History of Spices (Radio Edit)
About this episode
The episode explores the global history of spices and the spice trade, highlighting their significance and varied uses throughout time.
Greg Jenner is joined by historian Dr David Veevers and comedian and quizzer Paul Sinha to learn all about the global history of spices and the spice trade. Nowadays, we take spices for granted, and our kitchen cabinets are full of ginger and cinnamon, cumin and coriander, pepper and nutmeg. But despite their contemporary status as a staple of diets around the world, the majority of spices are native only to Asia (barring notable exceptions like chilli peppers). In this episode, we tell the story of how spices went global, from the very earliest days of the spice trade within Asia, through the empires of Alexander the Great and Rome as spices made their way into Europe, and into the colonial period, as the Dutch and British East India Companies vied to monopolise this lucrative trade. Along the way, we focus on five of the most commonly traded spices – pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and chilli – asking how their use changed across time, and as they were traded from place to place. From pharaohs possibly being embalmed with cinnamon, to medieval kings demanding rent in peppercorns, and nutmeg as a cure for plague, we look at the varied uses to which people all over the world…
People in this episode
Host: Greg Jenner
Guests: Dr David Veevers, Paul Sinha
Topics covered
- spice trade
- history of spices
- global trade
- culinary history
- colonialism
Keywords
- spices
- trade
- history
- cinnamon
- pepper
- nutmeg
- colonialism
- culinary
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC Radio 4
Books & works: History of Spices
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