[Sca-cooks] Spices was licorice,

[Ron Carnegie]

    I show the historical origin of Capsicum peppers being Mexico, Central
America, the West Indies, and parts of South America, that would seem to
qualify as the tropics to me.  Still fits my definition of spice as well.
Herb, which I had not previously defined has three primary definitions, no
need to confuse them!  An herb can be a non-woody plant, a plant used for
flavoring food, or animal fodder!  I think we know what definition is meant
when it is used on a foodways list.

	Here is an interesting 20th century quote on the subject I got from the
American Spice Trade Association, "Whether spices came by sea or by land,
they had to come by way of Cairo, Egypt. "Whoever is lord of Cairo," said
the merchant pilot, "may call himself lord and master of (Christendom. . .
and. . . of all the islands and places where the spices grow), since of
necessity all merchandise of spicery from whatever direction can come and he
sold only in the land of the Sultan."
												F. H. M. Prescott's "Once To Sinai" The MacMillan
	This quote is in regards to the middle ages, prior to the opening of the
West Indies and New World sources.

	It is possible to worry to much about narrow-focus definitions,historians
are frequently guilty of it.   It is also possible to use words wrongly.
Lord knows I do it often!  A historian always needs to re-examine his
understandings to cut through his modern assumptions and definitions to get
to the truth.

	ASTA by the way defines capsicum peppers and paprika both as spices, basil,
tarragon, mint, parsley, sage and marjoram as herbs, and mustard, dill,
fennel, and sesame as seeds, and lastly onions, garlic, chives, shallots,
bell peppers, parsley and mixed vegetable flakes as "dehydrated vegetable
products" though I am not very much concerned with modern definitions.

Ranald de Balinhard

> Of course, it's possible to worry too much about narrow-focus
> definitions. We're looking at a case of intersecting but incongruent
> sets. By that definition, cayenne pepper or other chili powders are,
> arguably, not a spice, to which I simply say, hogwash, and then
> there's also the question of how to classify all the non-herbaceous
> "herbs".
>
> Adamantius
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