Spice

“ They should permeate food as incense does the atmosphere, delicate, impalpable and as indescribable as they are requisite. The too abundant use of a certain condiment or spice, the lack of another or the injudicious mingling of certain others will ruin the finest pudding, sauce or soup ever compounded. ”

“ Of all the varieties of spices used as a condiment, pepper is the only one which grows on a climbing vine, and there is no kind of spice better known or more esteemed or more extensively used than pepper. ”

“ All-Spice (Pimento) is another common occupant of the domestic spice box. It is popular as a warming cordial, of a sweet odour, and a grateful aromatic taste; but being a native of South America, grows with us only as a stove plant. The leaves and bark are full of inflammable particles, whilst walks between Pimento trees are odorous with a delicious scent. The name All-Spice is given because the berries afford in smell and taste a combination of Cloves, Juniper berries, Cinnamon and Pepper. The special qualities of the Pimento reside in the rind of these berries ”

“ A large sieve for flour is also necessary; and smaller ones for sugar and spice. There should be a marble mortar, or one of lignum vitæ, (the hardest of all wood;) those of iron (however well tinned) are apt to discolour the articles pounded in them. Spice may be ground in a mill kept exclusively for that purpose. Every kitchen should be provided with spice-boxes. You should have a large grater for lemon, cocoa-nut, &c., and a small one for nutmeg. Butter and sugar cannot be stirred together conveniently without a spaddle or spattle, which is a round stick flattened at one end ”

“ On account of their flavour they are much used with other medicines, and they form a principal ingredient in curries and compounded spices. In the north of Europe they are much used as a spice and flavouring material for cakes and liqueurs ”

“ Take Sugar and spice to taste. In making preparations like the above, it is very difficult to give the exact proportions of ingredients like sugar and spice, as what quantity might suit one person would be to another quite distasteful. ”

“ Boil a quart of Cream with a little whole Spice, when it is well boiled, take out the Spice, and thicken it with Rice Flower, and when it is well boiled, put in the yolks of Eggs, and Sugar and Rosewater, with a very little Salt, so serve it to the Table either hot or cold, with fine Sugar strewed on the brims of the Dish. ”

“ A Little Clove History—This spice was well known to the ancients and is mentioned by several Chinese authors as in use under the Han dynasty, B. C. 266 to 220, during which period it was customary for the officers of the court to hold the spice in their mouth before addressing the sovereign, in order that their breath might have an agreeable odor. At this period the clove was called fowl’s tongue spice. In 1265 A. D. the price was 12s per lb. In 1609 a ship of the East India Co., called the Consent, brot 112,000 lbs. ”

“ It will be perceived that I have omitted all kinds of spice except in those dishes which are intended expressly for them, as I consider they only flatter the appetite and irritate the stomach, and make it crave for more food; my object being not to create an appetite but to satisfy it; and when those dishes in which spice is introduced are given to the poor, it should only be done by the advice of the medical man ”

“ But the average American woman doesn't look beyond her own kitchen and her own traditional row of spice boxes for her flavorings. She has her “kitchen set,” which ordinarily comprises a row of little receptacles labeled “pepper,” “salt,” “cloves,” “allspice,” “ginger,” “cinnamon,” “nutmeg,” and possibly one or two other spices or condiments—rarely more. With these and 4a bottle each of lemon extract and vanilla, she is satisfied that she is fully equipped as far as flavoring possibilities are concerned. ”

“ N.B. Infused in a quart of vinegar or wine, they make a savoury relish for soups, sauces, &c.
Obs. The spices in a ragoût are indispensable to give it a flavour, but not a predominant one; their presence should be rather supposed than perceived; they are the invisible spirit of good cookery: indeed, a cook without spice would be as much at a loss as a confectioner without sugar: a happy mixture of them, and proportion to each other and the other ingredients, is the “chef-d’œuvre” of a first-rate cook. ”

“ Having heard much of it, with no very distinct idea what it is, our people have somehow fallen into the notion that its forte lies in high spicing,—and so, when our cooks put a great abundance of clove, mace, nutmeg, and cinnamon into their preparations, they fancy that they are growing up to be French cooks. But the fact is, that the Americans and English are far more given to spicing than the French. Spices in our made dishes are abundant, and their taste is strongly pronounced. ”

“ In fine, the spirits of the spices come last, without the least impregnation of the odour of the flowers, or the taste of the fruits; every article keeps distinct by itself in that distillation; and those who doubt the veracity of this assertion are desired to try the experiment.
Another interesting observation that has been made on spices, is, that whether they have been put in digestion or not; whether the phlegms or faints have rose before the spirits, or the spirits before the phlegms ”

“ And for ourselves, we will eat any thing. The more our cooks, with spice, with druggery and pastry, raise our wonder up, the more we will approve their handicraft. We will excite the stomach with a peppered soup ”

“ 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. ”

“ In fact, in many of the spices, and especially those which are seeds, the forms of the epidermal cells are very striking, and, if no attempt is made to classify them their peculiarities must be carefully noted, as the recognition of the presence of foreign husky matter depends upon a knowledge of the normal appearance in any spice. ”

“ As the old women had already seen the hot spiced ale referred to, this was no news to them, but they, nevertheless, manifested much interest in its removal to the table by the fire, and in the spice-bread and cheese which was placed beside it. ”

“ Condiments and spices are as ancient as civilization. The oldest books of the scriptures, notably Exodus, Leviticus, Job and the Canticles, make frequent reference to salt and spices, substances which were then costly, chiefly dedicated to royalty and the uses of temple and altar. The Greeks followed the Semitic customs to some extent in their disposition of spices, not using them as largely in their food as have later races. ”

“ They are particularly aromatic when fresh, abounding in essential oil which is the aromatic property of all kinds of fragrant fruits.
This tree is a native of the West Indies, and is found most abundantly on the limestone hills on the Island of Jamaica. It is the only common spice having its origin in the New World. It is found, but not in abundance, in most of the West India Islands, as well as in Mexico, Costa Rica, and Venezuela. It takes its name, pimento, from the Spanish word for pepper. ”

“ If you will bear in mind that spices are of value only to the extent that they contain the flavoring principle of the particular Spice, you will readily understand that buying adulterated Spices is just throwing so much money away. ”

“ An ingenious way to impart a very subtle flavor. The sporadic discoveries of such very subtle and refined methods (cf. notes to ℞ No. 15) should dispell once and for all time the old theories that the ancients were using spices to excess. They simply used a greater variety of flavors and aromas than we do today, but there is no proof that spices were used excessively. The great variety of flavors at the disposal of the ancients speaks well for the refinement of the olfactory sense and the desire to bring variety into their fare. ”

“ It is better for those who never make pickles or preserves, to wait for fresh vegetables or fruit, till they are actually in market—or, if put up in jars, to add something more than parboiling and seclusion from the air. Vinegar, salt, sugar, spice and alcohol, will be found the grand and universal articles for securing the goodness of nearly all eatables. ”

“ A peppercorn, some spice, and a little salt, have to be put into a small piece of bread-crumb, all kneaded together and buried in the hole from which the root has been extracted, in order to satisfy the devil ”

“ If you add a few cloves, &c. to steep in it, ’twill certainly keep the year about: ’Tis a wonder how speedily it extracts the tast and tincture of the spice. Mr. Boyle proposes a sulphurous fume to the bottles: Spirit of wine may haply not only preserve, but advance the virtues of saps; and infusions of rasins are obvious, and without decoction best, which does but spend the more delicate parts. Note, that the sap of the birch, will make excellent mead. ”

“ The origin of the latter has been traced to the bowl of burning spice which in Talmudic times was introduced after each meal. But here too symbolic ideas must be taken into account. Both the light and the spices would readily fit into the conception of the Sabbath “Over-soul” of the mystics. ”

“ Thus many thousand pounds often go to waste. In wet weather the system of smoking is sometimes adopted for drying. The proper degree of dryness is ascertained by the wrinkled appearance and by the dark or reddish-brown color of the spice and the rattling noise made by the seeds when they are shaken. When the berries begin to dry they are frequently laid in cloths to preserve them from the dews. ”

“ Salt, spices, essences, vanilla, vinegar, pickles, capers, ketchups, sauces, chutneys, lime-juice, curry, and all the rest, are just our civilised expedients for adding the pleasure of pungency and acidity to naturally insipid foods, by stimulating the nerves of touch in the tongue, just as sugar is our tribute to the pure gustatory sense, and oil, butter, bacon, lard, and the various fats used in frying to the sense of relish which forms the last element in our compound taste. ”

“ That anything is needed to disguise or improve the natural flavor of food, would seem to imply either that the article used was not a proper alimentary substance, or that it did not answer the purpose for which the Creator designed it. True condiments, such as pepper, pepper sauce, ginger, spice, mustard, cinnamon, cloves, etc., are all strong irritants. This may be readily demonstrated by their application to a raw surface. The intense smarting and burning occasioned are ample evidence of the irritating character. ”

“ Spice is seldom taken in such quantity as to do any material injury to the system, flesh-meats as well as vegetables are the natural diet of mankind; with these a glutton may be crammed up to the throat, and fed fat like a stalled ox ”

“ The numerous spices, vegetables, and condiments which enter largely into their composition naturally produce a more palatable dish than a hash that simply consists of slices of cold meat warmed in a thin, insipid liquid, which frequently represents an amateur cook's idea of a brown sauce. ”

“ Essential oils, when added properly, produce a catsup of good flavor, and the product is in every way acceptable. A better flavor, however, can be obtained by the use of whole spices. A water extract obtained from whole spices is different from the essential oil of the spice. It contains the essential oil, part of it at least, but it also contains other substances which impart flavor. The flavor produced by whole spices is not quite as harsh as that produced by essential oils. ”

“ Black pepper is one of the earliest spices known to mankind, being of extreme antiquity. Choice spices and rare gums were among the precious treasures of the kings of Egypt more than two thousand years before the Christian era. ”

“ Grains of Paradise are the dried seeds of a reed-like plant allied to the ginger family and indigenous to western Africa. The fruit which contains the seeds is four or five inches in length and of a bright red color. The seed are now never used, excepting occasionally by brewers. Formerly they were esteemed as a spice for cookery and were one of the ingredients of the famous Norwich herring pies of old England. In flavor they are extremely hot and pungent. ”

“ In living a year in France I forgot the taste of nutmeg, clove, and allspice, which had met me in so many dishes in America.
The thing may be briefly defined. The English and Americans deal in spices, the French in flavors,—flavors many and subtile, imitating often in their delicacy those subtile blendings which Nature produces in high-flavored fruits. ”

“ Defn: The berry of the pimento (Eugenia pimenta) , a tree of the West Indies; a spice of a mildly pungent taste, and agreeably aromatic; Jamaica pepper; pimento. It has been supposed to combine the flavor of cinnamon, nutmegs, and cloves; and hence the name. The name is also given to other aromatic shrubs; as, the Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus) ; wild allspice (Lindera benzoin) , called also spicebush, spicewood, and feverbush.
ALLTHING
All`thing`, adv. Etym: [For in all (= every) thing.] ”

“ Take a small portion of the starch or spice to be examined upon a clean camel’s hair brush and dust it upon a common slide, blow the excess away and moisten that retained with a drop of a mixture of equal parts of glycerine and water, or with glycerine and camphor water, and cover with a glass. It is well to have a small supply of the common starches in a series of tubes which can be mounted at any moment and used for comparison. ”