Of Spice and Men

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Of Spice and Men
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Ancient Value

• Rome once held ransom for precious metals and
  3,000 pounds of pepper
• Middle Age explorers Columbus, Magellan, and
  Ferdinand risked lives to discover faster routes
  to spice-producing countries

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Main Questions

• What is considered a spice?
• What hypotheses have been formulated about the
  importance of spices?
• What causes the correlation between increased
  temperature and increased spice use?

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Spices enhance the flavor of food
• Support Spices do enhance flavor
• Argument Leaves many unanswered questions -Why
  do we like them?
• -What causes cultural preferences?

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Spices mask the smell of spoiled
  foods
• Support In presence of spice, spoiled foods
  would be more appealing
• Argument Covering-up spoiled foods has major
  drawbacks

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Exotic spices serve as a symbol of
  wealth
• Support Rare spices could only be enjoyed by
  the affluent
• Argument Spices are used most prominently in
  the areas they naturally flourish

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Spices cool the body by inducing
  perspiration
• Support Some spices increase sweating, would
  help people stay cool in hot climates
• Argument Most spices dont increase
  perspiration, other mechanisms control
  homeostasis.

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Spices are used as medicaments
• Support Spices have pharmacological uses in
  many cultures
• Argument Spices are used in staple foods, not
  just food for the ill

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What influences spice use?

• Hypothesis Spices are used to preserve foods
• Support Antimicrobial effects of spices could
  serve as palatable and efficient way to preserve
  food

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Spices, to Preserve and Protect

• If the evolutionary reason we use spices is to
  preserve our food, then
• -spices should kill or inhibit food-spoilage
  microorganisms
• -spice use should be heaviest in hot climates
• -spices with the most potent antimicrobial
  properties should be favored in areas where foods
  spoil most quickly
• -spices used in a region should be especially
  potent against local pathogens

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Indian Spices

• Experiment tested inhibitory effects of 35
  Indian spices on a gram-positive organism, a
  gram-negative organism, and a yeast
• Of the 35 spices tested, 20 had some
  antimicrobial effects

-Minakshi De, Amit Krishna De, and A.B. Banerjee
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World of Spices

• Jennifer Billing and Paul W. Sherman of Cornell
  University compiled an article on spice use world
  wide
• Study included the use of 43 spices in 4578
  meat-based recipes from 93 cookbooks in 36
  countries

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Heated Battle

• Every spice tested inhibited the growth of at
  least one type of bacteria
• Four spices inhibited every type of bacteria
• The average spice inhibited the growth of 67 of
  bacteria it was tested against

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Hot Climates, Powerful Spices

• Spice use increases as temperature increases
• Spices used in warmer climates have significantly
  greater potent antimicrobial effects than spices
  commonly used in cold climates

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Recipes and Spices

• The average meat recipe calls for 3.9 spices
• 93 of all recipes called for at least one spice
• Number of spices used in recipes range from 0 to
  12

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Regional Dominance

• Lists of indigenous bacteria are inadequate to
  support the hypothesis that commonly used spices
  are most effective against local bacteria
• Lists of indigenous bacteria have been assembled
  by World Health Organization for nine countries

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Findings Summary

• Spices have antimicorbial effect
• Number of spices used increases with temperature
• Potency increase with temperature
• Effectiveness of common spices on indigenous
  bacteria unknown

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Spices, All Wrapped Up

• Spice has played an important role worldwide
  since early civilization
• Many hypotheses exist on role of spices
• Many spices are potent antimicrobials
• Studies show spice selection is directly
  correlated with temperature