flavorandfortune.com Keep in mind that only complete articles from the first years of publication are on the web,. But that will grow soon because the intent is to be five or six years behind publication and to post them when no copies are still available for sale. An article about cinnamon appeared in a Flavor and Fortune previous issue, Volume 10(1) on pages 9, 10, and 38. Quality cloves are picked just before the flower bud opens, then dried in the sun. They vary considerably in size, appearance, and pungency depending upon age and where they grew. Fine ground cloves are made from the crown of each bud. From a Chinese traditional medicinal perspective, cloves are considered very heating. They prescribe them to aid digestion, as an antiseptic, for their antifungal properties, and as an anesthetic. Considered a tonic and a stimulant, they are also used for cholera and for diarrhea, and for intestinal disorders in infants. Externally, they have other uses. For example, when made into a poultice, they recommend them for cracked nipples, scorpion stings, and to relieve toothaches if there is an abscess or cavity that is causing the pain.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

In the culinary, the Chinese use cloves whole or ground when cooked with meats, poultry, and fish, and sometimes in vegetable stews. In addition, they use them whole when making pickling brines. As five-spice powder, only small amounts of ground cloves are used because they can be bitter if used in excessive amounts. Whether alone or in combination with other spices, cloves are mostly long-cooked. Some report they can not imagine the taste of cloves in Chinese food. They need to read labels, particularly those for the complex bottled and long-cooked fermented sauces. They are often an ingredient in Chinese barbecue sauces, several brands of hoisin sauce, and in fermented fish mixtures such as those known as sa cha sauces. They can also find cloves in older recipes, particularly northern ones.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

SPICE FACT: Red bell peppers are simply fully ripened green bell peppers. Yellow bell peppers, however, are different cultivars.

ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA Ancient cuneiform records noted spice and herb use in Mesopotamia in the fertile Tigris and Euphrates valleys, where many aromatic plants were known. Sumerian clay tablets of medical literature dating from the 3rd millennium BC mention various odoriferous plants, including thyme (5-7) A scroll of cuneiform writing, established by King Ashurbanipal of Assyria (668-633 BC), records a long list of aromatic plants, such as thyme, sesame, cardamom, turmeric, saffron, poppy, garlic, cumin,

anise, coriander, silphium, dill, and myrrh. The Ancient Assyrians also used sesame as a vegetable oil. King Merodach-baladan II (721-710 BC) of Babylonia grew 64 different species of plants in his royal garden. He kept records on how to cultivate many spices and herbs (e.g., cardamom coriander, garlic, thyme, saffron, and turmeric). The magic religion of Babylonia involved an ancient medical god of the moon, who controlled medicinal plants. Potent parts of herbs were not allowed sun exposure and were harvested by moonlight. Onions, garlic, and shallots became popular condiments in Persia by the 6th century BC. Records from King Cyrus (559-529 BC) noted a wholesale purchase of 395,000 bunches of garlic. Persians also produced essential oils from roses, lilies, coriander, and saffron.

Clove-and-Cider-Glazed Ham DESCRIPTION For entertaining, TV chef Carla Hall glazes a spiral-cut ham with apple cider, brown sugar, mustard, bourbon and sweet spices. INGREDIENTS One 7- to 8-pound spiral-cut ham 1 cup fresh apple cider 1/2 cup light brown sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 2 tablespoons bourbon 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar One 3-inch cinnamon stick 6 whole cloves 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg INSTRUCTIONS Step 1 Preheat the oven to 375°. Place the ham in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.  Step 2 In a small saucepan, combine all of the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. Cook over moderately low heat until reduced to 3/4 cup, about 25 minutes. Pour the glaze over the ham, leaving the spices on the meat. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for about 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting every 15 minutes, until heated through. Transfer to a platter.   Step 3 Strain the pan juices into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook until reduced to a glaze, 8 to 10 minutes. Spoon the glaze over the ham; serve. Make Ahead The first glaze can be made 2 days ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Rewarm before using. Suggested Pairing WINE: Spiced, red-berried medium-bodied red.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

SPICE FACT: Trinidad Moruga Scorpion chili, the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hottest chili pepper can burn its way through protective latex gloves.

It is said that Greek merchants thronged the markets of India, long before the Christian era buying spices and other famous Indian goods. A fortune was spent by Epicurean Rome on Indian spices and other exclusive Indian commodities like silk, brocades, perfumes etc. Rome even fought the Parthian wars in order to keep open the trade route to India. Major crusades and expeditions to the East were mostly carried out for the lure of the Indian spices and other products. Spices were small in bulk, high in price and steady in demand, thus they were objects of commerce specially desirable by one and all. The Arabs later on conquered India (the Indus Valley then) and took over their spice trade which they began exporting to their own countries and to Europe. Until the 16th century the international spices market was centred exclusively in India. Spices and herbs (e.g., black pepper, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom) have been used by Indians for thousands of years for both culinary and health purposes. Spices indigenous to India (e.g. cardamom and turmeric) were cultivated as early as the 8th century BC in the gardens of Babylon (Sinha, 2003; Tapsell, 2006).

INDIAN ORIGINS Indian spices have a history which is more than 7000 years old. It has always been a leading spice consuming, producing and exporting country of the world and spices play a leading role in Indiaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s national economy. Vasco Da Gama landed in Calicut, India and this marked the beginning of the Portuguese dominion of the spice trade. It helped them to expand commercially and territorially as they were in total control of the spice trade in the Malabar Coast of India and made huge profits from it. Many seafarers were lured to India by the spice trade. After the Portuguese rule, the Dutch and the English began to gain control over the spice trade in India as they had a huge naval power. During the Renaissance period, India was the major supplier for most of the countries in Europe.

Susruta, an ancient surgeon (around 4th century BC) used white mustard and other aromatic plants in bed sheets to ward off malignant spirits. He also applied a poultice from sesame to post operation wounds which may have acted as an antiseptic. Medical writings of Charaka (1st century) and Susruta II (2nd century) referenced spices and herbs. Susruta II also used spices and herbs such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, and pepper for healing purposes. Spices such as cardamom, ginger, black pepper, cumin, and mustard seed were included in ancient herbal medicines for different types of health benefits. In Ayurvedic medicine, spices such as cloves and cardamom were wrapped in betel-nut leaves and chewed after meals to increase the flow of saliva and aid digestion.

Chicken Tikka Masala INGREDIENTS ¼ cup plain yogurt 2 teaspoons garam masala 2 teaspoons paprika ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper ½ teaspoon ground coriander 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into 1-inch strips 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 1 large onion, chopped 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 2 eaches green chile peppers, minced 2 eaches Roma tomatoes, diced ½ cup tomato paste ¼ cup water 1 teaspoon garam masala ½ teaspoon ground coriander ½ teaspoon ground turmeric ½ cup heavy whipping cream ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste ½ bunch cilantro for garnish

DIRECTIONS Step 1 Combine yogurt, 2 teaspoons garam masala, paprika, black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cayenne pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon coriander in a large bowl. Add chicken strips and toss to coat. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Step 2 Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Grease a baking sheet. Step 3 Place chicken strips on the prepared baking sheet, leaving space between each piece, and bake in the preheated oven until browned and no longer pink inside, about 10 minutes. Remove and set aside. Step 4 Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir cumin seeds until lightly toasted and aromatic, about 3 minutes. Add onion; cook and stir until onion begins to soften, 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, and green chiles and continue to cook until onion is browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Cook and stir tomatoes, tomato paste, and water into onion mixture until tomatoes begin to break down and incorporate into the onion mixture, about 10 minutes. Step 5 Cook and stir 1 teaspoon garam masala, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, and turmeric into the tomato mixture. Mix in the cooked chicken, add cream, and stir to coat. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and garnish with cilantro.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

GREECE AND ROME Ancient Greeks imported Eastern spices (pepper, cassia, cinnamon, and ginger) to the Mediterranean area; they also consumed many herbs produced in neighboring countries. Examples include caraway and poppy seeds for bread, fennel for vinegar sauces, coriander as a condiment in food and wine, and mint as a flavoring in meat sauces. Garlic was widely used by the country people in much of their cooking. Ancient Greeks wore parsley and marjoram as a crown at their feasts in an attempt to prevent drunkenness.

SPICE FACT: Ancient Greeks and Romans thought basil would only grow if you screamed wild curses and shouted while sowing the seeds.

Spices and herbs played an important role in ancient Greek medical science. Hippocrates (460377 BC), wrote about spices and herbs, including saffron, cinnamon, thyme, coriander, mint, and marjoram. He noted that great care should be given to the preparation of herbs for medical use. Of the 400 herbal remedies utilized by Hippocrates, at least half are in use today (3). Roughly 500 years later, Theophrastus (372-287 BC), sometimes called the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Father of Botany,â&#x20AC;? wrote 2 books that summarized the knowledge of over 600 spices and herbs. Dioscorides, a Greek Physician of the 1st century, wrote De Materia Medica, which was used for botany and medicinal knowledge in both the East and the West for over 1500 years. The remedies were based on an extensive catalogue of spices and herbs and were more systematic than his predecessors (who based the remedies on magic and superstition). The Romans were extravagant users of spices and herbs. Spice-flavored wines were used in ancient Rome and spice-scented balms and oils were popular for use after the bath. Since spices were

considered to have health properties, they were also used in poultices and healing plasters. When the Roman Empire extended to the northern side of the Alps, the Goths, Vandals, and Huns of those regions were introduced to pepper and other spices from the East. These cultures were familiar with caraway, onions, rosemary, and thyme and gradually became attracted to the Eastern spices.

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BOOK OF SPICES

ARAB AND MUSLIM ROLE IN SPICES AND HERBS Early on, spices were used as a source of trading. During the ancient Roman Empire, trading largely came from Arabia. Traders supplied cassia, cinnamon, and other spices and deliberately kept the source of their products secret. The intent was to have a monopoly on the spice trade and the Arabians spun great tales about the how they obtained the spices in order to keep their resource value high. They continued to keep the origins secret for several centuries from both Ancient Greek and Ancient Roman civilizations (Rosgarten, McCormick) until about the 1st century, AD, when the Roman scholar Pliny made the connection between the Arabian stories and the inflation of spices and herbs. Mohammed (570-632), who established the principles of Islam in the Koran, also co-owned a shop that stocked myrrh, frankincense, and Asian spices. For 4 centuries following the death of Mohammed, his followers (Mohammedans) created a flourishing civilization. The Mohammedans were outstanding scientists for their time. They advanced the process of extracting flower scents from blossoms and herbs and created distillation techniques to distill essential oils from aromatic plants. Later (around the 9th century), Arab physicians used spices and herbs to formulate syrups and flavoring extracts.

SPICE FACT: Earthworms are 82% protein, rich in Omega 3, and are said to pair well with cumin and curry

SPICES AND HERBS IN EUROPE DURING THE MIDDLE AGES In the Early part of the middle ages (before the Crusades), Asian Spices in Europe were costly and mainly used by the wealthy. A pound of saffron cost the same as a horse; a pound of ginger, as much as a sheep; 2 pounds of mace as much as a cow. A German price table of 1393 lists a pound of nutmeg as worth 7 fat oxen. Pepper, as well as other spices and herbs, was commonly used as a monetary source. Eastern Europeans paid 10 pounds of pepper in order to gain access to trading with London merchants. Throughout Europe, peppercorns were accepted as a substitute for money (some landlords would get paid as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;peppercorn rentâ&#x20AC;? (2). Peppercorns, counted out one by one, were accepted as currency to pay taxes, tolls, and rents (partly because of a coin shortage). Many European towns kept their accounts in pepper. Wealthy brides received pepper as a dowry. With the coming of the Crusades (1096), international exchange of goods became common. Gradually, Asian spices (pepper, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom) became less expensive and more widely available. Spices were used to camouflage bad flavors and odors, and for their health benefits. Spiced wines were also popular.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

SPICE FACT: Nutmeg is a psychotropic and in high enough doses causes hallucinations, delusions and an impending sense of doom.

European apothecaries used Asian spices (e.g., ginger, pepper, nutmegs, cinnamon, saffron, cardamom) as well as garden herbs in their remedies and elixirs. The remedies were largely based on the Arabian medical teachings (see above). An important person in developing and growing local herbs was the King of France and Emperor of the West, Charlemagne (742-814). He was the first leader to have farmers plant an abundance of culinary herbs (e.g., anise, fennel, fenugreek, and sage, thyme, parsley, and coriander). European cultivation of spices and herbs was largely controlled by the church during this period. Religious herb and spice feasts were common. Some ancient customs and superstitions (e.g., tying bundles of herbs to stable doors to keep the witches out) were also continued In 1180, King Henry II founded a peppererâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s guild of wholesale merchants, which was a predecessor for a modern day grocery store. The guild included spice trade management, which

included cleaning and preparing the spices for sale. The original spicers and pepperers helped launch the apothecaries and later became medical practitioners. Some common medical practices included placing sponges soaked with cinnamon and clove extracts under patients noses, sterilizing rooms with sage smoke, and prescribing saffron, garlic soup, and juniper wine for health benefits.

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BOOK OF SPICES

SPICE FACT: Despite being synonymous with blandness, vanilla is one of the most complex spices in the world and the second most expensive, next to Saffron.

AGE OF SPICE DISCOVERY Marco Polo mentioned spices frequently in his travel memoirs (about 1298). He described the flavor of the sesame oil of Afghanistan and the plants of ginger and cassia of Kain-du (the city of Peking), where people drank a flavorful wine of rice and spices. He reported that the wealthy in Karazan ate meat pickled in salt and flavored with spices, while the poor had to be content with hash steeped in garlic. He mentioned in Hangchow, 10,000 pounds of pepper were brought into that heavily populated city every day. Polo also described vast plantings of pepper, nutmegs, cloves, and other, valuable spices he had seen growing in Java and in the islands of the China Sea, and the abundance of cinnamon, pepper, and ginger on the Malabar Coast of India. Some anecdotal evidence suggests that Poloâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s accounts led to an increased international spice trade during the 13th and early 14th centuries. When Christopher Columbus set out on his second voyage (1493), he brought the Spanish physician

Diego Chanca, who helped to discover the spices capsaicin (red pepper) and allspice for Spanish cuisine. King Manual had a large influence on bringing spices to Portugal. Several sea voyages helped establish a trade route to India. In 1501, the port of Lisbon, Portugal had large quantities of Indian spices such as cinnamon, cassia, ginger, pepper, nutmeg, mace, and cloves. King Manuel sent trade missions to develop new markets for his spices throughout Europe, especially in Germany. As the spice wealth poured into Lisbon, the Portuguese crown monopolized the lucrative but risky pepper trade. Cargoes of East Indian vessels were sold at high prices by the king of Portugal to large European syndicates. As in medieval times, the price of pepper served as a barometer for European business in general.

THE PERFECT STEAK WITH GARLIC BUTTER Perfecting that steak can be a bit tricky. Sometimes that sear is just perfect but the inside is nowhere to be cooked. So by the time the inside is cooked, your crusty exterior is basically, well, dead at this point.

INGREDIENTS: 4 (12-ounce) rib-eye steaks*, 1 1/4-inch-thick, at room temperature 4 tablespoons olive oil Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste FOR THE GARLIC COMPOUND BUTTER 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves 3 cloves garlic, minced Zest of 1 lemon 1 teaspoon thyme, chopped 1 teaspoon rosemary, chopped 1 teaspoon basil, chopped 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper Pinch of cayenne pepper

DIRECTIONS: To make the garlic compound butter, combine butter, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, thyme, rosemary, basil, salt, pepper and cayenne pepper in a medium bowl. Transfer mixture to parchment paper; shape into a log. Roll in parchment to 1 1/2 inches in diameter, twisting the ends to close. Refrigerate until ready to use, up to 1 week.* Preheat oven to broil. Place an oven-proof skillet in the oven. Using paper towels, pat both sides of the steak dry. Drizzle with olive oil; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Remove skillet from the oven and heat over medium-high heat. Place the steak in the middle of the skillet and cook until a dark crust has formed, about 1 minute. Using tongs, flip, and cook for an additional 60 seconds. Place skillet into the oven and cook until desired doneness is reached, about 4-5 minutes for medium-rare, flipping once. Let rest for 3-5 minutes. Serve immediately with garlic compound butter.

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BOOK OF SPICES

AMERICAN HISTORY Western medicine is rooted in plant based medicine. The United States used plants as the primary source of medicine from the time of the Mayflower (1620) until after World War I (1930) (Mahady, 2001). Modern medicines, such as aspirin from the willow bark are rooted in plant based medicine. When tea drinking became unpatriotic in Colonial America, spices and herbs were used to replace traditional tea. Sassafras bark, chamomile flowers, spearmint leaves, lemon balm leaves, raspberry leaves, loosestrife, goldenrod, dittany, blackberry leaves sage and many others were often used as a beverage(4). Toward the end of the 18th century, the United States entered the world spice trade. The British taxes and trade restrictions of colonial days no longer obstructed American commerce. They traded American salmon, codfish, tobacco, snuff, flour, soap, candles, butter, cheese and beef, for spices (pepper, cassia, cloves, cinnamon, and ginger). Between 1797 and 1846 Salem, Massachusetts enjoyed a flourishing Sumatra pepper trade and profited immensely from taxation and sales. Most of the enormous quantities of pepper were

re-exported to European ports (Stockholm, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Copenhagen, Antwerp) or were transshipped to Philadelphia, Boston, and Baltimore for processing and distribution by other American merchants and exporters. The largest single cargo on record for one of the Salem pepper fleet was of just over 1 million pounds (500 tons) of pepper, brought from Sumatra to Salem in 1806 by the Eliza, a sailing ship of 512 tons. After 1846, an overproduction of spices brought a gradual decline in its economic importance until the final demise of the Salem pepper trade following the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.

MODERN SPICE USAGE Unlike earlier times when monopolies dominated the spice trade, commerce in spices is now relatively decentralized. Throughout the world, spices and herbs are frequently used in cuisine, largely to improve flavor and to provide new tastes. Today, people are increasingly interested in enjoying spices and herbs for health benefits. As research is progressing, more evidence is supporting some of the anecdotal information supplied by our ancestors.

INGREDIENTS:

Hungarian Goulash Soup

2 medium onions (finely chopped) 2 tablespoons bacon fat (or vegetable oil) 3 pounds beef chuck roast (fat removed and cubed) 1 tablespoon sweet Hungarian paprika 4 carrots (peeled and cut into 1/2inch rounds) 2 parsley roots (peeled and cut into 1/2-inch rounds) 1 small bunch parsley (tied with butcherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s twine) Optional: 4 medium potatoes (peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces) 1 teaspoon Vegeta seasoning Optional: 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds 2 Hungarian wax peppers (or banana wax peppers, seeded and cut into 1/2-inch pieces) Pinch hot Hungarian paprika Salt to taste

DIRECTIONS: In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, sautĂŠ the onions in the bacon fat or vegetable oil over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until translucent. This will take 10 to 15 minutes. Do not let the onions brown. Salt the onions lightly to help tenderize them. Add a small amount of water, if necessary, to keep them from sticking to the pan. Turn the heat to high and add the meat cubes and stir constantly for about 3 minutes or until the meat has been seared on all sides. Add water to cover by an inch and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until the meat is almost tender, adding water as necessary to keep it above the level of the meat. This can take up to 2 hours. Add the sweet paprika, carrots, parsley roots, bunch of parsley, optional potatoes, Vegeta, optional caraway seeds, banana wax peppers, and hot paprika. Bring back to the boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the vegetables are tender but not falling apart. Add additional water, if necessary, to keep a soup consistency. Add salt to taste. Serve over Hungarian csipetke or nokedli dumplings. You also might enjoy serving this filling soup with rye bread or potato bread.

ORIGIN

BOOK OF SPICES

NURTURE

BOOK OF SPICES

Growing, Preserving And Mixing Your Own Herbs And Spices

Herbs and spices make a world of difference when it comes to cooking. Herbs and spices both contain antioxidants, minerals, vitamins and natural oils that are beneficial to our overall health. They also give normally bland food a superb taste. Growing your own herbs and spices is surprisingly easy, fun and can really save you money while giving you a superior product. This guide will take you through the basics of growing and preserving beginner-friendly herbs as well as a few DIY seasoning mixes you can put together easily. We’ll begin with growing herbs, since herbs are often the most forgiving and grow in a wider range of climates compared to spices.

Easy and Useful Herbs to Grow There are a huge variety of herbs that you can grow depending on the zone you live in. When it comes down to usefulness in the kitchen, the following herbs really are the most versatile. They’re also among the healthiest. Basil Oregano Thyme Rosemary Cilantro Mint Parsley Sage Chives Lemongrass These herbs also tend to be fairly easy to case for and grow well in a large range of zones. There are many varieties within these herbs, so taking some time to shop online or through catalogs is a great way to pick the right variety for your needs.

It’s certainly true that when it comes to growing herbs and spices, herbs get most of the attention. While pretty much everyone can grow herbs here in the US, only those in warmer zones can grow some of the true spices. But there are spices or seasonings anyone can make — like onion powder. Spices are often more challenging to grow and preserve compared to herbs, but the end result is well worth the extra effort. As a bonus, many of these spices perform double-duty as an herb or vegetable.

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SPICE FACT: To glean 1 pound (450 g) of dry saffron requires the harvest of up to 75,000 flowers and 20 hours of labor.

Easy-to-Grow Spices 1. Ginger, Onion and Garlic. These three are all lumped together under spices, since you can preserve the roots and grind them to make powders. Ginger, onion and garlic powders are all very common seasonings and will be well-used in your kitchen. You can find numerous varieties of garlic and onion to grow in pretty much every zone in the US. Ginger does prefer warmer weather, so unless you are in zones 9-12, you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be able to grow it outdoors as a perennial. Many people have success growing it indoors in pots or overwintering it in pots,

however. Since there are so many varieties of these plants, follow the directions given on the seeds you buy.

2. Paprika. This beautiful red spice is common in Hungarian and Spanish cuisine but is quite popular all over the world. Paprika comes from the paprika pepper and is fairly easy to grow like most peppers. It will grow best in a high-quality, well-drained soil and will grow very well in all but the coldest climates. Start your seeds indoors if you are in zone 5 or lower, but if in zones 6 and up you often can plant seeds directly into the garden after the danger of frost has passed.

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3. Cumin. Cumin might seem like a spice only grown in a far-off land, but if you live in zones 5 to 10 you should be able to grow this for yourself. Cumin is actually in the parsley family and not too difficult to rear. However, this spice does require quite a long growing season, so you must start your seeds indoors a minimum of 4 weeks before the last frost (grow time is about 120 days). Though the seeds are what is used to make the spice, the leaves of this plant are also edible.

THE PERFECT STEAK WITH GARLIC BUTTER INGREDIENTS: 2 teaspoons ground cumin, divided 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon garlic salt 1 tablespoon canola oil 4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 ounces each) 1/2 cup picante sauce 1/4 cup water 1 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules

Directions Mix 1 teaspoon cumin, oregano and garlic salt; sprinkle over both sides of chicken. In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Brown chicken on both sides. In a small bowl, mix picante sauce, water, bouillon and remaining cumin; pour over chicken. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, covered, until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 165Â°, 8-12 minutes. Remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Bring sauce to a boil; cook, uncovered, until thickened, stirring occasionally, 3-4 minutes. Serve with chicken.

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4. Coriander. If you arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t already familiar with coriander you may not know that coriander and cilantro are one in the same plant. The plant is referred to as cilantro when it is young and the leaves are gathered as an herb. After maturity and the plant flowers, it is then considered coriander. Coriander as a spice refers to the seeds gather from the flower heads of this plant. You can buy cilantro plants and raise them for coriander or buy coriander plants. Follow the same directions for growing coriander as you do with cilantro. Just let the plant develop flower heads rather than harvest it back.

6. Mustard Seed. You can get both mustard seeds and mustard greens from this versatile plant. The mustard plant is really easy to grow and quite prolific in terms of harvest. Start your seeds indoors if you live in a cooler climate. It takes about two months to start harvesting mustard greens. Leave the plant alone so it will bolt (warm weather will hurry the process). The care of most spices is really no different than the care outlined for herbs in part 1 of this guide.

5. Chili. You can use chili peppers as a spice or seasoning in two ways: grind up the dried peppers as a powder or use your dried peppers to make a chili paste. There are a ton of variety of peppers available through most seed catalogs. Follow recommendations for growing based on the pepper varieties you chose. Generally, peppers grow best in a well-drained, rich soil and in full sun. They do best in warm weather, although very warm temps around 98 degrees Fahrenheit can lead to issues with dropped flowers.

Learning when to harvest your herbs and spices is extremely important. Each plant has a specific time when itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s at its optimal maturity for harvesting. Harvest too young or too old and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll lose flavor or in the case of some spices, the seeds will end up on the ground.

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Pour Some Pepper on Me The King of Spices in Greece and Rome By Evan McDuff and Joel Christensen What table is complete, what kitchen is ready without it? We’ve found it buried in the scorching sands of Berenike, Egypt and waterlogged in the cesspits and wells of Roman settlements in Germany, England, and France. Three out of four recipes in a Roman cookbook call for it! Galen says if you’re feeling a little, well, frigid, you can combine it with honey and put it on your…well, you know. Pepper, one of the most influential spices in history, found its way into the hearts, kitchens, dining rooms, and, in many instances, rectums of ancient Mediterranean peoples. Pepper — a name shared with the Sanksrit pippali but with an unknown Indic origin — is so ubiquitous that most of us don’t even think of what it costs, where it comes from, or how it got here. The US is the world’s largest importer and consumer of pepper, and the harvesting and trade of pepper is a massive multimillion-dollar worldwide industry. But the modern pepper industry is only the most recent chapter in the long history of pepper commerce, which stretches back to a spice trade established during the Roman Empire. Thanks to its economic value, physical application, and poetic intrigue, pepper — the “king of spices”— could be thought of as an index for global interconnections and self-representation. The Romans, like modern Americans, consumed pepper avidly. Roman merchants, voyaging from Egyptian ports on the Red Sea, arrived on the shores of the Indian subcontinent with shiploads of gold in order to purchase the spice and other Indian luxuries. The Tamil poet Erukkaddur Tayan-Kannanar wrote of the merchants he observed at the Port of Muziris: “The thriving town of Muziris where the beautiful large ships of the Yavanas [a word used to describe the Greeks and Romans] bring gold … and return laden with pepper.” Strabo highlights the magnitude of this Roman effort to acquire Indian goods, including pepper, by comparing the massive Roman fleet sent from Myos Hormos in Egypt to the small number of ships sent to the Indian subcontinent under Ptolemaic rule. He writes, “…I found that about one hundred and twenty ships sail from Myos-hormos to India, although, in the time of the Ptolemies, scarcely any one would venture on this voyage and the commerce with the Indies.” The vessels of this merchant fleet had to be numerous, large, and incredibly durable in order to withstand the gale force winds of the monsoon. But what did the ancient Greeks and Romans do with all that pepper? According to available written sources, they were just like us! Well, mostly. Pepper was in fact used to flavor cuisine all over the Mediterranean. While Greeks employed pepper and spices in wine (!), they were sparing in its use in food — Theophrastus stresses the Greeks’ disdain for the use of aromatics in food when he notes how they give a pleasant taste to wine but ruin the flavor of both cooked and uncooked dishes. In large part, pepper appears in ancient Greek food only when its presence is deemed medically beneficial. For instance, Diphilius of Siphnos, as cited in The Deipnosophists 3.40, suggests serving pepper paired with cumin on scallops because the combination of botanicals helps with the digestion of the bivalve. The Romans, on the other hand, adored spicing up their food. Pepper is called for in 349 of the 468 (75%) recipes found in the one-of-a-kind Roman period cookbook Apicius, where the spice is featured in sauces, roasted pork and hare, vegetable purees, and mulled wines. Martial remarks on the habitual use of pepper on even the most basic of Roman dishes, saying, “Oh, with the insipid beet, the luncheon of laborers, how often the cook looks to pepper and wine.” Pepper was spicing up Greek and Roman lives outside of the triclinium too, as medicine. Numerous

CAULIFLOWER WITH MELTED ONIONS AND MUSTARD SEEDS INGREDIENTS: 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/4 cup vegetable oil Two 2 1/2-pound heads of cauliflower, cut into 2-inch florets Salt and freshly ground pepper 2 large sweet onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise 1 teaspoon curry powder 1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Directions Step 1 Preheat the oven to 450Â°. In a large roasting pan, melt the butter in 1 tablespoon of the oil in the oven; swirl to combine. Add the cauliflower, stems up, and season with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 30 minutes. Increase the oven temperature to 500Â° and bake for 10 minutes. Remove the foil and continue to bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the cauliflower starts to caramelize on the bottom. Step 2 Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the onions, cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and mustard seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and season the onions with salt and pepper. Step 3 Transfer the roasted cauliflower to a large serving bowl and spoon the onions on top. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro and serve at once.

extant sources comment on its curative power for ailments from hemlock poisoning to excessive menstrual bleeding. In many prescriptions, pepper was to be added to wine or some other concoction for oral ingestion. Such oral suspensions are less surprising than some rather (un)tasteful applications of the spice. Take for instance, a medical experiment presented by Galen: a man suffering from colic is given several horrible treatments, including a mixture of honey boiled with pepper. Although the full sequence of treatments is a bit unclear, Galen seems to suggest that, following earlier treatments of rue and castor oil, the honey-pepper concoction was administered through the rectum. In an empirical observation, Galen notes that this application of pepper caused the patient extraordinary amounts of suffering. (Once Galen decided that stuffing him like a Thanksgiving turkey wasn’t helping any, the man made a full recovery.) Beyond pepper’s culinary and medicinal applications for humans, at least one source prescribes the spice as part of good animal husbandry. In De Natura Animalium, Aelian recounts several methodologies that shepherds employed to encourage their sheep to mate. One method: rub honey and pepper on the hindquarters of female animals. Apparently, this would cause females to “dote upon” the males of the herd. In other words, the females would grind up against anything, including the males, to get relief from the irritating sensation caused by the volatile chemicals in the pepper. Worry not, Homo sapiens — Dioscorides and the Magical Papyri both approve of pepper as an aphrodisiac in humans too! Perhaps the oddest prescribed use for pepper in ancient text appears in a fragmentary section of Petronius’s Satyricon. After Encolpius kills one of the sacred geese kept at the Temple of Priapus, he is confronted by the temple’s attendants, who mourn the loss of the bird and threaten to have Encolpius crucified. Encolpius offers money to their leader, a sorceress named Oenothea, and she accepts. When, in a sudden change of mood, the sacred goose is prepared for a feast, Oenothea reads its liver to see Encolpius’s future, and wine is poured all around. Oenothea then produces a leathery dildo, which she oils and sprinkles with pepper and nettle seed and proceeds to gradually insert into Encolpius’s rectum while she beats his groin with the fresh branches of stinging nettle. The romantic rendezvous, an obvious trap laid to make him pay for his crimes, has Encolpius running from the temple so fast his toes bleed. The rectal insertion of spicy botanicals as punishment is not isolated to this one instance. Both Aristophanes and Catullus refer to the use of radishes in punishing adulterers. Perhaps this particular use for pepper and radish were to be taken as absurd threats — a recipe for pain found at the nexus of the culinary, judicial, and medical arts — rather than as actual criminal punishments. But then, again who knows? Part of the mystery — and pleasure — of dealing with our evidence for ancient food and spices is trying to separate the oddities from the everyday. While extant written sources give us a good idea of how pepper was used in the ancient Mediterranean, such sources represent only elite culture and leave us in the dark when it comes to how widespread its use was, how frequently and in what quantities people obtained it, and which types people were using. That’s right — according to the writings of Pliny, the Elder, not one, not two, but three types of pepper were imported from the Indian subcontinent to the ancient Greek and Roman world. The first two forms of pepper, likely familiar to most readers, are black and white pepper, which originate from the plant species Piper nigrum. The third — and earliest known pepper in the ancient Mediterranean — is long pepper, which is derived from the plant species Piper longum, a cousin to Piper nigrum. The greatest pitfall of pepper research is the lack of physical evidence for the spice’s use in the ancient world. There are little to no archaeological remains of pepper in domestic contexts, where we might expect, based on written sources, pepper to have been used for cooking. Furthermore, physical remains of pepper only represent the species Piper nigrum.This leaves Piper longum as the only non-liquid food product to be mentioned in written sources for which archaeology has provided no physical evidence. This discrepancy between written and archaeological sources requires that we approach the topic of ancient pepper from a new, and rather acute, angle. Because certain types and preparations of pepper seem to be missing from the archeological record, we have to start looking at the microscopic level to understand the big picture of pepper in the ancient world. Phytoliths, which are microscopic silica bodies produced by many plants, may help archaeologist

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Basil,

SPICE FACT: The deadly dose of saffron is as little as 10 grams (3/4 tablespoon)

Oregano and Thyme. Harvest leaves or whole sprigs regularly once they start growing. Be careful to not over-pluck your plant, but take leaves weekly. Harvest the whole plant before first frost, as the cold will ruin the leaves and flavor.

Rosemary. Rosemary can be harvested at any time once the plant matures. You will cut whole sprigs rather than the individual leaves. Cilantro. Harvest the large leaves regularly from this plant to keep it low. If you are growing cilantro for their seeds (coriander) as well, you may want different plants for cilantro and coriander.

Mint. Either pick leaves as you need them or cut back the entire plant about two inches from the ground. Mint is a voracious grower and you can often get two, three or even four big harvests from each plant.

Harvesting Herbs

Parsley.

Herbs are pretty easy to harvest and all it takes is some practice to be able to look at your plants and determine what to pluck and where. As mentioned in part 1 of this guide, make sure you stay on top of removing any flower heads from your leafy herbs. You also only want to pluck leaves from the top and middle of the plant, leaving the large bottom leaves alone. Additionally, always harvest in the early morning rather than during the heat of the day.

Parsley is particular about its harvest period. Wait until your plant has stems with three segments to ensure the plant is mature enough. Secondly, only harvest leaves from the outside of the plant, never the inside.

Sage. Sage differs from the other herbs on this list as it will give you a better harvest the second year. Be careful to not overharvest the first year as it will damage the plant. You can take whole stalks or a couple of leaves depending on your needs. Be sure to always leave a few stalks behind to ensure your sage plant will continue producing.

detect and identify the decayed remains of pepper. Because of their formation process, phytoliths take on the shape of the cells they form in and around. So they can sometimes be indicative of their producing plant, as demonstrated in an investigation that identified garlic mustard seed phytoliths in food crust attached to prehistoric cooking vessels. Phytoliths observed in Piper longum and Piper nigrum can, based on author Evan McDuff’s laboratory research, be used to differentiate the decayed remains of black and long pepper. At its core, our culinary research into pepper is aimed at understanding the flavors of ancient cuisine and, through this, Roman cultural preference for certain flavors—at least, you know, in those cases where they actually ate the pepper. But just as pepper can function as an index of cultural ideas about food, medicine, and interconnections, so too can the study of pepper serve as a framework for thinking about other goods, from food to textiles and even poetry too. A study like Evan’s combines traditional philology and archaeology with twenty-first-century science, and it helps us understand how much we take for granted when it comes to evidence for the ancient world and how much we still have to learn. And, if all else fails, studying more about ancient spices can inspire us to try some new recipes or even make some different plans for a Saturday night….

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Onion. Harvesting onion is a two-part process. As your plants mature you will notice that the stalks turn yellow and begin to droop. At this point you want to cut off the stalks or use a hoe to stomp the stalks down. Use your hands to fluff up the soil around the onions and then leave the onions in the dirt for a couple of days. After two or three days, again use your hands (no tools or you may bruise the onions) to bring the onions up to the surface to dry. Once the onion tops turn brown, they are ready to be stored.

SPICE FACT: Turmeric powder has been surprisingly effective against Alzheimer’s symptoms in multiple studies, and currently out-performs any known Alzheimer’s drug.

Garlic. Harvesting garlic is quite similar to onion. Wait until the stalks begin to yellow and droop over. At that point you want to pull up one or two plants to check the bulb size and quality. If the bulbs are a good size with the wrapper still intact, you are good to go with digging up all of the plants. Move your garlic to a shady but well-ventilated area to dry and cure.

Paprika and Chili.

Harvesting Spices

Growing paprika and chili peppers is just as easy as tomatoes. Simply let your peppers grow until they reach ripeness and are a rich, red color. Pull the peppers and hang them up in a warm, dry area to cure and dry.

Harvesting spices really isn’t difficult and in some aspects is easier than harvesting herbs. Here is a quick rundown of how to harvest the eight spices mentioned in this guide.

Cumin, Coriander and Mustard Seed. All three of these plants require you to let the plant mature and flower. Leave the seed pods alone until they begin to brown and dry. Carefully pinch the seed pod to see if it cracks. If it’s dry enough to crack, you can cut down the plant. Don’t wait too long to harvest the seed pods, as the pods will break on their own and the seeds will scatter on the ground.

Ginger. First off, you don’t need to harvest all your ginger in one session. It is best to wait until each individual plant is ready and you’re ready to use it (if using fresh). The easiest way to tell if these roots are ready to be harvested is by the size of the stalks. Very thick stalks mean you will have a thick rhizome. The easiest way to harvest your ginger is by getting your hands right into the soil to dig up the roots. This is easier than using a tool and ensures you don’t accidently gouge a nearby root.

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Lemongrass.

Chives.

Lemongrass can be harvested during any time once the plant has matured, but it is best to wait until late in your growing season to get the best tasty lemongrass possible. Harvest stalks by pulling the whole stalk or cutting right above soil level.

Chives are a super-prolific herb and can be harvested upwards of four-plus times in just its first year. Similarly to mint, harvesting chives involves cutting the whole plant down to two inches above the soil.

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SPICE FACT: Garlic, yogurt, and tea tree oil are all successful home remedies for vaginal yeast infections.

Los Angeles: Home of America’s Hottest Culinary Scene BY JENNY PETERS LOS ANGELES LOCAL EXPERT From the beach to downtown and everywhere in between, the culinary offerings in Los Angeles are literally endless. You’ll find dining choices on almost every block – and food trucks pulled up to the curb, too. It’s a city of blended nationalities (with people from 140 countries who speak over 200 different languages at last count), which means every ethnic group is represented. It’s the heart of California cuisine, a unique fusion of French, Italian, Mexican, Chinese, Japanese and other gastronomies, with a focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Famed chefs like Spago’s Wolfgang Puck, Nobu Malibu’s Nobu Matsuhisa and Patina’s Joachim Splichal call the city home, along with plenty of “Top Chef” and Food Network stars. Southern California is even the birthplace of some of the world’s most famous fast-food joints, including McDonald’s and In-andOut. The competition is fierce to be the best here and restaurants come and go like the ocean tide, so to rise to the very top takes a winning combination of exemplary food, cool design, hot buzz and – especially for the ones that make it for the long haul – consistency in all aspects of service and fare.

10 THE BAZAAR BY JOSÉ ANDRÉS West Hollywood Branded “Top Newcomer” by Zagat Los Angeles in 2010, Chef Jose Andres dreams up a multi-course tasting menu to titillate your tastes at The Bazaar, ranging from traditional to contemporary flavors. Philippe Starck’s simple, elegant décor is an excellent compliment to the chef’s creativity and presentation skills. This is the restaurant located inside the SLS Hotel that GQ Magazine called one of the “10 Best New Restaurants in America” in 2010; the quality and innovation continue to today. Newest up? Tapas on the Terrace, an al fresco happy hour that serves up craft cocktails and plenty of light bites. The $12 Endless Sangria is a steal. Recommended for Best Restaurants because: The crazy design motifs that lead you into Chef Jose Andres’ The Bazaar contain fanciful products can be purchased before or after dining. Jenny’s expert tip: Leave room for dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

VIETNAMESE LEMONGRASS CHICKEN

Chicken: I’ve written the recipe using boneless chicken breasts or thighs. But really, this marinade will work with any cut of chicken (or even pork, beef, shrimp, tofu, etc). Lime juice: We will use some in our marinade, but I also recommend squeezing some fresh lime juice onto the cooked chicken just before serving. Fish sauce: Smells stinky when you’re prepping the marinade, I know. But trust me, it’s the ingredient that pulls this marinade together and will taste great in the end. (My two favorite brands are Red Boat and Three Crabs.) Sweetener: Brown sugar (or white granulated or coconut sugar) is more traditionally used for lemongrass chicken. But I like to use maple syrup as a more natural alternative. Soy-sauce: I always use low-sodium, but any soy sauce will work. Oil: Any neutral-flavored oil, such as avocado oil or olive oil, will work. Garlic: Lotsa fresh garlic! Shallot: One medium shallot, or half of a small red onion. Lemongrass: This recipe calls for two large stalks. But if you’re new to working with lemongrass — heads up — we won’t use the entire stalks! Instead, pull off the reedy outer few leaves until you reach the more tender leaves on the inside. Then roughly dice just the white parts of the lemongrass, usually the bottom (white) 1/3 or so of the stalk.

DIRECTIONS Make the marinade. I like to just toss all of the marinade ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. But that said, if you would like to make the marinade by hand, you can finely dice the garlic/shallot/lemongrass by and then whisk all of the marinade ingredients together in a bowl until combined. Up to you! Marinate the chicken. Cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces, if you are cooking it on skewers as I have photographed here. Or if using whole breasts or thighs, use a meat mallet to pound the chicken to even thickness. Then toss the chicken with the marinade in a large bowl until evenly coated, and let the chicken rest for about 30 minutes. Cook. Once the chicken is all marinated and ready to go, grill, bake or sauté the chicken until cooked through. (See more detailed instructions below.) Let the chicken rest for 3-5 minutes afterwards, before serving.

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9 RÉPUBLIQUE Miracle Mile

8 PATINA

République took over the spot on La Brea Blvd. that once housed Campanile and proved at once that it is a worthy successor to that Mark Peel/Nancy Silverton effort that lived in the space for over 20 years. Those two famed chefs are divorced, but the République pair – chefs Walter and Margarita Manzke – are going strong with this French-with-a-Californiatinge bistro. Their French fries are the stuff of legend already, and while it may sound strange, try the Eggs on Toast appetizer, a heady mix of Uni and softscrambled eggs. Actually, it is basically impossible to find a less-than-stellar dish at this convivial place, but if house-made charcuterie (terrines, pates and meats) is in your wheelhouse, you will not find better in Los Angeles. Terrific braised short ribs, truffle risotto, and Thai lobster soup prove that you should expect the unexpected at this “French” bistro.

Patina calls itself “a quiet haven from the stress and tumult of everyday life,” so leave your cell phone behind and dive into this famed restaurant that makes its home just inside the Walt Disney Concert Hall in downtown L.A. It’s the place that made Chef Joachim Splichal famous, where the German-born, awardwinning tocque melds French and California cuisine into something uniquely his. The menu is everchanging, but if his Octopus á la Plancha is available, don’t miss it, for it’s some of the best we’ve ever tasted. Try the tasting menu, six courses for $120, or go for the famed Pepper Crusted Jidori Chicken, the plump and sweet Diver Sea Scallops or the crispy Wild Striped Bass served with a potato confit. The Peanut Butter Torte tops off any entree with a flourish with a mix of sensual flavors; the whole dining experience at Patina is practically orgasmic!

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: From the moment it opened in 2014, République has been one of the hottest spots in town.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Acclaimed Chef Joachim Splichal began his vast restaurant empire with Patina in 1989 and it remains one of L.A.’s landmark eateries.

Jenny’s expert tip: Make a reservation to ensure seating during dinner rush hours; and order the fries the moment you sit down. The rest is gravy.

Downtown

Jenny’s expert tip: Perfect for dinner before the show at the Walt Disney Concert Hall; but make a reservation, as the place fills up fast on concert evenings.

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7 MÉLISSE

6 LUCQUES

Ever since Mélisse opened its doors in 1999, ChefOwner Josiah Citrin has pushed for excellence in every element of this fine-dining experience – and has succeeded admirably. His restaurant is the kind of place where patrons dress for dinner, the silver is real and every dish is precisely made to the exacting standards of French haute cuisine. Constantly showered with accolades, Mélisse led the way toward seasonal menus sourced via local farmer’s markets (Citrin is a fixture at the famed Santa Monica market) and continues to innovate. Try the legendary Dover sole made tableside in the summer or share the Cote de Boeuf Roti for two, made with a beef rib dry aged for 35 days. Make sure to pair your whole meal with wine, as Melisse has one of the best cellars in the city.

From the moment Lucques opened on Melrose Avenue near La Cienega in 1998, Chef Suzanne Goin’s rustic bistro has been a hot spot for those that love French food. Her Steak Frites (made with Niman Ranch beef and paired with perfect house made French fries) is legendary and always on the menu; otherwise, Goin follows the seasons, so don’t expect her delicate sweet corn soup to be served in December. But whatever is on the menu, it is certain to be delicious. Goin cemented her status as one of the top toques in Los Angeles with her 2006 James Beard Foundation Best Chef Pacific Award and has a number of other topranked restaurants around town, including a.o.c, The Hungry Cat, Tavern and The Larder at Maple Drive. Visit every one if you have time!

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: One of the few two-starred Michelin restaurants in L.A., this Santa Monica fixture recently celebrated 15 years of serving up haute French cuisine near the beach.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: A perennial classic since 1998, this is the French bistro that launched Chef Suzanne Goin onto the international culinary stage.

Jenny’s expert tip: Know before you go that there is only one way to eat at Mélisse – with a four-course dinner tasting menu (currently set at $135 per person).

Jenny’s expert tip: Sit at the bar and order the Steak Frites Bearnaise and pair it with one of Lucques’ special farmer’s market inspired cocktails.

Santa Monica

West Hollywood

COVER STORY; Where Spice Of Life Is the Vital Variety By Warren Berger March 16, 2003 A MESSIANIC religious leader’s devotees commit random acts of violence in his name. Meanwhile, a larger war looms in a region known for its unstable leadership, desert climate and precious supply of a natural resource that everyone wants to get their hands on. That is the very timely story line of ‘’Frank Herbert’s ‘Children of Dune,’’’a six-hour Sci Fi mini-series based on the second and third novels in the best-selling science fiction series written by Herbert three decades ago. A follow-up to the original ‘’Dune’’ mini-series, which garnered two Emmy Awards and record ratings for Sci Fi, ‘’Children of Dune’’ is a sprawling, complex tale that continues the story of the Atreides family, rulers of Arrakis, a turbulent desert planet also known as Dune. In the first mini-series, the Atreides family is sent to Arrakis by the emperor of the intergalactic Great Royal Houses, with the task of overseeing production of ‘’spice’’ -- a precious life-enhancing commodity available only on Arrakis. After a deadly power struggle, young Paul Atreides (Alec Newman) leads the native desert people in an uprising against the corrupt forces controlling the planet. As the second installment begins, 12 years later, Arrakis remains in chaos as fervent followers of Paul, now known as the messianic Muad’Dib, unleash a bloody war across the galaxy in his name. Once again, it is left to Paul -- and subsequently, his young but maturing twin children -- to save the desert planet, while fending off rivals and plotters from outside the family as well as from within. Chief among

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5 PROVIDENCE Melrose

4 NOBU MALIBU Malibu

Providence, the award-winning seafood restaurant on the southern edge of Hollywood earns high points for a creative menu and superb quality, which is why it gained two Michelin stars back when those awards were still given in Los Angeles. Now over 10 years old, the Michael Cimarusti-helmed seafood spot remains one of the city’s best. Only the freshest seafood makes its way to Providence’s coveted tables. This charming New American spot serves a mixture of excellent hot selections and raw, cold ones, too. Start with an indulgent appetizer of black truffles over risotto before feasting on seasonal dishes like vermilion rockfish with coconut and jalapeno. For an exquisite dining experience with gorgeous presentation in an intimate setting, Providence is one of SoCal’s primo spots for dining.

Los Angeles is where it all began for Nobu Matsuhisa, the acknowledged king of Japanese cuisine, who now has high-end eateries all over the world. His first restaurant, Matsuhisa, is a tiny place on La Cienega Boulevard; Nobu Los Angeles is further north up that same street; and the prettiest of them all, Nobu Malibu, is perched right on the sand on Pacific Coast Highway in the heart of that posh beach community. Malibu gets our vote for the best of three solely on location, for the gorgeous ocean views and sleek restaurant design somehow make Nobu’s signature dishes like Black Cod Miso and Yellowtail with Jalapeno seem even more delicious when eaten there (and they are seriously fantastic no matter where you taste them).

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: One of the city’s acknowledged masters of cuisine, Chef Michael Cimarusti hss been proving his talents at Providence for over a decade. Jenny’s expert tip: Go with the Chef’s Tasting Menu for a sublime experience.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Nobu Matsuhisa began his restaurant empire here in Los Angeles; there are three places to sample his food here, but Malibu has the best views. Jenny’s expert tip: Time your visit to Nobu Malibu to see the sun set, for since moving to its new beachfront location on Pacific Coast Highway, there’s no better view in town.

the villains is Paul’s sister-in-law, played by Susan Sarandon, who wants to gain control of Arrakis and its supply of spice. John Harrison, the writer and co-producer of the mini-series, acknowledges that there’s a lot to absorb in the Dune saga. ‘’It’s television you have to pay attention to,’’ he said. Because of the complexity of the Dune books, executive producer Richard P. Rubinstein, who owns the television rights to the first six books in Mr. Herbert’s series, felt the material lent itself to an expansive multipart production, a format he’s successfully used in television adaptations of the Stephen King stories ‘’The Stand’’ and ‘’The Langoliers.’’ ‘’I have found there’s a wonderful marriage to be had between long, complicated books and the television mini-series,’’ Mr. Rubinstein said. ‘’There are some books that just can’t be squeezed into a two-hour movie.’’ (In fact, ‘’Dune’’ was made into a two-and-a-halfhour theatrical film directed by David Lynch in 1984; Mr. Rubinstein said he had found that condensed version of the story unsatisfying.) Mr. Rubinstein’s desire to produce ‘’Dune’’ as a mini-series dovetailed nicely with Sci Fi’s rising ambitions. When the channel came under new leadership five years ago, one of the stated objectives was to produce blockbuster mini-series on a regular basis, said Bonnie Hammer, the channel’s president. ‘’Frank Herbert’s ‘Dune,’’’ shown in December 2000, was the first, followed by ‘’Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken,’’’ a 10-part series shown last December. This year, ‘’Children of Dune,’’ which has its premiere tonight at 9, will be followed by a ‘’Battlestar Galactica’’ mini-series in December. ‘’The TV mini-series is kind of a lost genre because the networks have given up on it,’’ Ms. Hammer said, acknowledging that it wasn’t easy to get an audience to commit for three nights and six hours. But, she added, ‘’if you build it well, they will come.’’ Ms. Hammer also noted that the science fiction audience is particularly receptive to epic, multipart movies, as evidenced by the success of the ‘’Star Wars’’ and ‘’Lord of the Rings’’ film franchises. She and Mr. Rubinstein hope the Dune series has the same kind of legs. The process of converting the fourth, fifth and sixth Dune books into script form is already under way, Mr. Rubinstein said. Though Sci Fi has not committed to a third miniseries yet, Ms. Hammer says that if ‘’Children of Dune’’ is well received, the story will be continued, possibly even as a weekly series. Editors’ Picks ‘A Place Where Everybody Can Shop’ Is Closing Its Doors He Might Have Been Able to Fake His Death, if Only He’d Spell-Checked

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3 CRUSTACEAN Beverly Hills

2 SPAGO Beverly Hills

Chef Helene An and her family escaped Vietnam as the Communists Chef Chef Helene An escaped Vietnam as the Communists overran Saigon in 1975 and the rest really is history. She carried along the secret recipes that have made Crustacean one of the top Asian fusion restaurants in Beverly Hills for decades; and she’s even got a secret kitchenwithin-the-kitchen where only the few in the know are allowed. Her garlic noodles with prawns are legendary, as is her huge Dungeness crab roasted in secret spices. With a recent $10 million redesign, Crustacean has reopened and is better than ever, with Chef Tony Nguyen joining An in the kitchen. There are delicious dim sum offerings too, ranging from pho soup dumplings to a langoustine spring roll and a filet mignon beef satay. The new look is open and bright, and the fish tank walkway built into the floor remains the same, thank goodness, for it really wouldn’t be Crustacean without that.

Sit in an inside booth or out at a garden table, there’s not a bad seat in the house at Spago, the jewel in Wolfgang Puck’s culinary crown. Now in Beverly Hills, the restaurant began its life in West Hollywood in 1982 and for more than 30 years has delivered consistently delicious, innovative dishes. Puck, who recently received the James Beard Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award, led the way in creating “California cuisine” – the fusion of different ethnic foods (Japanese, Chinese, Italian, French, Mexican) all made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Be sure to taste the signature dishes: the Spicy Tuna Tartare, the Pizza with House Smoked Smoked Salmon, the Hand Made Agnolotti and the massive Grilled Veal Chop. And be sure to look around, too, for there’s likely to be a famous star sitting at a nearby table.

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Crustacean has been a Beverly Hills fixture for over 20 years and remains the place to find the best Asian cuisine in Southern California, hands down. Jenny’s expert tip: You simply must have An’s Famous Garlic Noodles and An’s Famous Roasted Crab. There’s a reason they are famous â” they are fabulous!

Recommended for Best Restaurants because: Wolfgang Puck started his culinary empire with Spago and it remains the touchstone by which all other L.A. restaurants are judged. Jenny’s expert tip: Stop in from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Tuesday to Saturday for Spago’s “Reverse Happy Hour” at the bar and make sure to order Puck’s signature Spicy Tuna Tartare served up in crunchy miso cones.

How I Came Out About My Disability Continue reading the main story In the meantime, Ms. Hammer sees ‘’Children of Dune’’ as an opportunity for the channel to reach beyond its geek niche. Many of Sci Fi’s original movies (it produces about 20 a year) are low-budget ‘’action and aliens’’ films geared to young males. And those hardcore fans will almost certainly appreciate the nifty spaceships and elaborate special effects made possible by ‘’Children of Dune’s’’ $20 million production budget. (Perhaps the most notable bit of techno-horror is the computer-generated images of giant desert sandworms.) But the creators of ‘’Children of Dune’’ insist the emphasis is less on effects than on character and political intrigue. ‘’This is science fiction for people who don’t ordinarily like science fiction,’’ Mr. Rubinstein said. That includes women, who watched the first Dune mini-series in high numbers. The Dune saga tends to appeal to women in part because it features powerful female characters, Mr. Rubinstein said. Ms. Sarandon echoed that view. ‘’One of the reasons I always loved the books was because they were driven by strong women, living outside the rules,’’ she said. For example, Paul’s sister, Alia (Daniela Amavia), rules the empire in his absence, while his mother, Lady Jessica (Alice Krige), has mystical powers enabling her to intervene at a critical point in the story. All the while, Ms. Sarandon’s character, Princess Wensicia, stirs the pot with clever schemes and deceptions. This particularly appealed to Ms. Sarandon because, she said, ‘’it’s always fun to play a smart villain.’’ Ms. Sarandon was also drawn to the geopolitical relevancy of the story. While Mr. Herbert may have been writing in another era, about a distant planet, the Dune tale ‘’is very apropos to some of what’s going on in the world today,’’ she said. ‘’It’s about the dangers of fundamentalism and the idea that absolute power corrupts.’’

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1 CATCH LA West Hollywood CATCH LA is the newest outpost of the popular EMM Group seafood restaurant chain that began in New York and has now expanded to Los Angeles (actually West Hollywood), Dubai and Playa del Carmen, Mexico. CATCH LA combines a super-sexy scene think famous actors, top athletes, Hollywood executives with some of the most mouthwatering seafood concoctions you have ever tasted. Head upstairs to the indoor-outdoor space with a view of the Pacific Design Center next door, and choose the patio or the indoor section, which on a clear evening will have its roof retracted, revealing a moonlight view. Then try selections from the various menus sections: Raw Bar, Signature Cold, Cold, Skewers, Rolled, Hot and

Signature Vegan and it is hard to go wrong. Pick Hamachi Spinach with its amazing ponzu sauce, go for the light Branzino in butter, and don’t miss the Truffle Sashimi. Recommended for Best Restaurants because: A hot social scene combined with world-class seafood and other dishes to be shared puts CATCH LA at the top of the Hollywood heap. Jenny’s expert tip: Order the “Signature Cold” dish of Truffle Sashimi and taste what just may be the most delicious seafood dish on the planet.

THANKS FOR ALL OF THE SPECIES IN THE WORLD .