[Sca-cooks] Spices and Cooking (oop)

[Gwynydd Of Culloden]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Jadwiga Zajaczkowa
>
> Spices were and are sometimes used to preserve meat.

This statement lead me to do a bit of searching on the question of spices as
preservatives; I found the following statements and they got me wondering.
If, as is claimed here, coriander has the power to kill 'kill meat spoiling
bacteria and fungi', would the application of coriander on already off meat
make it possible eat the meat without the risk of food poisoning?  What is
it that causes off meat to make one ill?  Is it the microbes, their waste
products, or something else?

As well, would the application of a spice (like cloves and ginger, if this
information is correct) with known preserving effects make already bad food
edible?  Personally, I doubt it.  After all, freezing retards the growth of
microbes and increases the "shelf" life of foods, but I wouldn't eat meat
which had been frozen before it went off.

'As a powerful food preservative, cloves are used to preserve ham and other
meat items. As an anti-infectant, clove is effective against colibacilli,
streptococci, staphylococci, pneumococci and as an antimyeotic. It is
believed to prevent stomach upset, traveler's diarrhea and wound infections.
The oil, whole and powdered cloves use for local pain relieving purpose.'

'Coriander is given a mention in Bible "manna was like coriander seed,
white" (Exodus 16:31). It is named in Ebers Papyrus of 1550 BC, in Sanskrit
literature. Hippocrates, the Greek 'Father of Medicine' used coriander as a
drug; Romans spread the use of this spice.

It is said to contain an antioxidant that prevents animal fats from turning
rancid. Its ability to kill meat spoiling bacteria and fungi might have made
Romans to use it to preserve meat.'

http://www.spicenflavor.com/Allaboutspice.htm


'...ginger was also an important ingredient in spice mixtures used to
preserve meat.

'Antioxidant Effects: Ginger exhibits good antioxidant properties. As
mentioned previously, historically it was used to preserve meat. Recent
research confirms that it protects meat from rancidity through its
antioxidant action.'

http://www.suprahealth.com/nl-10.htm

Gwynydd