Spices, Herbs and Perfumes

I. most chemicals with distinctive tastes and aroma are essential oils also sometimes called volatile oils

A. may occur through the plant in different parts

B. except for floral aromas very difficult to explain their purpose

1. may be waste products but seems unlikely

2. may be for defense, allelopathy - washed out into the soil to prevent competition

3. may deter predation or pathogens

C. why do humans use herbs and spices?

1. originally thought it made spoiled food more palatable

2. most herbs and spices have antibacterial properties

3. Garlic, onion, allspice and oregano kill 100% of bacteria; thyme, cinnamon, tarragon and cumin kill up to 80% of bacteria; capsicums, including chilies and other hot peppers, kill up to 75% of bacteria; pepper nhibits 25 percent of bacteria, as do ginger, anise seed, celery seed and the juices of lemons and limes

4. may just be for variety

II. History

A. use of garlic and onion for flavoring goes back at least 4,500 years ago 

B. Egyptian mummification process involved stuffing several herbs and spices in body cavities, e.g. myrrh, cinnamon, cumin, anise, marjoram

C. demand for spices led to trade routes between Mediterranean and far east 3,400 years ago

D. Greeks expanded trade routes and established Cairo as the trade center

E. by 400 B.C. Hippocrates and then Theophrastus began using herbs and spices for medicinal purposes, Dioscorides 1st century AD wrote one of the oldest surviving and most influential natural history books ever written, Materia Medica an account of plants of medicinal value

F. during Dark Ages Europe's supply of spices was sharply reduced but Crusades in Middle East after 1096 renewed an interest in them

G. Venice, stimulated by Marco Polo's journey to China in 13th century, and Genoa became the centers of trade between Europe and the far east 

H. in 1453 Constantinople was captured by the Turks and trade routes to far east cut off 

I. this set off  Europeans age of exploration via ship, first the Portuguese who sailed to India via South Africa in 1498

J. Columbus inadvertently "discovered" the New World in 1492 while seeking an easier route to the far east

K. Spice Islands of the Malay Archipelago controlled by Portuguese until Dutch took over for the next 200 years in early 17th century 

Herbs and Spices of Mediterranean Region

I. Mint Family (Lamiaceae) probably more herbs and spices than any other plant family

A. many species of the mint family have characteristic odors and tastes and used for perhaps thousands of years

B. most native to Mediterranean region

C. Basil - major herb in Italian cooking, used by ancient Greeks

D. Mints (Mentha)

1. spearmint and peppermint most widely used

2. flavorings for many products, jellies, candies, medicines, toothpastes, mouthwash, herbal teas

E. others

1. oregano (Origanum) - one of most popular herbs, taste for Italian food in US developed after soldiers returned WWI in Italy 

2. marjoram (Origanum) - milder than oregano

3. rosemary (Rosmarinus) - used as a tea oils extracted and used in perfumes or hair products

4. sage (Salvia) - one of most commonly used medicinal plants since the ancient Greeks, but few medical claims substantiated, also a cooking spice, e. g. used in turkey stuffing

II. Carrot family (Apicaeae) - second to Mint family

A. inflorescence a flat topped cluster of very small flowers (umbel), much dissected leaves with sheathing petioles

B. parsley - most commonly used culinary herb in US but often used for decoration, high in vitamins A and D, used in breath fresheners

C. dill leaves - most common flavoring in picked items

D. cilantro leaves - popular in Mexican foods

E. commonly used fruits: anise, caraway, celery, cumin, coriander, dill, fennel

III. Saffron (Crocus)

A. most costly herb, has intense taste and yellow color

B. stigmas of the Crocus plant

C. one acre of plant yields 3.5 - 5.5 kg (8-12 lbs) of saffron

D. 462,000 stigma branches from 154,000 flowers are needed for each kilo of saffron, 210,000 stigmas/lb!

Spices of Asian Tropics (India and Southeast Asia)

I. Cassia and cinnamon

A. both genus Cinnamomum

B. both made from the bark of trees and sold in curled up into quills

C. cinnamon made only from inner bark so lighter texture and finer and more delicate flavor, cassia made from entire bark is much coarser and less flavorful

D. in US cinnamon spice may come from either species and most comes from cheaper cassia

II.  Cloves (Syzgium) Myrtaceae

A. native to Spice Islands (Moluccas) and Indonesia

B. flower buds harvested just when turning pink

C. cloves used in cooking, making cigarettes, oil used in perfumes and soaps and also as an anesthetic, e.g. dental work

III. Nutmeg and mace 

A. both parts of the fruit of Myristica fragrans

B. mace is a dried fleshy aril which surrounds the seed

C. nutmeg is the dried endosperm of seed, toxic in large quantities and hallucinogenic in mild quantities

IV. Pepper Piper nigrum

A. probably the most widely used spice in the world

B. native to India and Sri Lanka

C. black pepper is produced from the fermented, sun dried, unripe drupes, called peppercorns

D. white pepper is made from ripe drupes that are placed in running water for 1-2 weeks to cause the fleshy portions to rot away from the hard endocarp, then crushed to remove any remaining exocarp and mesocarp, then dried

E. unripe green drupes, can be dried, or preserved in brine or vinegar, to make green peppercorn

New World Spices

I. Allspice (Pimenta)

A. native to Central America and West Indies

B. dried green berries have flavor of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg combined

C. one of Columbus' "treasures" brought back to Europe

II. Capsicum peppers (Capsicum)

A. chili peppers, bell pepper, sweet peppers, paprika and cayenne (dried peppers), Tabasco sauce, etc.

B. only one gene difference between hot and sweet peppers

C. native to Central and South America, grown at least for 9,000 years

D. hot compound is capsaicin concentrated in fruit placenta (ribs) to which seeds are attached

E. integral component of the foods of many countries, not only in New World but also India, Spain, Italy, China, Indonesia and others

F. chili pepper heat is measured in Scoville Units

1. developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, Scoville Units measure chili pepper heat in multiples of 100, with the bell peppers at 0 and the habanero at over 300,000 Scoville Units. A haanero is the hottest ever rated at 577,000

2. Scoville Unit rating of a pepper was determined by a dilution taste test. Pure ground chili peppers are blended with a sugar-water solution. A panel of testers sips the mixture in increasingly diluted concentrations until it no longer burns the mouth. The Scoville Unit number is based on how much the ground chili needs to be diluted before no heat is detected. Roughly one part per million of chilli 'heat' rates as 1.5 Scoville units

3. now, liquid chromatography, rather than Scoville's dilution taste test, is used to evaluate the heat of chili peppers

G. The chemistry of chili peppers website

1. the capsaicinoids bind to the same receptors in the lining of the mouth that register pain from heat, thus the effect is a burning feeling

2. capsaicin from chili peppers used in topical analgesic creams for the relief of arthritis, tendinitis and muscular strain

3. pepper sprays generally contain about 18% oil of capsicum

H. images of peppers

	Assorted Peppers:  A. Bell Pepper  B. Hungarian Hot Wax  C. Habanero  D. Jalapeño  E. Cayenne  F. Serrano
	Hot Peppers:  A. Anaheim  B. Hungarian Wax  C. Jalapeño  D. Carribean  E. Habanero  F. Cayenne  G. Super Chile  H. Serrano
	Sweet Peppers:  A. Bell Pepper  B. Sweet Banana  C. Pimento
	Bell peppers

III. Vanilla (Vanilla fragrans) of Orchid family Orchidaceae

A. except for ornamental value, only economically important member of largest plant family

B. perennial vines native to Central and South America, used by Aztecs to flavor chocolate

C. vanilla is extracted from the fruits (capsules) called beans

1. fruits contains millions of tiny seeds which lack endosperm, the specks in real vanilla ice cream

2. orchid seed video

D. flowers are hand pollinated and fruits take about 9 months to mature

1. mature fruits placed in the sun for  hours

2. wrapped in blankets and placed in dark airtight boxes to sweat for or a day or until they begin to turn brown

3. daily sunning and sweating cycle continues for the next 25 - 36 days

4. fruits begin to turn black and then dried indoors for up to three more months

5. vanilla extract is made by chopping the dried beans and continually percolating through a water-ethanol mixture to dissolve out the vanillin

a. natural vanillin is an extremely complicated mixture of several hundred different compounds

b. synthetic vanillin is derived from phenol from many products, including wood pulp

E. hand pollination and labor intensive preparation make vanilla second most expensive spice next to Saffron

1. prices have ranged up to $1,200/lb. 

F. tissue culture techniques have been developed to greatly reduce the cost of vanilla but it may devastate the economies of several countries, e.g. Madagascar