Spices and How to Know Them

CHAPTER XII. NUTMEGS, 136-151 CHAPTER XIII. MACE, 152-156 The Chemical Composition of 155 Mace CHAPTER XIV. MUSTARD, 157-168 Wet Mustard or French 161 Mustard CHAPTER XV. HERBS, 169-179 Sage, 169 Marjoram, 171 Parsley, 172 Savory, 173 Thyme, 174 Seed, 176 Caraway, 176 Coriander, 177 Cardamom, 178 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ INTRODUCTION IT is with a certain feeling of helplessness and loneliness that I am venturing upon the attempt to trace out the history of spices, as I have not a spice grove or garden to step into for my information; but I must depend upon a far-distant country, where intelligence is but little above what it was five hundred years ago, where may be found the lair of the lion and the jungles of the tiger, where the elephant is used as a beast of burden, where the people file their teeth and color them black because they think natural white teeth too much like dogs’ teeth. The fact that such ignorance is general in the Spice Islands obviously makes my information the more difficult to obtain. Moreover, the camera and its uses are not known among the Malays, and the painter’s art is not among their imaginings. For these reasons, the illustrations I have obtained have been secured only at great cost, but they are as true to nature in color as it is possible for printer’s ink to make them. I hope they will aid me in realizing my purpose of making dealers in spices more familiar with their goods. It was not until after long and careful consideration of the fact that the mass of people know but little about the condiments which are to be found on almost every table, and of the further fact of the “inhumanity of man to man” in adulterating, that I was bold enough to attempt to write upon a subject never before written upon, except in a meager way. And although I do not expect to interest all who may read my pages, I hope to create a wish in some to know more of the flavors which so tickle the palate, the fruits of that far-distant county, the Straits Settlement, and neighboring regions. If I succeed in creating a desire among the retail dealers in spices to know the goods better, and to sell only those which are pure and wholesome, I shall feel that my work has not been a failure. In placing the same before the public, I believe it to be the most complete work ever written upon the subject with which it deals. THE AUTHOR. I am much indebted to the United States Department of Agriculture, Bulletin 13, by Clifford Richardson, for information in Chapter 3, on Adulterations and Analysis of Spices. Also to the United States Consulates of the cities of Penang, Singapore, and Colombo, to whom I extend thanks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER I EARLY HISTORY OF SPICES “Be still! oh North winds, and come, oh Southern breezes, and blow upon my garden, that the spice trees therein may blossom and bear fruit!” “His cheeks are as a bed of spices, of sweet flowers.” —_The Song of Solomon._ THE terms spices and condiments are applied to those articles which, while possessing in themselves no nutritious principles, are added to food to make it more palatable and to stimulate digestion. They are of an exclusively vegetable origin, and occupy an important position in the diet of the human race. A ride of thirty-five days by ocean steamer from New York City brings us to the city of Singapore, situated on a small island of that name, the principal exporting city and the metropolis and capital of Malaysia, the Straits Settlement, India. The islands that constitute the Straits Settlement are crowned with spice forests. Here the noonday sun is truly vertical twice each year, and for many days it passes so near the zenith that change is scarcely perceptible. Here the grand constellation Orion passes overhead, while the Great Bear and Pole Star lie low down in the horizon. To the south may be seen the Southern Cross, and the planets high in the zenith. [Illustration: ASIATIC ARCHIPELAGO] No autumn tints, like those of our Northern woods, deck the spice forests. There is no purple and yellow dying foliage which rivals, and even excels, the expiring dolphin in splendor, and the long, cold sleep of winter and the first gentle touch of spring are unknown. But instead, we behold a ceaseless round of active life, which weaves the fair scenery of the tropics into one monotonous whole, the component parts of which exhibit in detail untold variety and beauty; and no one component part impresses us more forcibly than the spice trees. It is said that sailors, several miles at sea, in favorable weather, with a gentle land breeze, can tell they are nearing land long before they come in sight of the islands by the fragrance of the spice gardens. Singapore has a population of only 200,000, and the small island on which it is built contains but 145,000 acres, yet the city does a business of $200,000,000 a year and can count its millionaires by the score. Eighty years ago, the place where it stands was simply a jungle for tigers. Singapore has ships from every port of the world going in and out of its harbor, and its streets are as lively as those of New York. You can go from it to the continent in a rowboat in one-half hour. Close connections are also made at Singapore for Siam, Borneo, Australia, China, Japan, Sumatra, and Ceylon, and it is the half-way station of the voyage around the world. The Island of Ceylon, with Colombo as its capital and chief city of export, also produces many fine spices. What could India do without her Spice Forests? This is a question which remains unanswered. We might as well ask what the United States could do without its wheat fields. The different grades of spices take their names from the country or city from which they are exported, each different kind having a flavor of its own. Our best grades come mostly from Penang, and are called “Penang Spice,” while spice of nearly as good a quality comes from parts of Malabar. Other chief cities of export are Bombay, Batavia, Calcutta, and Cayenne, South America; but the most important is Singapore, as has been before mentioned. [Illustration: A PLANTATION ON JAMAICA ISLAND] [Illustration: A PLANTATION IN INDIA] The declared value of all spices shipped direct to this country averages about $12,000,000 worth annually. Among the cities that import spices New York stands first, probably receiving more than three-quarters of all importations. In 1898, 5,000,000 pounds of ginger were received at New York—19,000 bags being from Calcutta, 9,010 from Africa, 65,000 from Cochin, 3,608 barrels from Jamaica. There were 6,000,000 pounds of pepper received at New York, and probably nearly as much more at other ports. This may seem a large amount, but when we consider the quantity used in prepared meats and pickles, and the fact that pepper is on every table which can afford a pepper-box or caster, and that pepper enters into some of our food at nearly every meal, the above amount, which gives less than one-sixth of a pound per capita, is not large. A larger sum is paid for pepper than for any other spice. The amount paid for spices in this country annually does not fall much short of one dollar per capita at retail prices. Four and one-half days by ocean steamer from New York brings us to the Island of Jamaica; and this chapter would not be complete if I did not mention that gem of the West Indies, the home of the Pimento and the famous Jamaica Ginger. Xaymaca (the Indian name for Jamaica) is like a huge mountain standing alone in the Caribbean Sea, with its hard, white coral beach and ideal climate. The ride from Kingston, the capital of the island, with its 50,000 population of picturesque folks (Americans, Europeans, West Indies women, gorgeously arrayed, and the coolie women loaded with ornaments), to beautiful Montego Bay and Port Antonio is an experience never to be forgotten. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CHAPTER II ADULTERATION OF SPICES THE Dutch at one time tried to control much of the spice trade but were frustrated by the birds which carried the seeds and planted them in other countries. We are strongly inclined to look upon the scheming Dutchman with contempt for this selfish act, but there is to-day hovering over spice products a greater evil, which makes one feel almost like shedding tears of shame for the acts of men who adulterate spices. If they would stop in their work long enough to ponder on the following appropriate words, they might receive new light in their attempt to mock Nature: “Thou great first cause, and only cause direct, All else existing, only in effect; Cause and effect must harmonize and blend, To doubt the cause, we need but doubt the end.