8 spices you've never heard of- by Melissa Breyer

Legend has it that Pharisees paid tithes in cumin seed and that when Alaric the Visigoth held Rome under siege in the fifth century, the ransom included 3,000 pounds of peppercorns. In the 14th century, one pound of nutmeg could be traded for seven fat oxen in Germany.

 

Spices have played an epic role in human history. As Michael Krondl, author of the book “The Taste of Conquest” writes, “Empires were won and lost on trading spices. European expansion and its eventual conquest of the greater part of the world was set in motion for these little aromatic betties and pods. Globalization set sail on spice-scented galleys and sailing ships.”