Book of Spice, The
From Anise to Zedoary

A tasty compendium of spices and a fascinating history and wide array of uses of the worlds favorite flavors?The Book of Spice: From Anise to Zedoary reveals the amazing history of spices both familiar and esoteric. John OConnells erudite chapters combine history with insights into art, religion, medicine, science, and theyre richly seasoned with anecdotes and recipes. Discover why Cleopatra bathed in saffron and mares milk, why wormwood-laced absinthe caused eighteenth-century drinkers to hallucinate, and how cloves harvested in remote Indonesian islands found their way into a kitchen in ancient Syria. Almost every kitchen contains a bottle of cloves or a stick of cinnamon; almost every dish, a pinch of something, whether chili or cumin. The Book of Spice is culinary history at its most appetizing.