Spices (cont.)

• Black peppercorns are actually the cooked and dried fruit (with seed) of a flowering vine. White pepper are the seeds with the fruit removed.  (Salt is a mineral, not a spice.)
  
• in the Victorian era, the term "pepper" become synonymous with "spirit" but has since been shortened to "pep" (as in a pep talk).  When Christopher Columbus first encountered spicy fruits in the New World, he called them "peppers" after the spice.
  
• Paprika is made by drying and grinding bell peppers or chili peppers.  Cayenne pepper is the same.  Chili powder is usually a mixture of paprika and other spices.
• Carobs are a legume, like peas, and the seeds -- known as locust beans for some reason -- are used as animal feed, while the pods are dried and crushed to make an imitation chocolate.  Locust bean gum is often used as a thickening agent in food.
  
• The term "carat" is from an ancient practice in the Middle East of weighing gold and gemstones against the seeds of the carob tree.  In late Roman times, the pure gold coin known as the "solidus" weighed 24 carat seeds (about 4.5 grams). As a result, the carat also became a measure of purity for gold. Thus 24-carat gold means 100% pure, while 18-carat gold means the alloy contains 75% gold
• Celery seeds are actually the fruit of the plant. In the UK, a different variety of celery is also grown for its root, which is called celeriac and is used in the same way as celery stalks but lasts much longer.
• Chicory roots are baked, ground, and used as a coffee substitute or additive, especially in New Orleans. Other varieties of chicory are grown for their leaves, and are known as Radicchio or Belgian endive.
• Dill seeds are what create dill pickles. (Duh.)  Pickling is a method of preserving food by storing it in an acid solution, such as vinegar, and adding antimicrobial herbs and spices, such as mustard seed, garlic, cinnamon or cloves.* (I should note that the term "pickle" is actually a 16th century Dutch word meaning brine; before that, a pickle was a mixture of fruits, vegetables, and spices served as an accompaniment.)
  
• The flowers of Sambucus nigra are used to produce elderflower cordial, very popular in the UK.
• The phytochemicals responsible for the sharp flavor of garlic are produced when the plant's cells are damaged, and are a defense mechanism to deter animals from eating the plant. (Oh, the irony...)
• Traditionally, safflower was grown for its seeds, used for colouring and flavouring foods, and making red and yellow dyes. Safflower dyes have been identified in Egypt c. 2000 BCE. It is only in the last fifty years the plant has been cultivated mainly for vegetable oil.
• The use of marshmallow to make a sweet dates back to ancient Egypt. The stem was peeled back to reveal the soft and spongy pith, which was boiled in sugar syrup and dried to produce a soft, chewy confection.  In the early 19th century, French confectioners extracted the marshmallow sap and whipped it with sugar to make a confection similar to modern marshmallow. In the late 19th century, French manufacturers began using egg whites or gelatin, along with corn starch, to create the chewy base.  In 1948 an American patented a fully automated machine to make marshmallows which extruded them into cylindrical shapes. Since gelatin is made from animal collagen, most marshmallows are not vegetarian.
• Annatto is extracted from the flesh around the seed of the achiote trees. (Think pomegranate seeds.) This yellow to orange food coloring is used in cheese (e.g., Cheddar, Velveeta), and margarine.  In the 16th century, high levels of carotene in the grass during the summer months would have given the milk an orange color which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese, so inferior cheese was dyed with annatto. In the UK, yellow cheese is now considered inferior.
• Oil from the dried root bark of the sassafras tree was a primary ingredient in root beer until the FDA banned it as carcinogenic.  Today, however, it is a precursor for the manufacture of MDMA (ecstasy).
• Turmeric is a rhizome, like ginger, and in fact they are part of the same family. (Cardamom is part of the same family, but it is the seeds that are used.)
• For longer-term storage, ginger can be placed in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen.
• After saffron, the most expensive spices by weight today are vanilla and cardamom.