Spices

Paulette Thao Hoang Dinh

10/29/2009

English1010

Wendy Sumner-Winter

Spices are generally believed to be first used in the Far East, mainly in China and India. The European went over to Asia to trade or buy from India. The first European explorer who sails from Europe to India around Africa was Vasco da Gama. His route made the more and more exploration and trade possible, and it also made Lisbon the center of the European spice trade. This also helped Portugal become a more important country. Vasco da Gama was also the person who made the trade more possible by forcing the Zamorin, whom are the local leaders. There are over three hundred and fifty different kinds of spices all over the world. Then there are herbs and spice blends. Spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetative substance used in nutritionally insignificant quantities. Then again not all plants are like aglaophotis or tobacco. Spices are added into food for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents the growth of bacteria. Cooking herbs and spices are additives of mostly botanical origin used in nutritionally minor quantities for flavoring or coloring. Most people thinks that anything that can help with the taste of food or prevent bacteria is a spice, but that is not true salt also help with preventing bacteria and yet it is not a spice it is a mineral. Spices are use to preserve food in an age where refrigerator is not available. They were also use to cover up the bad taste of food that has gone bad. The other reason why spice is so good is that there is no need to preserve it. "They can last for years. At first people try to preserve it but then found out that it cause cancer so they just stop doing it," said Ella Akuzwe, when she is ask about how spices are use best for. There are still many more ways to use spices like in medicine to cure people. For example, "Onion can be use to help with skin infection once you grind it up. Garlic is use to help lower sugar in the body and in the past it is use to ward off demons," said Ella Akuzwe, when she was asked on how spices were use as medicine. There are also many other plants that can be using as medicine either it are a spice or not. Like for instant, aplaophotis is a plant but not a spice and it can be use to help with fever or the way people in the past to ward off demons and witchcraft. Tobacco is also from a plant but yet it is not a spice. It is use in medicine or drugs.