Spices and condiments

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SPICES AND CONDIMENTS

BY

JAMES B. McNAIR
Assistant Curator of Economic Botany

Botany
Leaflet 15

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY

CHICAGO

1930

LIST OF BOTANICAL LEAFLETS ISSUED TO DATE

No. 1. Figs $ .10

No. 2. The Coco Palm 10

No. 3. Wheat 10

No. 4. Cacao 10

No. 5. A Fossil Flower 10

No. 6. The Cannon Ball Tree 10

No. 7. Spring Wild Flowers 25

No. 8. Spring and Early Summer Wild Flowers . . .25

No. 9. Summer Wild Flowers 25

No, 10. Autumn Flowers and Fruits 25

No. 11. Common Trees 25

No. 12. Poison Ivy 25

No. 13. Sugar and Sugar- Making 50

No. 14. Indian Corn 25

No. 15. Spices and Condiments 25

STEPHEN C. SIMMS. Director

FIELD MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY
CHICAGO, U. S. A.

LIBRARY

OF THE

UNIVl^SITY OF ILLINOIS

Field Museum of Natural History

DEPARTMENT OF BOTANY
Chicago, 1930

Leaflet Number 15
cofybight 1930 by field museum op natural history

Spices and Condiments

There is probably no more romantic chapter in the
history of vegetable products than that of the discovery
of spices and condiments. In all parts of the world from
the earliest known times, spices have been almost as
eagerly sought as gold. The discoveries of new land, the
determination of shorter trade routes, and the colonization
of producing countries have resulted from the pursuit of
drugs and spices. It was this search which lead to the
first rounding of the Cape of Good Hope, the coloniza-
tion of the East Indies, and the discovery of America.
The Straits Settlements colony was the result of
Portuguese, Dutch and English competition for the
eastern spice trade. The development of European
trade and European influence in southern India was
due to the pepper gardens; in Mauritius and the Sey-
chelles it was caused by vanilla; and in Ceylon it was
started by cinnamon and cardamom exports.

Most of the spices used by man have had their home
in the tropics of Asia; the rest of the globe has produced
comparatively few.

From Asia have come black pepper, cardamom, cinna-
mon, nutmeg, and mace; from the Malay Archipelago
cloves, clove bark, turmeric, ginger, and greater galangal ;
and from China cassia bark and lesser galangal. Africa
has given grains of paradise, while America has con-
tributed vanilla, red pepper, and allspice. From the cool
climates of northern Europe and Asia have come a few,

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such as coriander, cumin, caraway, mustard, and calamus
root. Often the knowledge of the original home of eco-
nomic plants cultivated by man for many centuries has
been lost. This is likewise true of many of the tropical
spices from eastern Asia.

Spices can be classified according to the parts of the
plant from which the commercial products are taken.

Cloves and capers are dried flower buds; nutmeg,
vanilla, red pepper, black pepper, and allspice are fruits;
ginger and turmeric are underground stems; cumin and
cassia are barks.

PYom the point of view of their properties they may
be arranged in three groups: stimulating condiments —
mustard, horse-radish, garlic, shallot, red pepper, black
pepper, and turmeric; aromatic spices — cloves, cinna-
mon, cassia, cardamom, ginger, mace, nutmeg, caraway,
anise, cumin, etc.; and sweet herbs — thyme, mint, sage,
basil, marjoram, savory, fennel, parsley, etc.

All aromatic vegetable products which are used in
flavoring foods and drinks are included under the name
of spice. Almost all have other uses, also, for which they
are in commercial demand. Quite a number are useful in
perfumery and soap-making, such as vanilla and cloves.
Some are used in making incense, e.g., cinnamon; others
are useful in medicines, either for flavoring or therapeutic
value, as cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, etc. Turmeric is
used as a dye, oil of cloves is used to clear sections in
microscopy, and other spices are used in several arts.
The commercial demand is increased by these additional
uses, which tend to stabilize the price.

In the Middle Ages, from the twelfth century on,
the use of spices was large in every family. In recent
years the use of spice for flavoring food has decreased.
Artificial flavorings also have altered the demand, but
nevertheless a profitable commerce exists even if it is

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Spices and Condiments 3

not as large as in the days when, next to gold, spices
were considered most worth the risk of life and money.
The trade is still extensive in Europe and the oriental
demand is as large as ever. The value of all spices
shipped directly to the United States averages about
twelve million dollars annually.

In France the ethereal flavor of such plants as fennel,
basil, and balm is sought. In Germany and England
preference is given to more pronounced flavors, such as
dill, sage, and mint, while the kinds most commonly
employed in America are parsley, sage, thyme, marjoram,
savory, etc.

The spices and condiments of southern Asia and the
adjoining islands that constituted the first objects of
commerce between the East and West have played an
important role in the trade of all ages. They have kept
their original value in spite of all changes in the history
of the world. The same spicy cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg,
cardamom, pepper, and ginger have been highly appreci-
ated since antiquity, and still thrive in primitive freshness
and profusion as they did thousands of years ago in the
sunny countries and islands of the Orient.

ALLSPICE

Allspice is the dried unripe fruit of a beautiful ever-
green tree (Pimenta officinalis Lindl.) of the myrtle family
(Myrtaceae), and of the same family as the clove tree.
The fruit is picked while unripe because it loses its spicy
flavor when fully ripe. The ripe berries have a soft
pulp but are almost without odor, hence without value
as a spice.

The name allspice was given it from a resemblance in
odor and taste to a mixture of cinnamon, cloves, and
nutmeg. It is known also as pimento and Jamaica pepper.
The word pimento is derived from pimienta, the Spanish
word for peppercorns, which the spice resembles in shape.

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Growers of allspice distinguish between fruitful, or
bearing trees, and unfruitful, or so-called "male" trees.
The pimento is not a unisexual plant like the nutmeg.
Being allied to the clove, it has much the same structure
of the flower. It is not likely, therefore, that the flowers
are actually male and female respectively, but the so-
called male flowers have some defect in the pistil which
prevents their fertilization. Plants in the Singapore
Botanic Gardens, though flowering freely, never set a
single fruit on account of some such defect.

The allspice tree is a native of the West Indies, on the
islands of Cuba, Haiti, Trinidad, and Santo Domingo,
and more or less in most of the islands of the Caribbean
Sea, but it is most abundant in Jamaica, which produces
the greater part of the commercial spice. The tree
occurs also in Mexico, Central America, and Vene-
zuela, but does not appear to have been cultivated
successfully elsewhere. The saplings of pimento are highly
valued as walking sticks and for umbrella sticks. At one
time these canes were exported in such large quantities
from Jamaica as to threaten the existence of the spice
industry.

Composition. — The fruit yields a yellow or brownish-
yellow oil containing eugenol, with practically the same
qualities as clove oil. The berries contain 3 to 4.5 per
cent of the oil. Most of the oil is in the pericarp but the
seeds also are aromatic.

History. — It seems first to have been imported into
Europe about 1601, or a little later, and according to
Parkinson substituted for round cardamoms. Ray, in
his Historia plantarum (1693), distinguished it as a
Jamaica spice under the name of "sweet-scented Jamaica
pepper" or "allspice."

Use. — Allspice is used chiefly for flavoring confec-
tionery, pickles, and other such foods.

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Spices and Condibients 6

ANGELICA

Angelica (Archangelica officinalis Hoffm.) is a biennial
or perennial herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae).
The plant is said to be a native of Syria, but has now
spread to many cold European climates, especially to
Lapland and the Alps, where it has become naturalized.
The odd flavor and odor of angelica are due to a volatile
oil which is contained in many parts of the plant.

History. — It appears to have been used first as a
spice during the fifteenth century. Its use for the prepa-
ration of distilled angelica water was described in 1500.

Use. — The roots, young stems, leaf stalks, and midribs
or leaves are steeped in sjrrups of increasing strength to
make candied angelica, and the seeds are used for the
flavoring of beverages, cakes, and candies. The oil dis-
tilled from the seed is used for flavoring.

ANISE

Anise seeds are from Pimpinella Anisum L., an annual
herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae). The anise plant
came originally from the Orient. It has been introduced
throughout the Mediterranean region and into Germany
and other temperate regions of both hemispheres. The
European market is supplied by Russia, Germany,
Scandinavia, Bohemia, Moravia, France, the Nether-
lands, and Spain. It is grown extensively also in India.

History. — Anise seed is mentioned in the Bible (Matt.
23:23) and by Dioscorides, Theophrastus and Pliny.
In the ninth century Charlemagne commanded that it
be grown upon the imperial farms. In the thirteenth
century Albertus Magnus spoke highly of it. Anise oil is
first mentioned in medical books in the Pharmacopoea
Augustana of 1580.

Composition. — The typical odor of anise seed is due
to its volatile oil. The taste is intensely sweet. The

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6 Field Museum op Natural History

volatile oil consists of 80-90 per cent of anethol (para-
methoxypropenylbenzene, C3H6.C6H4[OCH3]), and methyl-
chavicol and terpenes.

Use. — Seeds of anise are used to flavor curry powder,
cake, pastry, and confectionery, and some kinds of cheese
and bread. The oil is employed to flavor beverages, to
disguise unpleasant flavors of various drugs, and to per-
fume soaps and other toilet articles.

BALM

Balm {Melissa officinalis L.) is a perennial herb of the
mint family (Labiatae) which is considered to be a native
of southern Europe. It has been introduced into nearly
all the temperate climates of the world. Its popular name
is a contraction of the word "balsam," the plant having
been used formerly as a specific remedy for a host of
ailments. The generic name, Melissa, is the Greek word
for "bee," and is an allusion to the fondness of bees for
the abundant nectar of the flowers. This undoubtedly
has resulted in one of the common names for the plant,
bee balm. It is of interest to note that balm seeds are
very small; more than fifty thousand are required to
weigh an ounce.

History. — Balm has been cultivated as a source of
honey and as a sweet herb for more than two thousand
years in the southern part of Europe and during the
Middle Ages in Germany and Scandinavia. It was culti-
vated by the Greeks and Romans as well as by the Arabs.
It is frequently mentioned in German and Latin poetry
and prose.

Use. — The foliage of balm is employed to flavor soups,
stews, sauces, and dressing. The fresh leaves are used
to some extent in salads. The oil of balm has a lemon-
like odor which is characteristic also of the leaves and
is used to flavor various beverages.

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Spices and Condiments

BASIL

Basil (Ocimum Basilicum L.) is an annual herb of the
mint family (Labiatae) and is said to be a native of
India and Africa. It is now cultivated in England and
Europe as an aromatic plant for seasoning. The popular
name signifies "royal" or "kingly." In France it is
known as the herhe royale.

History. — For centuries basil has been esteemed as a
condiment in India. During the reigns of Mary and
Elizabeth in England farmers grew basil in pots and
presented them with compliments to their landladies,
when visits were made.

Composition. — Like the other spices of the mint family,
basil owes its characteristic properties to a volatile oil. This
oil contains pinene, cineol, camphor, and methylchavicol.

Use. — The leaves of basil are used to flavor stews and
dressings. It is one of the most popular herbs in the
French cuisine and is especially relished in mock turtle
soup, which when properly made derives its peculiar taste
chiefly from the clove-like flavor of basil. The original
and famous Fetter Lane sausages, formerly popular with
cockney epicures, owe their reputation chiefly to basil.
The golden-yellow essential oil from the leaves is utilized
in perfumery and in the preparation of chartreuse and
similar liquors.

SWEET BAY

The sweet bay {Laurus nohilis L.) is a small tree of
the laurel family, a native of the Mediterranean region.
It is well known to most of us, as the most universal of
evergreen tub plants, and it is of the same family as
cinnamon and sassafras. It is considered by some as
indigenous to Asia Minor, Syria, and the Silician Taurus,
and has been extensively cultivated in shrubberies and
sheltered gardens in Europe.

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History. — This plant is the laurel of history and
poetry. During classical antiquity it acquired great sig-
nificance as a symbol of victory, but apparently was used
in no other way at that time than as a decorative plant.
By Dioscorides, Palladius, and Pliny it is mentioned
among anointing and medicinal substances.

Composition. — The leaves yield a fixed oil and an essen-
tial oil. The essential oil contains principally myrcene (a
terpene), eugenol, chavicol, citral, and phellandrene.

Use. — Although the Germans and Russians esteemed
the sweet bay only for decorative purposes, during the
Middle Ages the plant was an ingredient of medicines.
At the present time it is used mostly for non-medicinal
purposes. The agreeable odor of bay leaves, with the
bitter aromatic taste, has found use as a flavor for
various culinary products.

BORAGE

Borage {Borago officinalis L.) is a coarse annual herb
of the family Boraginaceae. Its popular name is supposed
to have come from burr age, "rough," Low Latin horra,
and relates it indirectly to birrus, a thick coarse woolen
cloth worn by the poor during the thirteenth century.
The roughness of the full-grown leaves suggests flannel.

The plant originally came from Aleppo, but for cen-
turies it was considered a native of Mediterranean Europe
and Africa. It has become naturalized throughout the
world by the Europeans, grows very easily, and disputes
possession with many weeds.

History. — According to Ainslie, it was among the
plants listed by Peter Martyr as planted on Isabella
Island by the companions of Columbus.

Use. — The use of the plant in medicine is now obsolete,
and its principal use is for flavoring. It is valued as a
flavor in an English drink called "cool tankard," which

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Spices and Condiments 9

is made of wine, water, lemon juice, sugar, and borage
flowers. Often it is used similarly in lemonade, negus,
claret cup, and fruit juice drinks.

CALAMUS ROOT or SWEET FLAG

Sweet flag is the rootstock of calamus (Acorus Calamus
L.), a member of the arum family, a native of northern
Asia from the Black Sea to China and also of Japan and
North America. It is found likewise in Europe as far
north as Scotland and northern Russia, India, Burma,
Ceylon, and the Malay region, but probably was intro-
duced into these places. At present most of the drug is
brought from southern Russia through Germany to the
London market, although occasionally a little comes from
India. The rhizome of calamus owes its aromatic agree-
able scent and bitter pungent taste to a volatile oil. The
oil of sweet flag is found in oil cells in the outer part of
the rhizome, so that peeling before using should be
avoided. The yield of oil is about 1.3 per cent.

History. — If the calamus of the Bible is the sweet flag,
mentions of it in Exod. 30:23, Canticles 4:14, and Ezek.
27:19, are the earliest records of its use. However, there
is some doubt as to what was meant in these passages.
Dioscorides lists it and it is described by Pliny in the
years a.d. 23 to 79.

Use. — Although in the Indo-Malay region it is valued
^ chiefly as a drug, it is used to a slight extent to flavor
beer, cordials, and other drinks, and therefore may be
classed as a spice.

CAPERS

Capers are the flower buds of the caper bush (Capparis
spinosa L.) of the caper family (Capparidaceae), which
grows abundantly in the southern part of Europe, along
the shores and on the islands of the Mediterranean and in
Syria. The plant is found wild about Rome, Vienna, and

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CAPER

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Spices and Condiments 11

Florence. It is cultivated in France, Spain, Italy, and
Majorca, where capers are of commercial value. The
greatest supply comes from Sicily, but those of Provence
have the highest reputation for their flavor and keeping
qualities. Fresh buds are gathered every morning before
they expand and are pickled in strong white vinegar and
salt. The smallest, greenest buds have the finest quality.
Capers are used as a pickle and sauce. The flavor is due
to capric acid, CHjCCHOsCOOH.

CARAWAY

Caraway (Carum Carvi L.) is a biennial or annual herb
of the carrot family (Umbelliferae). Both its botanical
and popular names are supposed to have been derived
from Caria in Asia Minor, where the plant is believed
first to have attracted attention. The seeds are exported
from Morocco, Russia, Prussia, and Holland. Where
caraway is cultivated, it is frequently sown with coriander.
The coriander matures more quickly and is harvested
before the caraway produces a flowering stem.

History. — Caraway seed was found by O'Heer in the
debris of Swiss Lake dwellings, and because of this the
plant has been considered a native of Europe. The careum
of Pliny is considered to be the same plant. In the twelfth
and thirteenth centuries it was grown in Morocco by the
Arabs. From Asia it was spread by Phoenician commerce
to western Europe. Distilled oil of caraway is first men-
tioned in the price ordinance of Berlin for 1574.

The plant is now widely distributed and is found in
Iceland, Scandinavia, the mountains of Spain, the Hima-
layas of Hindostan, the veldt of South Africa, the bush
of Australia, and prairies and pampas of America. How-
ever, it is cultivated mostly in Europe and Asia.

Composition. — Caraway seeds have a hot and acrid
but pleasant taste due to an essential oil consisting of

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12 Field Museum of Natural History

carvol (C10H14O) a ketone 50 to 60 per cent, and the terpene
d-limonene or carvene.

Use. — Caraway seeds are used in bread, cheese,
liquors, salads, sauces, soups, and candy, and especially
in seed cakes, cookies, and other foods. The volatile oil
from the fruit is employed for toilet articles such as
perfumes and soap.

CARDAMOM

There are several plants of the Zingiberaceae or
ginger family which produce spices known as cardamom.
The most important of these plants is Elettaria Carda-
momum Maton, which supplies the greater part of the
cardamom of commerce and is apparently the only one
cultivated. This is a strictly herbaceous, tropical plant.
Practically all the cardamoms of commerce are grown in
India and Ceylon, for, although the plant has been
introduced into most tropical countries, no extensive cul-
tivation has resulted. In Ceylon cardamoms have been
one of the most important crops for many years. The
light, bright color of good cardamoms is obtained by
bleaching. One of the bleaching processes used in Ceylon
consists of sprinkling the capsules with water and immedi-
ately exposing them to the full sunlight.

History. — There were spices known to the Greeks and
Romans as cardamomum and amomum, but it is not
certain that these plants were the present-day cardamoms,
although the name of this spice as we know it evidently
is taken from these words. Cardamoms were known to
Indian and Arabic writers in very early times and are
mentioned in the list of spices liable to duty at Alexandria
in A.D. 176-180. The Portuguese were the first to pay
attention to them as an article of trade in Ceylon in the
sixteenth century, and the Dutch government helped the
industry in every way during its occupation of the island,
but it was not until after the failure of coffee in Ceylon

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Spices and Condiments 18

in 1878 that the industry was developed to its greatest
extent.

Composition. — The seeds contain 4-5 per cent of a
volatile oil with a penetrating but agreeable odor and a
burning camphor-like taste.

Use. — This spice is used in curry powder and for
flavoring cakes, especially in Russia, Sweden, Norway,
and parts of Germany. It is also utilized in the manu-
facture of liquors.

CASSIA

There are several barks of an aromatic nature known
in commerce as cassia bark or Cassia lignea. All of them
belong to one or more species of Cinnamomum, and are
found wild in the eastern Asiatic Archipelago and China.
The species found in the Malay Archipelago are wild
trees, while those in China are cultivated. Cinnamomum
Cassia BL, which is planted, is a large evergreen tree
attaining a height of fifty feet and a circumference of five
feet. The Chinese territory in which it is grown is com-
paratively limited — the provinces of Kwang-si and
Kwang-tung, a district lying between 110° and 112° east
longitude. It is bounded on the north by Si-Kiang, or
West River, and extends to the south as far as 23° 3' north
latitude. The bark is sent down the Si-Kiang, the natural
water route, to Canton,

History. — Cassia has been known from early times as
a spice, and it is mentioned frequently in the Bible. Many
Greek authors wrote of it, and it is described in Chinese
herbals as early as 2700 B.C. Cassia was known to western
Europe as early as the seventh century, and is mentioned
in medical books written in England before 1066. The
exact place of origin of the Chinese bark was unknown to
Europe until 1882.

Use. — Good cassia bark has the flavor of cinnamon
and is as sweet and aromatic, though often described as

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CASSIA

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Spices and Condiments 15

less fine and delicate in flavor. It sells at a lower price
than cinnamon and is used chiefly as a substitute for it.
The principal constituent of cassia bark is cassia oil. The
oil is found not only in the bark but also in the flowers,
peduncles, branches, and leaves. This oil contains 73 to
90 per cent of cinnamic aldehyde.

CASSIA BUDS

Cassia buds are the dried unripe fruit of the Chinese
cassia tree {Cinnamomum Cassia Bl.) of the laurel family
(Lauraceae). After flowering, the sepal of the flower
swells and forms a cup in which the small, black, olive-like
fruit sits like an acorn in its cup. In appearance cassia
buds resemble cloves, but are smaller. The cloves are
flower buds, while the cassia buds are not. Cassia buds
have an odor and flavor similar to cinnamon. They are
gathered when about one-fourth their maximum size.
The tree is apparently a native of southern China, and
the product is exported from Canton, China, and southern
India.

Use. — Cassia buds are used as a spice, chiefly in con-
fectionery in place of cinnamon. They are popular among
the oriental nations, and the Germans and Russians pre-
fer cassia to cinnamon for flavoring chocolate because it
is stronger in taste.

CATMINT or CATNIP

Catmint or catnip (Nepeta Cataria L.) is an erect,
branching, perennial herb about three feet high which
belongs to the mint family (Labiatae) and is considered
a native of Europe and the Orient. Catmint is a well-
known weed naturalized in America and frequently found
in dry waste places, especially in the East. The popular
name of the plant is in allusion to the attraction the
plant has for cats. They not only eat it but rub themselves

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16 Field Museum op Natural History

upon it, purring with delight. The generic name is derived
from the Etrurian city Nepic, in the neighborhood of
which various species of the plant formerly became well
known.

Use. — The greatest value of the plant is for bee forage.
As a condiment the leaves were formerly in popular use,
especially in sauces. Milder flavors are now more highly
esteemed but the French still use it to a slight extent.

CHERVIL

Chervil (Anthriscus CerefoUum Hoffm.) is a small
annual herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae), a native
to the Caucasus, southern Russia, and western Asia. Its
highly aromatic leaves are used by the French and
English for seasoning and for mixed salads. They are
rarely employed alone but serve as the chief ingredient in
what the French call fines herbes, a mixture which finds
its way into a great many culinary concoctions.

CHIVES

Chives (Allium Schoenoprasum L.) are bulbous onion-
like perennials of the lily family (Liliaceae). They are
native to Europe and Asia and are commonly grown in
those continents and to a certain extent in America. The
odor and taste resemble those of onions, and the leaves
are frequently used instead of onions for flavoring salads,
stews, and other dishes.

CINNAMON

The cinnamon of commerce is the bark of an evergreen
tree (Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees) of the laurel family
(Lauraceae). The tree is a native of Ceylon, and is grown
also in southern India, Burma, and the Malay Peninsula.
The tree when full grown is about twenty feet high,
although it may grow as high as forty feet. Cinnamon

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Spices and Condiments 17

is said to be grown to a small extent in French Guiana,
I Brazil, and Jamaica, and attempts have been made to
' cultivate the plant in many parts of the world, with but
little success. Ceylon still holds the cinnamon market.
The tree is common in Ceylon, especially between 1,000
and 2,500 feet above the sea, occasionally at 7,000 feet.
At the highest altitude the leaves have a typical clove
odor, but the bark has very little true cinnamon taste.
Cinnamon bark is collected, cut, and peeled after the
first rains of the season, when the sap begins to circulate
between the wood and the bark. The bark of young
shoots has very little flavor, and the best bark comes
from shoots two years old and from the middle of these
shoots. The shoots exposed to the sun during growth
are more acrid and spicy than those grown in the shade.

History. — Cinnamon is among the oldest spices known,
and the history of its use as a drug is very interesting.
In the early writings it was confused with cassia. Both
cinnamon and cassia were valued in Biblical times and
often mentioned in the Old and New Testaments. In
1505 the Portuguese sailed around the Cape of Good
Hope and discovered Ceylon. Before this time cinnamon
reached Europe through the old caravan routes across
the eastern Mediterranean region. In 1536 the Portu-
guese occupied the island of Ceylon for the sake of the
cinnamon, but after 1656 the Dutch took Ceylon from
the Portuguese and monopolized its spice production.
In 1796 the English took Ceylon from the Dutch, and
the East India Company possessed the monopoly of
cinnamon until 1833. In 1825 the plant was introduced
into Java by the Dutch. Oil of cinnamon is included in
the list of drugs in the first edition of the Dispensatorium
Noricum, published in 1546.

Use. — Cinnamon bark has an agreeable odor and a
slightly sweet taste, and is used mainly as a spice. It is

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18 Field Museum of Natural History

valued also in medicine as a cordial and stimulant, as
well as in the manufacture of incense. The flavor of
cinnamon is due principally to a volatile oil which con-
tains 80 to 85 per cent of cinnamic aldehyde. Cinnamon
oil is made chiefly in Ceylon from inferior bark, broken
quills, and chips. The yield of oil is .5 to 1 per cent.

CLARY

Clary {Salvia Sclarea L.) is an erect biennial herb
which grows as high as two or three feet, a member of
the mint family (Labiatae) and a native of southern
Europe. The popular and specific name is a corruption of
the Latin word clarea which means "clear" or "bright,"
in reference to the color of the flowers. Clary was a pre-
linnaean name for the plant. Syria has been considered
the original home of the plant, but Italy also is mentioned,
the presumption being in favor of the former. The plant
is rarely seen in America, except in foreigners' gardens.

History. — Clary was introduced into England prior to
1538, when Turner published his book on garden lore.

Use. — The plant is seldom used in America and Eng-
land and is less popular than formerly, having been
replaced by sage. Wine is sometimes made from the
plant when it is in flower.

CLOVES

Cloves are the undeveloped blossoms, dried in the air,
of an evergreen tree, Eugenia aromatica Baill. {Caryophyl-
lus aromaticus L.). This is a small tree belonging to the
myrtle family (Myrtaceae), whose species are natives of
tropical and subtropical regions all over the world. Many
plants of this family are aromatic but none so highly so
as this species, and none is as valuable in commerce. The
trees grow from twelve to twenty feet tall and in some
places as high as forty feet. Cloves are so named from

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Spices and Condiments

19

CLOVES

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20 Field Museum of Natural History

the French word clou meaning "nail," an object which
they somewhat resemble.

According to Rumphius, a walk in the clove woods
when the trees are in bud or flower is said to cause head-
aches, but, as he points out, the season in Amboyna —
October and November — is a hot one, and the heat
probably is the cause of the discomfort.

At one time or another this tree has been introduced
into nearly all parts of the tropics, experimentally at least,
but comparatively few attempts have been made in most
tropical countries to cultivate it on a large commercial
scale. The tree is of relatively slow growth and its product
is of limited demand, so that a very extended area of
cultivation is not required to stock the world's market.

The clove tree was originally indigenous to the Philip-
pines and to some of the Moluccas or, as they are fre-
quently called, "Spice Islands," namely, Tidore, Ternate,
Mortir, Machian, and Batchian, volcanic islands in the
neighborhood of Gilolo.

It is now cultivated in Guiana, Zanzibar, Pemba, Java,
Sumatra, Reunion, Amboyna, Mauritius, Madagascar,
and the West Indies as well as in the Spice Islands. Zan-
zibar and Pemba together grow 90 per cent of the world
production.

History. — The earliest record of this spice is in Chinese
books dating from 266 B.C. to 220 B.C., wherein officers
of the court are required to hold cloves in their mouths
when addressing their sovereign. Pliny mentions a spice
as occurring in India, which was probably cloves. From
the eighth century onward it was regularly imported into
Europe. Marco Polo describes it as being obtained from
Java and China. Oil of cloves is mentioned in the drug
ordinance of the city of Berlin in 1574.

The Portuguese held control of the Spice Islands until
1605, when they were expelled by the Dutch, who main-

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Spices and Condiments 21

tained almost complete monopoly of the spice trade until
the eighteenth century.

Use. — Cloves are used mainly as a spice. They are
employed for flavoring, as, for instance, in hams. Cloves
are chewed to flavor the breath and are used by betel
nut chewers as an addition to the betel nut and sirih leaf.
They contain 15 to 19 per cent of oil which is used in per-
fumes and articles of the toilet and in grease, soaps, and
spirits.

From 76 to 85 per cent of clove oil is made up of
eugenol. By oxidation eugenol is changed into vanillin.
Vanillin is artificial vanilla and is used as a substitute for
vanilla (see vanilla).

CORIANDER

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) is a hardy annual
herb of the carrot family (Umbellif erae) . The name
coriander is derived from the Greek word coris, "a bug,"
in allusion to its odor. It is indigenous to the Mediter-
ranean region and formerly was cultivated in England,
but it is grown largely also in northern India, France,
and Germany.

History. — Coriander has been cultivated from such
ancient times that the exact place of its first appearance
is unknown. It is mentioned in early Egyptian papjrri,
and its seeds have been found in Egyptian tombs of the
Twenty-first Dynasty (1000 B.C.). To Sanskrit authors it
was known as kustumhuru. It is mentioned in the Bible
as having a resemblance to manna (Exodus and Numbers).
Pliny wrote that the best quality came to Italy from
Egypt. It is mentioned by Cato in the third century.
Before 1066 it was well known in Great Britain, probably
having been taken there by the Romans. Coriander is
mentioned also among the useful plants recommended
for cultivation by Charlemagne, but it appears to have
received only slight consideration by the Germans in the

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22 Field Museum op Natural History

Middle Ages. The fruit is mentioned in the medical and
distilling books of the sixteenth century. It was intro-
duced into Massachusetts before 1670.

Composition. — The fruit possesses a peculiar flavor
suggestive of bugs, due to the nature of the aromatic oil
contained in it when unripe; when ripe and dry it has a
more pleasant aromatic taste. This oil contains 90 per
cent of coriandrol and d-pinene; coriandrol yields citral
on oxidation and may be converted into geraniol.

Use. — Coriander seed is used in comfits and other
confectionery and in breads, especially in the East. It is
also an ingredient of curry powder and other condiments.
Certain distilled liquors, such as gin, are partially flavored
by it. The leaves are used by Chinese cooks in Singapore
and elsewhere for flavoring soups and as "sumbul" in
curries.

The oil is taken from the fruit in commercial quantities
in Russia, Moravia, and Thuringia.

CUMIN

Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum L.) is a low-growing
annual herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae), said to be
a native of the Nile Valley. It has been cultivated in the
Mediterranean region, Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, India,
China, and Palestine from very early times.

History. — Mention is made of this plant in the Bible
(Isa. 18:25-27 and Matt. 23:23). According to the
Papyrus Ebers, cumin and caraway seeds have been
found in Egyptian graves. Pliny considered cumin the
best appetizer of all condiments. It was known in
England toward the end of the thirteenth century and
in Germany in the fifteenth century. At present it is
extensively cultivated in Malta and Sicily, but will mature
seeds as far north as Norway. The plant is very seldom
seen in America.

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Spices and Condiments 28

Composition. — The seeds have a peculiar strong aro-
matic odor and hot taste. This is due to a volatile oil,
which consists chiefly of cumic aldehyde.

Use. — The seeds are used in India in curry powders
and in France for seasoning pickles, pastry, and soups. In
Germany the seeds are frequently mixed in breads and
cakes and in Holland they are employed to flavor cheese.

DILL

Dill (Anethum graveolens L.) is a hardy annual or
biennial herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae), which
includes also caraway, coriander, fennel, cumin, parsley,
anise and angelica. It is said to be a native of the
Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, and occurs as a
weed in cereal crops in southern Europe and south to
Egjrpt and Abyssinia. It grows spontaneously also in
America in many places. In India it is grown in the
same way as coriander.

History. — It was cultivated by the Greeks and Romans
and in ancient times was planted in Palestine. The word
translated "anise" in the Bible (Matt. 23:23) is said to
have been "dill" in the original Greek. In Pliny's time
it was well known and it was often discussed by writers
in the Middle Ages. It was cultivated in England as
early as the tenth century, and in America it has been
grown for over a hundred years.

Use. — In India it is used as an ingredient in curry
powder and also as a substitute for caraway seed in seed
cakes. The French employ dill for flavoring preserves,
cakes, and pastry, and add the seeds to soups, sauces,
and stews. Probably it is most used in pickles, especially
in preserving cucumbers according to German recipes.
The essential oil of the seed is utilized for perfuming
soaps. Sometimes the seeds are soaked in vinegar to
make dill vinegar.

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24

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From Label, Kruydtboeck, 1581

DILL

[274]

Spices and Condiments 26

FENNEL

Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Hill) is a biennial or
perennial herb of the carrot family (Umbelliferae). It
is considered to be a native of southern Europe, although
it is commonly found on all the Mediterranean shores.
It has spread with civilization, especially where Italians
have colonized, and now is found wild as an escape from
cultivation in many parts of the world, upon dry soil
near the sea coast and on river banks. It is thus found
on the chalky lands of England and the shelly formation
of Bermuda. At the present time fennel is most popular
in Italy and France.

History. — Fennel was cultivated by the Romans for
its aromatic fruits and succulent edible shoots. Fennel
was known to the ancient Chinese, Hindus, and Egyp-
tians principally as a kitchen spice. No mention is
made of it in the translations of the Bible. Frequent
mention of it is found in Anglo-Saxon cookery prior to
the Norman Conquest in 1066. Charlemagne ordered
its cultivation upon the imperial farms.

Composition. — The characteristic odor and taste of
fennel are caused by a volatile oil, found in the leaves
and other parts. This oil contains anethol, fenchone,
dextropinene, methylchavicol, and phellandrene.

Use. — Three hundred years ago the plant is said to
have performed wonders in a medical way. Parkinson
states in his Theatrum botanicum in 1640 that it has among
its virtues the property for people who "are growen fat
to abate their unwieldinesse and make them more gaunt
and lanke." At the present time it is considered indis-
pensable in French and Italian cookery. Young plants
and leaves are minced and added to sauces to be served
with puddings, soups, and fish. The famous carosella of
Naples is made from the stems, which are cut when the
plant is about to bloom. The seeds are used in cookery,

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26 Field Museum of Natural History

confectionery, and liquors. The volatile oil from the
seeds is added to perfumes and scented soaps.

FLORENCE FENNEL

This fennel (Foeniculum duke DC.) belongs to the
same family (Umbelliferae) as the common fennel. It is
a dwarf annual herb, said to be a native of Italy, which
is used only as a vegetable.

FENNEL FLOWER

Fennel flower (Nigella sativa L.) is a Mediterranean
annual herb of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae),
grown to a limited extent in southern Europe but scarcely
known in America.

Use. — ^Among the Romans it was esteemed in cookery,
hence one of its common names is Roman coriander. The
seeds are used in flavoring and like dill seed in cookery.

GALANGAL

Two spices are known as galangal, the lesser and the
greater galangal; both are species of the genus Alpinia and
members of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae).

Lesser galangal (Alpinia officinarum Hance) is an herb
with smooth, cylindrical, reddish-brown rootstocks. The
lesser galangal has been cultivated extensively only in
southern China.

History. — The earliest reference to this spice appears
in the years a.d. 869 to 885, when the Arabian geographer,
Ibn Khurdabah, wrote of it. It was not known to the
ancient Greeks. Marco Polo speaks of it as grown in
China at a very early date. It was imported into England
with pepper and other spices and during the Middle Ages
was largely used and is mentioned often in the literature
of that time. The lesser galangal is shipped from Canton
to other ports in China and to India and Europe.

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Spices and Condiments 2T

Use. — Lesser galangal is aromatic and spicy and some-
what pungent in taste. It was formerly used as medicine
like ginger, but this use has now become nearly obsolete,
except that in Russia it is used as a drug and in veterinary
medicine. As a spice it is used principally in making
vinegar and beer, in cordials, and in liquors, especially in
Russia in the liquor called nastoika.

The oil of the galangal was manufactured very early
and was first mentioned in a price ordinance of Frankfort
in 1587.

Greater galangal (Alpinia Galanga L.) is a very com-
mon plant in cultivation in Java and in the Malay Penin-
sula. In these localities it forms an ingredient in curry,
and is also used in local medicine. The plants are larger
than those of the lesser galangal and, as one might expect
the rootstocks are also larger.

GARLIC

Garlic (Allium sativum L.) is a member of the lily
family (Liliaceae) and a native of southern Europe. The
bulbs and leaves are employed in seasoning salads and
soups and the stems are often added to sausages and other
ground meats. Garlic belongs to the same genus as
chives, leek, onions, shallot, and the Welsh onion. The
whole plant, especially the bulb, has a peculiar taste and
smell, which is quickly communicated to the breath and
perspiration of the consumer. This is due to an essential
oil, chiefly allylsulphide. (CsHjS) or allylsulphocyanide,
which is found also in many cruciferous plants.

GINGER

As a rule, spices grow above the ground, but ginger
is an exception; it is the roots or rhizome of a tropical
plant. Zingiber officinale Roscoe, of the ginger family
(Zingiberaceae).

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GINGER

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Spices and Condiments 29

Ginger is said to be a native of southern Asia and was
long cultivated by the ancient Chinese and Hindus. The
area in which it is now successfully cultivated is perhaps
larger than that occupied by any other spice, although
there are a good many regions in which it might be grown
but which have not as yet produced any quantity. In
India, Malay Peninsula, Malay Archipelago, China, Fiji,
northern Australia, west Africa, and as far south as Natal,
and in the West Indies and Central America, it thrives
and is cultivated successfully. Ginger is grown from
cuttings of the rootstocks and not from the seeds. Cal-
cutta exports more than any other city, although a great
deal comes from China and Japan. The finest white
ginger comes from Jamaica. As ginger is propagated
from cuttings, there do not appear to be many varieties.

Ginger comes into the market in two forms: dried or
cured ginger and preserved or green ginger. In the West
Indies and India the spice is prepared as dry ginger, while
China supplies the greater part, indeed practically all, of
the preserved ginger. There are several methods used in
the preparation of dried ginger. The unpeeled rhizomes
may be cleaned, placed in hot water or lime water for a
time, and dried; or the peeled ginger is placed in water,
which may be acidified, as is done in Jamaica, and
dried.

The Chinese product excels all other preserved ginger.
While the tubers are still young, green, tender, and
full of juice, they are taken from the earth, buried in
another place for a month, and then dried in the sun-
shine for a day. The roots are then cleaned and scalded
until sufficiently tender. They are next put into cold
water, peeled, and scraped, then they are placed in a jar
and covered with successive sugar solutions of increasing
strength; the final syrup is made of a pound of syrup for
each pint of water. The odor of ginger is due to a volatile
oil, and the pungent taste is caused by a resin.

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30 Field Museum op Natural History

History. — Ginger was one of the earliest of spices
known to the Europeans. The name ginger is derived
from the Sanskrit sanjahal, through the Arabic zanzabil.
The Greeks and Romans appear to have obtained it from
the Arab traders of the East, who doubtless brought it
from India. The exact original home of ginger is unknown
as no one has found it in a wild state. It was very early
distributed over tropical Asia from India to China. In
the third century a.d. it was listed among the Indian
products brought to Europe via the Red Sea and Alexan-
dria. The ginger root is easily transported in a living
state and this no doubt accounts for its rapid spread
throughout the tropics. Ginger was well known in Eng-
land before the Norman Conquest (1066). In the
thirteenth and fourteenth centuries it was common in
England and was valued next to pepper, which was the
most common of all spices. It was introduced to America
very soon after the discovery and before any other
oriental spice. Ginger was exported from Santo Domingo
as early as 1585, from Barbados in 1694, and Renny,
in his History of Jamaica, states that in 1547 it was
exported from Jamaica to Spain. Since very early times
Jamaica has supplied ginger continuously.

Use. — Ginger is principally used as a spice and is one
of the most popular flavoring agents known. It is used
as a condiment in ginger beers, ginger champagnes, and
other beverages. In the East the fresh rhizomes are used
in curry. Oil of ginger is extracted from the rootstock to
serve as a basis for the tincture or essence of ginger.

HOARHOUND

Hoarhound (Marrubium vulgar e L.) is an aromatic
herb of the mint family (Labiatae) which grows from one
to three feet high and is a native of Europe, northern
Africa, and non-tropical Asia. It has become widely
naturalized in many parts of the world, including the

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Spices and Condiments 81

United States, and is in some places troublesome as a
weed. The plant was formerly highly esteemed in cookery
and medicine, but is now almost out of use except in candy.
Some people still eat hoarhound candy in the belief that it
relieves tickling in the throat caused by coughing.

HORSE-RADISH

The well-known condiment, horse-radish {Armorada
rusticana G., M. & S.) belongs to the family Cruciferae, of
which cabbage, turnips, and mustard are members. It is
a native of Europe and a common garden plant in the
United States. In this country it is found growing wild
as an escape in some places, especially in New York,
where it is very troublesome as a weed. Horse-radish is
a hardy plant, with a white, fleshy, cylindrical root which
branches at the lower end; the fibrous roots may pene-
trate to a depth of six or seven feet. The familiar pungent
odor and hot biting taste of horse-radish are due to a
volatile oil formed from the glucoside, sinigrin. The
penetrating odor causes tears to flow and can not be
distinguished from that of mustard oil. In fact, the
active principle of horse-radish is quite like the active
principle of mustard. The volatile oil of horse-radish
consists chiefly of sulphocyanate of butyl. This sub-
stance is not free in the roots but is developed from
a glucoside by the action of water aided by an enzyme
when the root is crushed.

Use. — Horse-radish roots are grated and scraped, some-
times mixed with vinegar, and used as a condiment,
especially with roast beef and oysters.

HYSSOP

Hyssop ( Hyssopus officinalis L.) is an herbaceous ever-
green undershrub, which grows to a height of a little over
a foot. It is a native of Europe and temperate Asia.

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82 Field Museum of Natural History

Hyssop is an ancient name, but exactly what plant was
the sacred hyssop of the Jews is uncertain. The plant
was well known in ancient times, and during the Middle
Ages it was grown for fancied medicinal qualities, orna-
ment, and cookery. Now it is very little cultivated except
in ornamental garden borders. The leaves are not em-
ployed in culinary practice now, as they are considered
too strongly flavored. Sometimes they are used in salads
to supply a bitter taste. The colorless oil which may be
distilled from the leaves turns yellow and changes to a
resin upon contact with the air.

JUNIPER ,

Juniper berries (Juniperus communis L.) are the fruits
of a small evergreen tree of the pine family (Pinaceae).
It is found widely distributed over the northern hemi-
sphere in Europe, Asia, and North America. The berries
are the size of a pea, having a sweet pulp; when dry they
are black, and have a sweet bitterish (balsic) flavor. The
chief properties of the berries are contained in a volatile
oil which consists principally of three substances, pinene,
cadinene, and juniper camphor. The main use of juniper
fruit is to flavor Holland and Gordon gin. Because of its
use in these spirits the latter are called "geneva" or
"gin," from genievre, the French name for the berries.

CHERRY LAUREL LEAVES

Cherry laurel (Prunus Laurocerasus L.) belongs to the
rose family (Rosaceae). It is a slender tree or small bush,
and is probably native from southeastern Europe to
Persia.

The leaves have a taste and flavor resembling bitter
almonds, and according to Lehmann they yield 1.38 per
cent of prussic acid. The chief constituent of the leaves
is a glucoside, laurocerasin, which may be split by the

[282]

Spices and Condiments 88

enzyme emulsin into dextrose, hydrocyanic acid, and
benzaldehyde.

History. — The plant appears to have become known
in Europe toward the beginning of the sixteenth century.
The watery distillate from the leaves has been used
medicinally since the first half of the eighteenth century,
and its poisonous properties were observed repeatedly.

Use. — Cherry laurel leaves are used to flavor custards,
blancmange, and puddings.

LAVENDER

Lavender (Lavandula Spica L.) is a perennial under-
shrub of the mint family (Labiatae), a native of the
Mediterranean region. The common name is derived
from the Latin word lavare, to wash or bathe, because a
distillation from the flower has been used since ancient
times to perfume water used in baths.

Composition. — It yields oil of spike, which has an odor
of lavender and rosemary. The oil contains camphor,
borneol, cineol, linalool, and camphene.

Use. — Lavender sometimes is grown for use as a
condiment in salads, dressings, etc. In southern France
and England it is grown for perfume, which is now its
chief use. Lavender flowers are dried and used in sachet
bags to perfume clothes.

LOVAGE

Lovage (Levisticum officinale Koch) is a perennial plant
of the carrot family (Umbelliferae) found growing wild in
the mountains of southern Europe. Formerly the plants
were employed for a variety of purposes, but now practi-
cally their only use is in confectionery, for which purpose
the young stems are preserved in sugar like angelica. The
leaf stalks and stem bases at one time were blanched and
eaten like celery.

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84 Field Museum of Natural History

History. — The Romans cultivated lovage as a kitchen
spice and possibly also for medicinal purposes. Its culti-
vation north of the Alps was no doubt caused by Charle-
magne's Capitulare of 812. The German medical treatises
of the Middle Ages, beginning with that of the Abbess
Hildegard of the twelfth century, mention lovage.

MARIGOLD

Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) is an annual herb
of the sunflower family (Compositae), a native of south-
em Europe. The flower heads are sometimes dried and
used in broths, soups, and stews, but probably the flavor
is too pronounced for American palates. The fresh flowers
are utilized to a certain extent to color butter.

MARJORAM

Two species of marjoram are now grown for culinary
purposes: pot or perennial marjoram {Origanum vulgare
L.) and sweet or annual marjoram {Origanum Majorana
L.). Both are perennials, but sweet marjoram is more
sensitive to frost and is therefore cultivated as an annual
in temperate climates. Origanum vulgare is a native of
Europe, a member of the mint family (Labiatae) which
has become naturalized in many places of temperate
climate, and occurs wild as an escape from cultivation in
the Atlantic States. Origanum Majorana, a native of
northern Africa, Greece, and other countries bordering
the Mediterranean, is now cultivated in many gardens for
culinary purposes. The name Origanum means "delight
of the mountains," and is derived from two Greek words.

Composition. — The principal constituent of marjoram
is a volatile oil which consists of terpinene, some terpineol,
and small quantities of acetic and other organic acids.

History.— MarjoTBin. is one of the spice plants of antiq-
uity. The hyssop of Luther's translation of the Bible

[284 J

Spices and Condiments 86

does not refer to Hyssopus but to Origanum. Origanum
vulgare is mentioned by Pliny and by Albertus Magnus,
an English herbalist of the Middle Ages. The volatile oil
of the plant was used during the latter part of the Middle
Ages and is mentioned in the German ordinances of the
sixteenth century. Origanum Majorana is sacred in India
to Vishnu and Siva.

Use. — The leaves, flowers, and tender stems of both
species have a peculiarly aromatic and fragrant odor and
are used like other plants of the mint family, in seasoning
soups, stews, dressings, and sauces, especially in France
and Italy. They are popular also in England and America.
In Europe the plants are grown for their oil to be used in
perfume and toilet articles, especially soap. The oil, how-
ever, is less popular than that of thyme.

MUSTARD

Black mustard (Brassica nigra Koch) is cultivated in
most civilized countries, especially in those of central
Europe. It is a member of the mustard family (Cruci-
ferae). In the United States it has become naturalized
and is frequently a troublesome weed. Mustard grows
almost anywhere, and is found in Europe, north Africa,
Asia Minor, United States, Mesopotamia, West Indies,
south Siberia, and China. It is cultivated to a large
extent in Bohemia, Holland, Italy, and England. In the
United States Brassica nigra seed is produced commer-
cially in California and Kentucky. Black mustard seed is
yellow inside, while white mustard seed is white within;
likewise, black mustard furnishes more aroma and is
sweeter and gives more volatile oil.

History. — Mustard is mentioned in the Bible in Matt.
13:31, Luke 13:18-19. It is referred to as an external
remedy by Theophrastus, Dioscorides, and Pliny. In
the writings of Columella are found the oldest directions

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86 Field Museum op Natural History

for the preparation of ground or table mustard. About
the year 800 mustard was cultivated in the neighborhood
of Paris. Its cultivation was directed by Charlemagne in
his Capitulare of 812. In Spain it was grown by the
Arabians. From here its cultivation spread to Germany
and France in the tenth century, and thence to England
during the twelfth century. Ground mustard, as we know
it, was first prepared in Durham, England, by a lady of
that city from the ground seeds of wild mustard, which
grew plentifully in that district. Table mustard rapidly
increased in reputation, until it became a famous condi-
ment throughout Europe.

Composition. — The pungent odor is due to a volatile
oil which is formed from a glucoside. The glucoside is
broken down readily when in contact with water into
glucose or grape sugar, potassium acid sulphate, and
mustard oil.

Mustard oil has a very sharp taste and acts upon the
skin as a strong irritant.

Use. — The leaves are employed mainly for garnishing;
they are used also in salads and in the preparation of meat
dressings and sauces. Table mustard is the ground seed
of black mustard.

WHITE MUSTARD

White mustard (Sinapis alba Rabenh.) is said to be a
native of Asia and Europe. The seed is white inside, its
aroma is not as sweet, and the seed contains less volatile
oil than black mustard. The white mustard plant has
characteristics very similar to those of black mustard. It
is distinguished from the latter chiefly by lighter-colored
bristly pods and lighter-colored and larger seeds. White
mustard seed also contains a glucoside, in this case called
sinalbin, which breaks down into glucose, sinapine sul-
phate, and white mustard oil, through the action of an

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Spices and Condiments J7

enzyme, myrosin, and water. The pungent mustard oil is
noticeable only when heated; when cold it has only a
faint anise-like odor. White mustard oil is an oily liquid
of a burning taste, which causes blisters to form on the
skin when in contact with it, but it is much slower in
action than black mustard oil.

Use. — White mustard is used similarly to black mus-
tard, although the mixed mustard from this spice is less
pungent.

NUTMEG and MACE

Nutmeg and mace, Myristica fragrans Houtt. (Myris-
ticaceae), are produced by the same tree. The nutmeg
tree is evergreen and dioecious, and grows to a height of
sixty feet, but is usually found much smaller. It is grown
principally in the Banda Islands of the East Indies. The
genus Myristica contains about one hundred species of the
Old World tropics, but of greatest abundance in the Ma-
layan region. Although so large a number of wild nutmegs
are known, only one species contains enough of the aromatic
principle, myristicin, to be of any value for cultivation. A
few others which are slightly aromatic are occasionally
collected by the natives, more to adulterate true nutmeg
than for separate use. Nutmeg trees are usually uni-
sexual, each tree bearing male flowers or female flowers
only, but it is not uncommon to find a tree with flowers
of both sexes upon it. Some say "that a male tree, bear-
ing for a number of years, usually about six, frequently
commences to produce female flowers and eventually
becomes wholly female." To aid fertilization it is a com-
mon practice to graft branches from male trees on the
trees that produce female flowers.

The fruit of the nutmeg tree is oval or pear-shaped
and pale orange-yellow in color. When ripe the fleshy
husk splits in half, exposing the seed, the nutmeg of com-
merce, enclosed in a deep round shining seed-coat, the

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NUTMEG AND MACE

[288]

Spices and Condiments 39

testa, and over this is a splendid crimson network, the
mace, which envelops the testa. The mace, which is an
aril, is an outgrowth from the base of the seed and is
attached to it only at the base, although it closely enwraps
it to the top. The mace is rather leathery in texture and
is cut into narrow flaps of irregular form.

The nutmeg tree is a native of the eastern islands of
the Moluccas, known also as the Spice Islands, from the
presence of this plant and the clove tree. Blume states
that it is wild in Ceram and the southern and eastern
islands of the Malay Archipelago. It is indigenous also
to Banda, Amboyna, Gilolo, and western New Guinea.
The tree is said to be grown to a small extent in Brazil
and Jamaica.

History. — The nutmeg apparently was not known to
the Greeks and Romans. It was imported in the early
days by the Arabian traders from the East Indies and was
mentioned by Aetius at Constantinople about a.d. 540.
Nutmegs were used in Rome in 1191 at the coronation of
Henry VI. Nutmeg oil is mentioned in the apothecaries'
price ordinances of Berlin in 1574.

The Portuguese located the home of the plant in
Banda in 1512 and held the trade in this spice until
driven out by the Dutch, who held the monopoly for
many years. The present price is too low to induce
further extensive planting.

Uses of mace. — Mace is used chiefly as a spice. It
contains about 8 per cent of a volatile oil, which is color-
less, very fragrant, and quite unlike that of the nutmeg
seed. The flavor is quite similar to the nutmeg but never-
theless distinct, and preferred by some people. Mace is
always in good demand and usually costs more per pound
than the nutmeg, as it should since there is less produced.

Uses of nutmeg. — Nutmegs are used mainly as a spice.
There are three principal kinds known to trade: the dark

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brown from Penang, a pale brown from Java, and the
long slender wild nutmeg from Macassar. Although
Connecticut is known as the Nutmeg State, it is not
because nutmegs were grown there, but because imita-
tion wooden nutmegs are said to have been made there.

The flavor and odor of the nutmeg are due to a vola-
tile oil of which the content varies from 8 to 10 per cent.
It is straw-colored and contains myristicin and is used for
scenting soap.

The concrete oil of nutmeg, which is used as a nutmeg
butter, is obtained by crushing and pressing the seed.
It is made chiefly in the Dutch East Indies and Penang,
but a great deal has been manufactured in Europe. It is
firm in texture and has a pleasant odor of nutmeg and a
greasy and aromatic taste. Nutmeg butter consists of the
vegetable fat known as myristicin and is used in soap
making.

GRAINS OF PARADISE

Grains of paradise are the aromatic pungent seeds of
one or more species of the genus Amomum of the Zingi-
beraceae. These plants are natives of west Africa, where
they occur both wild and cultivated. They are widely
distributed in Sierra Leone and Lower Guinea.

History. — In early times this spice was known as
"Melegetae," and the country that furnished it was called
by the Portuguese "Terra de Malaguet." This same
country was known as the "Grain Coast" or "PepperCoast"
because of the presence of this spice. It was not known to
the ancients; apparently the earliest record of its use was in
a festival at Treviso in 1214. After this date there are
more records of its use, indicating its common occurrence
in commerce. In early times this spice was carried over-
land from the Mandigo country through the desert to
Tripoli and shipped by the Italians from the port of
Monti-de-Barca, on the Mediterranean coast. Because

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Spices and Condiments 41

they did not know the home of the seeds, they called
them "grains of paradise." The seeds are now obtained
chiefly from seaports at the place of production, the Gold
Coast, the most important ports being Cape Coast Castle
and Accra. The overland route has been abandoned.

Use. — Grains of paradise were used in the earlier days
chiefly as a substitute for pepper and likewise as an
adulterant of pepper. They were also an ingredient in
the spiced wine called Hippocras, and more recently they
have been used to give added strength to wines, beer,
spirits, and vinegar. Although not a harmful drug, an
act was passed in the reign of George III to stop their use
by brewers or beer dealers. Queen Elizabeth is said to
have been very partial to this spice.

PARSLEY

Parsley (Petroselinum hortense Hoffm.), of the carrot
family (Umbelliferae), is a biennial or short-lived peren-
nial which grows about two feet high. It is a native of
Europe. The word parsley, by some process of deriva-
tion, is considered to have come from the Greek word
petros, which means "rock." The natural habitat of the
plant is the rocky coast of the Mediterranean. Parsley is
one of the most widely grown of the garden herbs today.
It has escaped from cultivation so that it occurs as a weed
in moist cool climates. Nearly all the wild parsley in
Europe consists, according to DeCandoUe, of escapes from
cultivation.

History. — ^An interesting fact observed by Palladius in
A.D. 210 is that old parsley seed germinates more freely
than freshly gathered seed. The plant was brought to
England from Sardinia in 1548.

Composition. — All parts of the plant contain an oil to
which its flavor and properties are due. The crude oil
contains a stearoptene which crystallizes in needles.

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42 Field Museum of Natural History

Use. — The Germans used both the roots and tops for
cooking, the former as boiled vegetables and the latter as
a pot herb. In England the leaves are used for seasoning
fricassees and dressings for mild meats, such as chicken
and veal. In America the leaves are used most extensively
as a garnish. In many countries the green leaves are
used to mix with salad for added flavor.

PENNYROYAL

Pennyroyal (Mentha Pulegium L.) is a prostrate
branching perennial herb of the mint family (Labiatae),
a native of Europe and western Asia. The plant is now
found wild and naturalized in many parts of the civilized
world. England cultivates it more extensively than
^ America. The flavor of pennyroyal is more pungent and
acrid and less agreeable than spearmint or peppermint.
The leaves, either green or dried, are used abroad to flavor
puddings and other culinary preparations, but the taste
and odor are usually not pleasant to American and
English palates. Pennyroyal has been valued medicinally
since the Middle Ages and possibly earlier. The distilled
oleum pulegi is mentioned in the price ordinance of Frank-
fort for 1582.

The pennyroyal native in the United States ( Hedeoma
pulegioides) is an altogether different plant, although it
belongs to the same family. Both European and Ameri-
can pennyroyal have oils that closely resemble each other
and one is substituted for the other. The volatile oils
consist chiefly of a ketone, pulegone, which gives the oils
their peculiar properties.

PEPPERS

Peppers belong to two plant families, the red peppers

/ to the Solanaceae, or potato family, and the black peppers

to the Piperaceae, or true pepper family. Other spices

have been described as peppers, among them Jamaica

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Spices and Condiments 4S

pepper, known also as allspice or pimento, and Melegueta
pepper, a term which has been applied to grains of
paradise (Amomum Melegueta).

BLACK PEPPER

Of all the varieties of spices used as condiments black
pepper (Piper nigrum L.) is one of the few which grow
on climbing plants. There is no kind of spice better known,
more esteemed, or more universally used. Black pepper
is the unripe dried berry of a plant native to southern
India, now cultivated chiefly in that country and in the
Malayan and Cambodian regions. Black pepper climbs
eight to twenty feet high on trees or stakes. Plants are
known to bear for twenty years.

History. — Pepper has been highly prized since antiq-
uity; like gold it was used as a medium of exchange and
as an article of tribute. It was known as' a symbol of the
spice trade. Dealers in spices in Rome were known as
piperarii, later in France as pebriers, and in England as
pepperers. Pepper was mentioned by Theophrastus in
the fourth century B.C. Pliny states that in his time long
peppers were worth fifteen denarii a pound, white peppers
seven denarii, and black peppers four denarii. Marco
Polo mentions pepper as being produced in Java in 1280.
During the Middle Ages pepper was a most valued spice,
and Venice, Genoa, and other European cities owed much
of their wealth to its importation.

The demand for this spice and its costliness were the
main inducements to the Portuguese to seek for a sea
passage to India. The Venetians and Genoese had prac-
tically a monopoly of the spice, but when the Portuguese
found the sea route in 1498 the price of pepper fell and in
spite of the efforts of the Venetians to retain the traffic,
it passed out of their hands into those of the Portuguese,
who retained it till the seventeenth century.

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Field Museum of Natural History

BLACK PEPPER

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Spices and Condiments 45

Composition. — The chief active ingredient in pepper is
pipeline, a crystalline alkaloid common to all pepper-
worts. This substance has a sharp taste and is present
in amounts from 5 to 9 per cent. Piperine breaks down
into piperidin and piperic acid. Pepper also contains a
volatile oil and an oleo-resin, both of which contribute
to the pepper flavor. Piperine is tasteless at first but
has a burning after-taste. Piperidine is a colorless liquid
with a caustic taste. A volatile oil is present in 1 to 2
per cent and contains dipentene, phellandrene, and a
peculiar terpene. Its taste is pungent.

Uses. — Black pepper is more pungent than white
pepper and is used as a kitchen spice and in preserving
sausage. The substance piperonal, or artificial helio-
trope perfume, is obtained from piperine by distillation.

In the time of Theophrastus it was supposed that
white pepper was produced from a different plant than
black pepper. White pepper, however, is the ripe berry
after the removal of the outer coat of skin and pulp
(pericarp and mesocarp). In preparing white pepper the
berries are allowed to soak in water seven to ten days,
then stamped under foot in tubs till the skin, pulp, and
stalks are detached. White pepper is made also from dried
black pepper by milling it in a special machine. Black
pepper is soaked in water or milk of lime, previous to
using decorticators. The hulls rubbed off are ground up
and sold as pepper dust or as ground black pepper.

White pepper does not contain as much of the alkaloid
piperine as black pepper nor is it as pungent.

LONG PEPPER

Two distinct kinds of pepper allied to black pepper are
known as long pepper and as such are sold in the native
markets of the East: Piper longum L., a native of India,
and Piper ojfficinarum L., a native of Java. They are

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46 Field Museum of Natural History

commonly known as Indian long pepper and Javanese
long pepper. Long pepper was known to Theophrastus in
the fourth century B.C. In 1589 the distilled oil from long
pepper was admitted to the Dispensatorium Noricum.

Piper longum is native in Bengal, Nepal, Assam, and
Khasiya and southward to Travancore, and is cultivated
chiefly in the northern parts of India. It climbs like black
pepper and is cultivated in exactly the same way in
Assam and Mysore. Bengal is still the chief source of the
long pepper of India. A certain quantity is exported from
Calcutta to Europe, but the chief long pepper of com-
merce is the Javanese species. Indian long pepper is
shorter and more slender than Javanese, has a darker
color, and is less pungent.

Composition and use. — Long pepper contains the same
principles as black pepper: a volatile oil, resin, and piper-
ine, and it is used ground up as a spice in the same way
as ground pepper, chiefly in its country of origin.

Piper officinarum L. — The plant and fruit are similar
to the Indian long pepper. The pepper is more pungent.
The plant flowers and fruits the year round and is grown
chiefly in Java, Bali, Rhio, and other islands.

Use. — The spikes are gathered when they begin to
turn red or yellowish and are quickly dried in the sun, or
over a fire, because they are liable to rot if not speedily
dried. They are used mostly in pickling and also as
ground pepper for preserves, in Malaysia for curries. Java-
nese long pepper is the commonest of the two long pep-
pers exported to Europe and is shipped chiefly from
Singapore and Penang.

RED PEPPER

Red peppers are members of the genus Capsicum, of
the tomato family (Solanaceae), and are natives of the
American tropics. Two species produce the red pepper of

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Spices and Condiments

47

From Label, Kruydtboeek, 1681

RED PEPPER
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48 Field Museum op Natural History

commerce, namely Capsicum annuum L. and Capsicum
frutescens L. Capsicum frutescens, which is much less cul-
tivated than the other species, is a shrubby perennial, two
and one-half to six feet high, with red fruit about one
inch long. As its fruit does not ripen freely except in
tropical and subtropical latitudes, it is not grown in
the north for commercial use. The fruit is often called
bird pepper.

Capsicum annuum L. is an herbaceous or suffrutescent
plant, which generally grows two to three feet high and
has an annual or biennial habit. The fruits are very
variable in size, color, and form. This species furnishes
all the leading commercial varieties now in cultivation.
In the temperate latitudes they are treated as annuals,
while in tropical countries some varieties are biennial or
perennial. This species has many common names, such as
red pepper, Guinea pepper, chile, paprika, and pimento.
Its cultivation does not appear to have been confined to
any particular place, but is of general distribution through-
out temperate and tropical regions, for the supply of local
markets. It is grown especially in southern Asia, Africa,
Mexico, and South and Central America.

The very sweet Spanish variety is cultivated in Spain
and various other countries. The tabasco variety is almost
entirely confined to Louisiana. Where pickles, mangoes,
and pepper sauce are extensively made, there is generally
a local supply grown in the vicinity.

History.— Caipsicum. seems to have been first men-
tioned by Peter Martyr in a letter dated September, 1493,
in which he said that Columbus brought home "pepper
more pungent than that from Caucasu^." Following the
discovery of America, the plant was spread rapidly
throughout the Old World tropics. The natives of South
America used it as much in ancient times as they do now.
Oviedo, who came to America in 1514 from Spain, men-

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Spices and Condiments 49

tions its uses, and Chanca, physician to the fleet of
Columbus in his second royage to the West Indies in 1494,
wrote a letter to the chapter of Seville in which he speaks
of it as a condiment.

Composition. — Two crystalline pungent principles are
found in red pepper, principally in the partitions of the
fruit and in the seeds: capsaicin, which is slightly soluble
in water and is volatile at 115° C, forming irritating
vapors; and capsacutin, which is so powerful that one part
in 11,000,000 of water has a distinct pungent taste.

Use. — Red pepper is used more as a condiment than for
any other purpose. The inhabitants of some warm climates
season almost every dish with it. Cayenne pepper con-
sists mainly of the fruits of the small pungent varieties
reduced to a fine powder. It is much more pungent than
paprika. Paprika is the Hungarian name for red pepper,
and the word is used also to designate a specially prepared
powdered form of red pepper. This paprika powder is
made from large, less pungent varieties of peppers, while
cayenne pepper is made from small pungent varieties.
There are two ways of preparing paprika. It is sometimes
made by mixing wheat flour with the pulverized dried
fruit and adding yeast to form a cake. After baking until
hard and brittle the cake is reduced to powder and
sifted. Paprika is also prepared from fruit which is ground
after the seeds have been removed. Tabasco pepper sauce
or liquid pepper is said to be the pulp of the ripe fruit of the
small tabasco variety, extracted by pressure and handled
in such a manner as to retain all the flavor, strength,
aroma, and color of the fruit. Many varieties of Capsicum
are employed in pickles in its green or ripe state. The
milder pepper is preferred in the North, the more pungent
pepper by Southerners. Peppers may be sliced and
mixed with salads or served like tomatoes, with vinegar
or salt. The bell-shaped or squash varieties, after the

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60 Field Museum of Natural History

seeds have been removed, are filled with various sub-
stances. The ground pepper is used also to stuff pitted
olives, which commonly appear in trade labeled "pimento
stuffed olives." In Europe as well as in the United
States some of the smaller varieties of peppers are potted
and used as house plants. The United States imports
about four million pounds of paprika a year.

PEPPERMINT

Peppermint {Mentha Piperita L.) is a strong-scented
perennial herb of the Labiatae, or mint family, native to
Europe. This plant has long been known and grown in
the gardens and fields of Europe, Asia, and the United
States. In America and probably in these other countries
it is common as an escape from cultivation. Peppermint
includes a group of botanically unstable species and varie-
ties of mint that produce menthol, or an oil possessing
the properties of peppermint oil. In Europe and North
America several varieties are cultivated for the distilla-
tion of the oil. The plant is cultivated especially in
England, Germany, Italy, and Russia; Japan cultivates a
different species. In North America the principal areas
of production are in New York, Michigan, and Indiana.
The state of Michigan produces more than any other
place in the world.

History. — Although several mints have been used for
culinary and medicinal purposes since antiquity, no well-
defined distinction is made, even in the books on distilla-
tion. They were popular in the fifteenth and sixteenth
centuries, during which period mints were extensively
used for the preparation of distilled waters.

Use. — Peppermint has a refreshing odor and a cooling
persistent taste. The volatile oil of the plant, to which
its characteristic odor and taste are due, is more in use
than the leaves. This oil is best known as a flavor in con-

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Spices and Condiments

51

From Label, Kruydtboeek, 1581

PEPPERMINT

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62 Field Museum of Natural History

fectionery and in the historic mint julep, but is used also
in the manufacture of soap and perfumes. On account of
its penetrating odor, sanitary engineers use the oil to test
the tightness of pipe joints. The volatile oil has as its
principal constituent 50 to 60 per cent of the stearoptene
menthol.

The mint family claims many other spice plants such
as sage, savory, hyssop, balm, pennyroyal, lavender, mar-
joram, spearmint, thyme, rosemary, catmint and hoar-
hound. The plants have square stems, simple, opposite
leaves and two-lipped flowers.

POPPY SEED

The seed of the opium poppy (Papaver somniferum
L.), of the poppy family (Papaveraceae), is produced in
India, Russia, Czechoslovakia, and other European
countries. It is used as a condiment on rolls. The oil
contained in large amounts in poppy seeds closely resem-
bles olive oil.

ROSEMARY

Rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), as the name
implies, is a native of the seacoasts. "Rose" comes from
ros, meaning "dew," "mary"from marinus, referring to the
ocean. The plant, a member of the mint family (Labiatae),
is a native of the Mediterranean coast and is of common
occurrence on the chalky hills of southern France as an
evergreen shrub, two to four feet high.

History. — Pliny, Dioscorides, and Galen wrote about
it. The Spaniards cultivated it in the thirteenth century,
and from the fifteenth to the eighteenth century it was
popular as a condiment with salt meats in Europe. Since
then its popularity has declined.

Composition. — The peculiar odor of rosemary is due to
its volatile oil, composed of 15 to 18 per cent of borneol,

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Spices and Condiments 63

5 per cent of bomyl acetate, and smaller amounts of
pinene, camphene, camphor, and cineol.

Use. — Rosemary was once thought to strengthen the
memory, and thus was considered an emblem of remem-
brance and fidelity. This is said to have originated the
old custom of wearing it at a wedding in many parts of
Europe. "There's rosemary, that's for remembrance"
(Hamlet, Act IV, scene 5).

Rosemary is now used for seasonings almost exclusively
by the Italians, French, Spanish, and Germans. The ten-
der leaves are used in cooking stews, fish, and meat
sauces. Such uses are not popular in America. In France
the plant is grown also for a volatile oil which is used in
perfumery, eau de Cologne, and Hungary water.

RUE

Rue {Ruta graveolens L.) is a perennial herb, a member
of the orange family (Rutaceae), a native of southern
Europe.

History. — In olden times it had a high reputation
Mnong the Greeks and Romans for seasoning and medi-
cines. In Pliny's time it was considered effectual for
eighty-four maladies. Apicus mentions it among the
condiments in the third century, and Magnus in the
eleventh century praises it among the garden edibles.
Probably because of its acridity and ability to blister the
skin when much handled, rue has been chosen by the
poets to express disdain. Shakespeare called it the "sour
herb of grace."

Use. — The exceedingly strong smell of the leaves is
very disagreeable to most Americans and for that reason
it can not become popular here as a seasoning. It is used
by people who like bitter flavorings in culinary prepara-
tions and in beverages. The volatile oil, to which some

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64 Field Museum of Natural History

of its odor and taste is due, is found in the entire plant
and is used in aromatic vinegars and toilet preparations.

SAGE

Sage (Salvia officinalis L.) of the mint family (Labia-
tae) is the most extensively cultivated of all aromatic herbs.
It is a shrub-like perennial, native to southern Europe
and northern Africa, and is cultivated in many countries
of moderate climate as a garden plant for medicinal pur-
poses. The plant will grow in a cold climate as far north
as the northern part of Norway. The name salvia is
derived from salvere, "to be in good health" and "to heal."
The definition of the word "sage," which means "wisdom,"
has a different origin.

History. — Sage appears to have been used as a medici-
nal herb at the time of the Romans. It was called
salvia by Pliny, and was one of the plants recommended
by Charlemagne for cultivation. In the Destillerhuch of
1500 by Brunschwig a distinction is made between large
and small sage for the distillation of sage water.

Composition. — The odoriferous volatile oil of sage con-
tains pinene, cineol, thujon, bomeol, and a bitter principle.

Use. — In ancient times sage was one of the most
highly esteemed of all plants because of its reputed
health-insuring properties. An old adage reads: "How
can a man die in whose garden sage is growing?"

The leaves have a highly aromatic odor and are used
for seasonings and dressings, especially to disguise
strongly flavored meats such as pork, goose, and duck.
Sage is used also to flavor certain kinds of sausages and
cheese. It owes its odor to a volatile oil used in perfumery.

SAMPHIRE

Samphire {Crithmum maritimum L.) is a European
perennial of the carrot family (Umbelliferae). It occurs

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Spices and Condiments 55

commonly along seacoasts in some parts of Europe. The
young tender leaves and shoots, which are aromatic and
saline, are pickled in vinegar, either alone or with
vegetables.

SUMMER SAVORY

Summer savory {Satureia hortensis L.) is an annual
plant of the mint family (Labiatae), a native of the
Mediterranean countries. It is grown in gardens in vari-
ous parts of the world. In America it is cultivated in
Ohio, Illinois, and some of the western states, where it
is occasionally found wild as an escape from home gardens.

History. — Among the Romans both summer and winter
savory were popular two thousand years ago, not only for
flavoring but for use as pot herbs.

Composition. — Both summer and winter savory have
powerful aromatic odors and warm, rather bitter tastes,
which are due mainly to their volatile oil. The leaves are
sometimes nearly covered with small vesicles containing
this oil. The oil consists of carvacrol, cymene, terpene,
and a phenol which differs slightly from carvacrol.

Use. — Up to one hundred years ago, savory was used
in flavoring cakes, puddings, and confections, but these
uses have declined. Summer savory is now used to flavor
salads, dressing, gravies, and sauces used with meats, such
as veal, pork, duck, and goose. It is used also for cro-
quettes, rissoles, and stews. Summer savory is considered
a better spice plant than winter savory.

WINTER SAVORY

Winter savory (Satureia montana L.) is a semi-hardy
perennial plant, native to southern Europe and northern
Africa. Like summer savory, it has been used as a flavor-
ing for many centuries, but it is not as popular as formerly
nor is it as popular as summer savory.

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56 Field Museum op Natural History

SESAME or BENE SEED

Sesame seed, widely used as a condiment on rolls, is
produced by an herb, Sesamum orientate L., of the sesame
family (Pedaliaceae). It has been extensively cultivated
in the tropics since ancient times. The seeds yield about
one-half their weight of oil of sesame, which is odorless, of
agreeable flavor, and does not easily become rancid. The
seeds are sprinkled on rolls before baking, like poppy
seeds. In some tropical regions they are highly esteemed
for flavoring candy.

SOUTHERNWOOD

Southernwood {Artemisia Ahrotanum L.) is a perennial
subshrub of the sunflower family (Compositae), a native
of southern Europe. The plant is grown often in old-
fashioned gardens as an ornament under the name of
"old man." The young shoots are used sometimes for
flavoring cakes and other culinary preparations.

SPEARMINT

Spearmint {Mentha spicata L.) is a perennial herb
native to the Mediterranean region, but now found
naturalized in nearly every civilized country. Mint is
said by the poets to derive its name from Minthe, the
daughter of Cocytus. They say that Proserpine became
jealous of Minthe, and transformed her into a plant.

History. — The plant is mentioned in the Bible (Matt.
23:23), and John Gerarde, a famous botanist of the
seventeenth century, says, "The smelle rejoyceth the heart
of man."

Composition. — The oil upon which its flavor and prop-
erties depend contains pinene (C10H16) and a stearoptene
(CjoHzoO), which is isomeric with carvol.

Use. — The green and dried leaves are used in Europe
to flavor soups, stews, and sauces for meats. In England

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Spices and CoNDiMEhrrs 67

and America its most general use is in mint sauce, the
sauce par excellence with roast spring lamb. Mint jelly
also is used similarly.

TANSY

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgar e L.) is a perennial herb of
the sunflower family (Compositae), native of Europe,
which has spread over the civilized world as a weed.
The odor of the plant is not very repulsive but its acid,
bitter taste is not forgotten. A nibble of a single leaf is
enough to last most people a lifetime. It is said a donkey
will eat thistles but not tansy.

History. — The distilled water from the flowers and
leaves of tansy was a common remedy in Europe during
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Composition. — The characteristic volatile oil of tansy
contains thujone, bomeol, and camphor.

Use. — Tansy is used by some people to flavor puddings,
omelettes, salads, stews, and other culinary dishes.

TARRAGON

Tarragon {Artemisia Dracunculus L.) is an herbaceous
perennial plant of the sunflower family (Compositae),
a native of Europe and perhaps southern Russia, Siberia,
and Tartary. It has been cultivated for its leaves and
tender shoots scarcely more than five hundred years. The
popular name means "small dragon," because the root is
coiled serpent-like.

Use. — The tender shoots and young leaves are often
used in salads and for seasoning steaks and chops, espe-
cially by the French. The plant is frequently used as an
ingredient in pickles, stews, soups, croquettes, and other
meat preparations, and especially in fish sauces. Its
most popular use is probably in vinegar. In France the
famous French vinegar of Maille is made of this plant.

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58 Field Museum op Natural History

The volatile oil from the green parts of the plant is used
to perfume toilet articles.

THYME

Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) is a diminutive perennial
shrub, a native of dry stony places along the Mediterra-
nean coast. It is a member of the mint family (Labiatae).
It is now cultivated in most countries with a temperate
climate, and grows abundantly in a wild state in the
mountains of southern France. The small knotty and
woody stems of thyme are found in clearings and on the
shadeless coast districts of the Riviera, and also in the
mountain regions of the Maritime Alps up to an altitude
of 3,000 feet. Thyme has become naturalized as an
escape from gardens in civilized countries, both warm and
cold. The name "thyme" is derived from thyo, a Greek
word for "sacrifice," and was so called because of its use
as an incense to perfume the temples. The common
thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) should not be confused with
wild thyme (Thymus Serpyllum L.), which is found abun-
dantly on the moors and mountains of some parts of
Great Britain, and the temperate parts of Europe, Asia,
and northern Africa.

Composition. — These plants contain a volatile oil to
which they owe their fragrance and aroma. The oil con-
sists of pinene (CioHi,), cymol or cymene (C10H14) and
thymol (C10H4O). In the oil are found crystals of thymol,
which resembles camphor, and because of its pleasant
odor it is used as a disinfectant, where the strong-smell-
ing carbolic acid would be objectionable.

History. — ^As has been stated above, thyme was popular
with the Greeks as a temple incense. With the Romans
it was used both in cookery and as bee forage. Although
thyme has always been rather unimportant as a remedy,
it and oil of thyme have been official since the sixteenth

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Spices and Condiments 59

century in most medicinal treatises and in drug and spice
ordinances.

Use. — The green parts of the plant, either fresh or
dried or in a decoction, are used extensively in soups,
gravies, stews, sauces, forcemeats, sausages, and dress-
ings. The fragrant oil contained in most of the plant is
distilled chiefly in France for use in perfumery.

TONKA BEAN

The tonka bean (Dipteryx odorata Willd.), known as
cumaru in South America, a member of the pea family
(Leguminosae), is one of the most beautiful trees of
northern South America. It grows as high as one hundred
feet and may have a diameter of three feet. It is found
in Venezuela, British Guiana, and the Amazon region.
The kernels of the seeds are of considerable commercial
importance in the manufacture of perfumes, which are
quite fragrant, with the odor of new-mown hay. The
odor closely suggests vanilla, and depends upon a crys-
talline substance, cumarin. Cumarin is cumaric anhy-
dride (CeH,.O.CO.CH:CH). It is often seen on the
surface of the beans as an efflorescence. This substance is
widely distributed in nature. Of the plants in which it has
been found the following may be mentioned: vanilla grass
{Anthoxanthum odoratum) ; Carolina vanilla (Trilisa odor-
atissima) of the daisy family; yellow melilot (Melilotus
officinalis) of the pea family. The tonka bean or its ex-
tract is used to flavor snuff, cigars, cigarettes, and sachet
powders. It is employed as a substitute for vanilla in
cocoa and confectionery.

TURMERIC

Turmeric (Curcuma longa L.) is a large-leaved herb
closely related to ginger and of the same family (Zingiber-
aceae). It has been cultivated for a long time in India

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60 Field Museum op Natural History

and has a Sanskrit name. The source of the EngHsh word
turmeric is unknown. No wild form of the plant has been
found, but turmeric is considered as a probable native of
Cochin China. Like ginger, the plant has an underground
stem or rhizome which is thick and rounded, with short
blunt finger-like tubers. It is these which constitute the
spice, turmeric. The main portion of the rhizome is called
long turmeric and the tuberous portion, round turmeric.
Turmeric, like ginger, is grown from small pieces of the
rootstock. By using this method of propagation there is
not as much variation in the plant or its products as
there would be if the plants were raised from seed. In
commerce, however, turmeric is distinguished as from
China, Madras, Bengal, and Cochin. Chinese turmeric
is the most esteemed.

Composition. — Turmeric contains 1 per cent of a
volatile oil which is made up of phellandrene and turmerol,
and about one-third of 1 per cent of a yellow crystalline
substance, curcumin, which is changed into vanillin by
weak oxidation. Vanillin is the active principle of the
vanilla bean and is closely related chemically to eugenol
of clove oil. The coloring matter curcumin, which is
yellow in acids and brownish-red in alkalies, is used in
testing acidity.

History. — Apparently turmeric did not appear in
western commerce as early as ginger. When it did appear
it was not so important but was valued chiefly for its
color. In the year a.d. 77 or 78 Dioscorides wrote of a
kind of "cyperus" which resembled ginger but when
chewed had a yellow color and bitter taste; doubtless
this was turmeric. In 1280 Marco Polo mentioned it as
occurring at Koncha (in the neighborhood of Fo-kien,
China). In the Middle Ages it was generally known as
Indian saffron and was imported by Arabs, Persians and
Turks, who secured it from India.

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Spicks and Condiments 61

Use. — Turmeric has a bright yellow color and a
pleasant musky flavor. It is used locally in the East in
curry. The fresh rootstocks are sold for this purpose and
also to color various sweetmeats in Singapore and else-
where. They have a use also as a dye for calico and paper
in India. The East Indies and Europe likewise use
turmeric as a dye, but because the color is faded by sun-
light and alkali, it has been supplanted to a certain extent
by more permanent aniline dyes.

VANILLA

The vanilla fruit is the product of a climbing orchid
of the orchid family (Orchidaceae), a native of Mexico
and Central America. Two species are cultivated or used
in producing this spice: Vanilla fragrans (Salisb.) Ames,
the true Mexican vanilla, with long, slender pods, and
Vanilla pompona Schiede, the West Indian with short,
thick pods. There are a few other species which have more
or less fragrant pods, but none seem to have value as
spices. The species most extensively cultivated is the
Mexican vanilla, native from southeastern Mexico to
Panama. This plant has been introduced and cultivated
in many parts of the tropics and is grown extensively in
the Seychelles, Reunion, Mauritius, Java, Tahiti, Fiji
Islands, and West Indies.

The West Indian vanilla is apparently native from
southern Mexico to Venezuela and Trinidad, and has
been cultivated in Martinique and Guadeloupe. In the
Malay Peninsula is another species. Vanilla Griffithii,
which is commonly found wild. It, however, has none
of the aromatic flavor or perfume of the American plant.
In Mexico the flowers are fertilized naturally by bees and
humming birds, but in other parts of the world it is
necessary to fertilize the flowers by hand. The cultivation
on a systematic basis in Java began in 1846.

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Field Museum op Natural History

VANILLA

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Spices and Condiments 63

History. — Vanilla was used by the Aztecs for flavoring
chocolate before the discovery of America, and its use was
adopted by the Spaniards. According to Morren, it was
brought to Europe about 1510 and first described by
Hernandez in 1651 in the Rerum medicarum Novae His-
paniae thesaurus.

Use. — Vanilla is used chiefly as a flavoring for choco-
late, confectionery, and liquors, and formerly it was em-
ployed to a certain extent in medicines. The principal
constituent of vanilla is vanillin. This was first investi-
gated by Gobley in 1858. From 1874 to 1876 Tiemann and
Haarmann worked on it and discovered that it could be
produced artificially from coniferin, a glucoside found in
the sapwood of certain pine trees. A number of other
processes for the manufacture of vanillin have been
devised since then. De Laire in 1891 started to work a
process for forming it from eugenol, the substance to
which oil of cloves owes its characteristic odor. This
method was used commercially from 1891 to 1896 with-
out causing any great change in the market price of
natural vanilla, but the competition between European
manufacturing firms resulted in the fall of the price of
vanilla from $45 per pound in 1890 to $5 in 1903.

As vanillin was made from eugenol, the price of it
depended on that of oil of cloves, from which the eugenol
was obtained. In 1891, however, a patent was taken out
for making vanillin electrolytically from sugar.

Although artificial vanillin is so much cheaper and can
be put on the market at a figure so much lower, the culti-
vation of the real plant is by no means one of the past.
The equivalent amount of artificial vanillin can be pur-
chased for about one-thirtieth the cost of the natural
product. Some buyers still prefer and are willing to pay
a higher price for the natural product than for the arti-
ficial. The vanilla flavor (vanillin) is found also in other

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64 Field Museum op Natural History

plants: an orchid (Selenipedium Chica) of Panama; the
fruit of the dog-rose (Rosa canina), a common rose of
Europe and western Asia; the flowers of queen-of-the-
meadow {Filipendula Ulmaria Maxim.), of Europe and
Asia; the balsams and resins of Tolu (Toluifera); the
seeds of the white lupine of Europe (Lupinus alhus L.);
and in potato peelings.

ZEDOARY

Another spice of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae)
known as zedoary consists of the rootstocks or rhizomes
of Curcuma Zedoaria. This spice attained its greatest
popularity in medieval times, but practically dropped
out of commerce many years ago. In the East Indies,
however, it still is cultivated. This is a handsome plant
which resembles turmeric, but is larger. The rhizomes are
of a light orange to orange color inside; the rootstocks
are less brilliantly colored than turmeric and often are
nearly white. The plant belongs to the same genus as
turmeric but has much larger rhizomes, which are cut
into transverse or longitudinal slices before drying.

History. — During the sixth and seventh centuries it
is mentioned by Aetius, Paulus Aeginata, and other
writers as coming from India, where it had been in use
for a long time. In western Europe it became known
toward the beginning of the eighth century.

Use. — The rootstocks of zedoary have a distinct
aromatic taste which is not very strong and not at all
pungent. Zedoary is used more as a drug than as a spice,
even in the East. It is used also as a perfume, but on
account of its musky odor it is not appreciated as an
ingredient of curries.

[314]

In Field Museum an exhibit of spices and condiments is to be
found in Hall 25 (Cases 38 and 40). Others may be seen in Hall 29
under the various plant families to which the spices and condiments
belong; viz., vanilla (Case 804), ginger (Case 806), onion (Case 812),
pepper (Case 819), nutmeg (Case 839), cinnamon (Case 839), tonka
bean (Case 849), and clove (Case 858).