19,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: Science & Technology Publishing
- Kategorie: Lebensstil
- Sprache: Englisch
Condiments, Spices and Flavors is a comprehensive exploration of the world’s most essential culinary enhancers, offering readers a fascinating journey through the history, cultivation, and uses of condiments and spices from around the globe. Drawing on a wealth of historical sources and practical knowledge, the book delves into the origins and evolution of flavorings that have shaped cuisines for centuries. It covers a wide array of ingredients, from common kitchen staples like salt, pepper, and mustard, to exotic spices such as saffron, cardamom, and tamarind, as well as a variety of sauces, vinegars, and pickled delicacies. The book provides detailed descriptions of each condiment and spice, including their botanical characteristics, methods of preparation, and culinary applications. It also discusses the cultural significance and medicinal properties attributed to these ingredients throughout history. Readers will find practical advice on selecting, storing, and blending spices, along with recipes and suggestions for enhancing everyday meals. With its engaging narrative and wealth of information, Condiments, Spices and Flavors serves as both a reference guide and an inspiration for home cooks, food enthusiasts, and anyone interested in the art of seasoning and flavoring food. Whether you are seeking to expand your culinary repertoire or deepen your appreciation for the rich tapestry of global flavors, this book is an indispensable resource that celebrates the diversity and magic of the world’s condiments and spices.
Das E-Book können Sie in Legimi-Apps oder einer beliebigen App lesen, die das folgende Format unterstützen:
Seitenzahl: 44
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025
Ähnliche
Transcriber’s Notes
Obvious typographical errors have been silently corrected.
The cover was prepared by the transcriber and is placed in the public domain.
Condiments Spices and ...... Flavors
Condiments, if properly used, assure digestion and hasten the absorption of food by the system.—THEODORE CHILD.
Copyright, 1894, by MARY E. GREEN, M. D.
Transcriber’s Notes
Condiments Spices and ... ... Flavors
PREFACE
CONDIMENTS, SPICES AND FLAVORS.
INDEX.
[Pg 1]
[Pg 2]
[Pg 3]
[Pg 4]
[Pg 5]
[Pg 6]
[Pg 7]
[Pg 8]
[Pg 9]
[Pg 10]
[Pg 11]
[Pg 12]
[Pg 13]
[Pg 14]
[Pg 15]
[Pg 16]
[Pg 17]
[Pg 18]
[Pg 19]
[Pg 20]
[Pg 21]
[Pg 22]
[Pg 23]
[Pg 24]
[Pg 25]
[Pg 26]
[Pg 27]
[Pg 28]
[Pg 29]
[Pg 30]
[Pg 31]
[Pg 32]
[Pg 33]
[Pg 34]
[Pg 35]
[Pg 36]
[Pg 37]
[Pg 38]
[Pg 39]
[Pg 40]
[Pg 41]
[Pg 42]
[Pg 43]
[Pg 44]
PREFACE
In this pamphlet no attempt has been made to give specific directions as to the uses of spices and condiments. It must be borne in mind that their usage results neither from the demands of fashion nor of a vitiated sense of taste, but from their own germicidal and preservative qualities. From the spiced and perfumed mummies of the Pharaohs to the spiced apple and pickled pear of our own store-rooms, the same reason for the use of spices exists—their antiseptic qualities. A short account of the divers kinds and qualities of these excellent substances may lead, it is hoped, to a more intelligent use of them in cookery. Nothing has been said about adulteration, for, while most of the adulterants of spices are harmless, still, fraud lies in the fact that the buyer pays a high price for an article part of which is worthless. As every housewife cannot be her own chemist, her safeguard lies in buying only of reliable spice houses.
CONDIMENTS, SPICES AND FLAVORS.
Maxim as ancient as the time of Democritus of Abdera reads: “Whatever pleases the palate nourishes.” Modern science has proven the truth of this maxim and has given us acceptable reason why condiments are no more necessary in palace of connoisseur than in hut of barbarian, why they are as eagerly used by the native of Labrador as by the swarthy son of the tropics; why they are the property of Mohammedan, Confucian, Buddhist, Gentile and Jew, of all castes, races and civilizations. Acting principally upon the nervous system through the sense of smell, condiments stimulate the flow of both the saliva and gastric juices. They materially aid digestion, and the familiar phrase, “to make the mouth water,” states a physiological fact. From this standpoint the fragrant aroma of steaming coffee and the savory odor of a stew are as truly condiments as pepper and salt; for condiments are the magic wand which transforms most commonplace of foods into essences, subtle and delicious. They are equally appropriate to the steaming potage of the French peasant and the sacrificial altars of Palestine and Greece. Nothing more closely tests the skill of the cook than his use of these appetizing flavors. Like genii of the fairy tale, they are willing, versatile and obedient as slaves; when master their pathway is strewn with sorrowful though most aromatic wrecks of soups and hors d’œuvres. They should permeate food as incense does the atmosphere, delicate, impalpable and as indescribable as they are requisite. The too abundant use of a certain condiment or spice, the lack of another or the injudicious mingling of certain others will ruin the finest pudding, sauce or soup ever compounded.
Condiments and spices are as ancient as civilization. The oldest books of the scriptures, notably Exodus, Leviticus, Job and the Canticles, make frequent reference to salt and spices, substances which were then costly, chiefly dedicated to royalty and the uses of temple and altar. The Greeks followed the Semitic customs to some extent in their disposition of spices, not using them as largely in their food as have later races. They were fond of aromatic flavorings and it is said that the laurels of Greece, of which the cinnamon is a species, possessed that quality to a greater extent than those of any other country, although all laurels have aromatic leaves.
Homer in the Iliad refers with naïve surprise to those people unaccustomed to the use of salt, and in the ninth book pictures Patroclus as
By the mediæval Romans condiments were well liked. They made, according to one author, a pickle from the tunny fish, just as their languorous descendants are doing to-day, and also prepared a condiment from the intestines of the mackerel. “Liver of the capon, steeped in milk and beccaficoes, and dressed with pepper” was another of their highly seasoned dishes.
In the thirteenth century Dante, in the description of the alchemists and forgers of the tenth gulf of the Inferno, referred to one Niccolo of Sienna, “who first the spice’s luxury discovered.” Contemporary with him in England, William Langland, in his “Vision of Piers the Plowman,” inquired if thou “hast in thy purse any hot spices?”
