MISCELLANEOUS CONDIMENTS 137 



Spices have been of singular importance in the history of 

 the world. Li ancient times the spices of the East were 

 among the most valued articles of commerce ' that were 

 brought to the peoples about the Mediterranean. During 

 the Middle Ages cloves, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, mace, 

 and black pepper were considered to be as fitting presents 

 for kings as gold and precious stones. Spices together with 

 silk and jewels formed the principal merchandise of the cara- 

 vans which at that time served as the chief means of com- 

 munication between the nations of Asia and Europe. The 

 great desire of European navigators to reach the Spice Islands 

 of the East was the motive which led to many of the daring 

 voyages of the 15th century, and impelled Columbus to brave 

 the Western route that brought him unwittingly to the New 

 World. 



53. Savory herbs are such as have aromatic herbage 

 which is used, either fresh or dried, to season or to garnish 

 food. The most familiar examples are sage (Fig. 132, 133), 

 thyme (Fig. 134), spearmint (Fig. 135), .summer savory 

 (Fig. 136), sweet marjoram (Fig. 137), and parsley (Fig. 138). 



The flavor of each of these herbs depends upon the peculiar 

 volatile oil which it contains, although only a very small 

 amount of the oil is present. Thus there is but 0.2% in 

 spearmint, 0.07% in thyme, and only 0.02% in sage. From 

 this fact one can judge what powerful substances these 

 volatile oils must be. 



54. Savory seeds include cardamoms (Fig. 139), and the 

 so-called "seeds" of caraway (Fig. 140), anise (Fig. 141), 

 star anise (Fig. 142), coriander (Fig. 143), and celery (Fig. 79). 

 Cardamoms are true seeds, while the others mentioned, 

 although commonly spoken of as seeds, are in reality seed- 

 like fruits. Savory seeds differ from spices in being commonly 

 used whole rather than pulverized. They all agree in possess- 

 ing a strong aromatic flavor which has led to their use in 

 cookery. As with the savory herbs, their flavor depends 

 upon the presence in each of a peculiar volatile oil, anise 

 having 1-3%, cardamoms 4-5%, and caraway 6%. 



55. Miscellaneous condiments. Horseradish and capers 

 are food-adjuncts which differ so considerably from the others 



