Subscribed & recommended. Both my parents were neuroscientists, and it was a real revelation the day I came to understand that the whole damn field was founded on people going "okay but WHY does everybody like cocaine?"...and I think your point about the intertwined history of science and drugs gets to the heart of that.
We should chat sometime. I've got a chemical for you that smells like cinnamon and camphor, but somehow mustier...and apparently triples lifespan in model organisms.
I remember hearing *somewhere* that spices weren’t so much to preserve food, but to masked the flavor of rotten food. The hotter your climate, the quicker your food rotted, the more spices you needed.
Interesting article, thank you. Sadly, people are always seeking substitutes for God to alleviate the suffering that God imposes out of a severe mercy to bring them to repentance. Instead of repenting of their sin and turning to God for healing and renewal, they look to the creation instead of the Creator. But "we must through many troubles enter the kingdom of God," and "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 14:22. Romans 10:13)
Given that western medicine is based on humoral theory there was no clear distinction between food and medicine. Medieval people were more obsessed with healthy eating than we are.
Traditional chinese medicine which has many similarities with european humorism is receiving a lot of support lately from the government so the story is not over.
Exotic and expensive spices were also a form of conspicuous consumption. When several european East india companies became involved in large scale spice trade the prices dropped and spices lost their cachet. This spurred the creation of haute cuisine by chefs like La Varenne which rejected spices in favor of product freshness and culinary technique. It eventually became a point of pride that a good french chef needs only 1 spice, black pepper.
I correlate the increased desire for exotic 'material' (especially after the West Asian/Middle Eastern enlightenment brought about by coffee) a way for Western forces to find that next magical substance. Much like the search for the Fountain of Youth.
Very true. Brazilwood, the namesake of the country, being a good example - for my first book I remember going pretty deep into researching its medicinal uses, even though it is mostly thought of as a reddish dye. Thanks for reading Virginia.
Fantastic piece. You're really knocking it out the park lately.
Thank you Anton!
Subscribed & recommended. Both my parents were neuroscientists, and it was a real revelation the day I came to understand that the whole damn field was founded on people going "okay but WHY does everybody like cocaine?"...and I think your point about the intertwined history of science and drugs gets to the heart of that.
We should chat sometime. I've got a chemical for you that smells like cinnamon and camphor, but somehow mustier...and apparently triples lifespan in model organisms.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2858081/
I remember hearing *somewhere* that spices weren’t so much to preserve food, but to masked the flavor of rotten food. The hotter your climate, the quicker your food rotted, the more spices you needed.
Thanks for reading Jenna. I'm skeptical of this one, partly because I haven't seen it mentioned in actual historical accounts, just in secondary sources. This site seems to give a pretty detailed debunking of it: https://culinarylore.com/food-history:spices-used-to-cover-taste-bad-meat/
Thanks for the article! Much better than my dubious citation of "I remember hearing *somewhere*..." lol.
Interesting article, thank you. Sadly, people are always seeking substitutes for God to alleviate the suffering that God imposes out of a severe mercy to bring them to repentance. Instead of repenting of their sin and turning to God for healing and renewal, they look to the creation instead of the Creator. But "we must through many troubles enter the kingdom of God," and "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Acts 14:22. Romans 10:13)
Given that western medicine is based on humoral theory there was no clear distinction between food and medicine. Medieval people were more obsessed with healthy eating than we are.
Traditional chinese medicine which has many similarities with european humorism is receiving a lot of support lately from the government so the story is not over.
Exotic and expensive spices were also a form of conspicuous consumption. When several european East india companies became involved in large scale spice trade the prices dropped and spices lost their cachet. This spurred the creation of haute cuisine by chefs like La Varenne which rejected spices in favor of product freshness and culinary technique. It eventually became a point of pride that a good french chef needs only 1 spice, black pepper.
I correlate the increased desire for exotic 'material' (especially after the West Asian/Middle Eastern enlightenment brought about by coffee) a way for Western forces to find that next magical substance. Much like the search for the Fountain of Youth.
Let the spice flow... in addition to your amazing posts!!!!
"Spices" also included dyestuffs.
Very true. Brazilwood, the namesake of the country, being a good example - for my first book I remember going pretty deep into researching its medicinal uses, even though it is mostly thought of as a reddish dye. Thanks for reading Virginia.