Re(2): Spice Use and Food Poisoning, etc.

[Philip W. Troy]

Sue Wensel wrote:
> 
> It's hard to say just how much some spices were reduced in potency from
> today's.  I know it is true, simply because we have so hybridized
> *everything* to get the exact taste we require -- especially here in the
> States (Mexicans hate the taste of our corn -- they think it has no flavor
> except sweet, which is what we want).
> 
> Another big question is just what flavor changes have we experienced as a
> result of our botanical tempering? And, while we have spices and plants of the
> same name today as they did then, which ones are different? Are there any
> beyond Cinnamon/cassia and Cinnamon/ceylon, which, while sharing a name, are
> quite different in flavor?
> 
> Derdriu

Well, for one thing, cassia and cinnamon are not the same plant, and are
different in character above and beyond their geographical source. Also,
in Medieval Europe, the part of the cassia that was used was the bud,
not the bark. You can still find the buds if you know where to look, but
they're not exactly common in the West today.

I'd think more in terms of Spanish safran de la Mancha vs Turkish
saffron, which, while being from more or less the same plant, are
different spices, according to some, because of geography. Probably 
there's a certain amount of ethnocentrism at work here, which you also
find in areas where wine, olive oil, and various other things are
produced, too.

Adamantius