4 Significant New World Spices That Changed The World
When you think about the spice trade, do you think about the Far East and the exotic herbs and spices that were highly coveted throughout history? Not only were they used for culinary purposes, they had medicinal properties and perceived magical powers. Certain herbs and spices were even used in religious rituals and for ceremonial occasions.
However, when the Americas were “discovered”, a whole new world of herbs and spices was introduced to the old world. And not surprisingly, the native peoples of the new world used their herbs and spices in the same ways as the rest of the world.
Here are some of the most familiar herbs and spices that are indigenous to the Western Hemisphere and were well known and used in the Caribbean area. Some have become essential ingredients other world cuisines.
A necessary spice in many world cuisines today, chile (or chili) peppers grew wild in the Andes of South America. Through ancient native trade routes, chiles made their way up to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Archeological evidence in Mexico suggests these pungent powerhouses were part of the native diet as early as 7500 BCE.
It’s not certain when chilies were domesticated and cultivated as a crop, but anthropologists think it was somewhere between 5200 and 3300 BCE. Dried peppers were traded among native tribes including the Maya and Aztec.
In Susheela Raghaban’s book Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings she reveals “By the time the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the sixteenth century, the Aztecs were growing dozens of pod types. Today, all domesticated cultivars are derived from five domesticated species of chile peppers, and none differ substantially from those domesticated by Native Americans.”
According to the Nielsen Massey company, vanilla has an "epic history that spans nearly 1,000 years." Vanilla originated from wild orchid vines that grew in the eastern jungles of Mexico. The flower produces the pod we call vanilla bean. Only the Totonac people who lived there knew about it until the Aztec arrived. The Aztec called the vanilla beans tlixochitl which means black pod. Raghaban credits the Aztecs with domesticating the vine.
Vanilla had several used to the natives from flavoring food, to act as a nerve stimulant, and as an aphrodisiac. Royal beverages were concocted with vanilla, chocolate, chilies, corn kernels, and honey, which were reserved only for the socially elite. It is said that Montezuma, a great Aztec ruler, presented such a drink in a golden goblets to the Spanish conquistador Cortez. We all know how that turned out.
Today, cocoa is enjoyed in an endless range of products. But, in Mexico and Guatemala it was once considered a sacred food and used in holy rituals and on ceremonial occasions.
Cocoa was another wild jungle fruit. It’s uncertain when humans began consuming it. However, cocoa and its presentation feature prominently in Mayan and Aztec cultures and even used as currency in trade.
Cocoa was unknown to Europe until Columbus brought it from the Americas. Now it’s grown in many tropical areas of the world.
Allspice is the fruit of Pimenta dioica, an evergreen tree. This tree grew wild in Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, and Central America. The berries are picked and dried when unripe. To the Spanish explores they resembled peppercorns and they called them pimienta (or pepper) from which we get the name pimento. The spice is used to make jerk seasoning.
When available, fresh leaves are used in the same manner as bay leaves for cooking and sometimes infused into an herbal tea. The wood from the tree is also used to smoke meats and plays a prominent part in smoking Jamaican jerk.
However, when the Americas were “discovered”, a whole new world of herbs and spices was introduced to the old world. And not surprisingly, the native peoples of the new world used their herbs and spices in the same ways as the rest of the world.
Here are some of the most familiar herbs and spices that are indigenous to the Western Hemisphere and were well known and used in the Caribbean area. Some have become essential ingredients other world cuisines.
1. Chile Peppers
A necessary spice in many world cuisines today, chile (or chili) peppers grew wild in the Andes of South America. Through ancient native trade routes, chiles made their way up to North and Central America and the Caribbean. Archeological evidence in Mexico suggests these pungent powerhouses were part of the native diet as early as 7500 BCE.
It’s not certain when chilies were domesticated and cultivated as a crop, but anthropologists think it was somewhere between 5200 and 3300 BCE. Dried peppers were traded among native tribes including the Maya and Aztec.
In Susheela Raghaban’s book Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings she reveals “By the time the Spanish arrived in Mexico in the sixteenth century, the Aztecs were growing dozens of pod types. Today, all domesticated cultivars are derived from five domesticated species of chile peppers, and none differ substantially from those domesticated by Native Americans.”
2. Vanilla
According to the Nielsen Massey company, vanilla has an "epic history that spans nearly 1,000 years." Vanilla originated from wild orchid vines that grew in the eastern jungles of Mexico. The flower produces the pod we call vanilla bean. Only the Totonac people who lived there knew about it until the Aztec arrived. The Aztec called the vanilla beans tlixochitl which means black pod. Raghaban credits the Aztecs with domesticating the vine.
Vanilla had several used to the natives from flavoring food, to act as a nerve stimulant, and as an aphrodisiac. Royal beverages were concocted with vanilla, chocolate, chilies, corn kernels, and honey, which were reserved only for the socially elite. It is said that Montezuma, a great Aztec ruler, presented such a drink in a golden goblets to the Spanish conquistador Cortez. We all know how that turned out.
3. Cocoa
Today, cocoa is enjoyed in an endless range of products. But, in Mexico and Guatemala it was once considered a sacred food and used in holy rituals and on ceremonial occasions.
Cocoa was another wild jungle fruit. It’s uncertain when humans began consuming it. However, cocoa and its presentation feature prominently in Mayan and Aztec cultures and even used as currency in trade.
Cocoa was unknown to Europe until Columbus brought it from the Americas. Now it’s grown in many tropical areas of the world.
4. Allspice
Allspice is the fruit of Pimenta dioica, an evergreen tree. This tree grew wild in Jamaica, Cuba, Mexico, and Central America. The berries are picked and dried when unripe. To the Spanish explores they resembled peppercorns and they called them pimienta (or pepper) from which we get the name pimento. The spice is used to make jerk seasoning.
When available, fresh leaves are used in the same manner as bay leaves for cooking and sometimes infused into an herbal tea. The wood from the tree is also used to smoke meats and plays a prominent part in smoking Jamaican jerk.
