It was not long before the Romans learned about pepper from the Greeks and began to trade with India through the intermediary of the South Arabians (Yemenites). By the second century A.D., the Romans were no longer trading through an intermediary. Their ships sailed from Alexandria along the southeastern canal built by the Egyptian pharaohs not only to the Arabian reloading site Arabia Felix, but also as far as India.
Man's oldest ancestors fed on the seeds of grasses, although later they began to occasionally eat the flesh of various animals. This was eaten raw for fire was unknown to them and so they had no knowledge of cooking. The change to the present wide assortment of foods took place slowly and our day and age continues to see an increase in the variety of foods, which is mainly due to the use of herbs and spices. Thanks to these it is possible to make a tasty pt even from seaweed.
The late Middle Ages might be called the Golden Age of Herbs and Spices for that period saw the emergence of the science of cookery and housekeeping. Cookery was considered an art and a properly prepared dish the best of medicines. The following recipe for 'Douce Ame' (meaning 'sweet breath'), recorded in 1390 by the head cook at the court of Richard II of England, is an example of the recipes of that day.
Translated from the old English it reads: 'Take good cow's milk and pour it in a pot. Take parsley, sage, hyssop, savory and other good herbs, add them to the milk and boil. Take roast capons, cut them into small pieces, and add strained honey. Add salt, saffron for colour, and serve.'
There exist many records from the days of ancient Greece, thanks to the great physician Hippocrates and the Greek philosopher Theophrastus, as well as from the days of the Roman Empire, thanks to the Roman scholar Pliny. As we see, herbs were used by man long before the advent of modern civilization.
Tropical spices made their way to Europe by a far more complicated route. In all probability, it was used by the Indians long before that. In the first millennium B.C., the Indians made their way as far as the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, introducing pepper to the cultured nations of the Orient, mainly the Persians. Of the Europeans, the first to be introduced to pepper were the Greeks, who during the military campaigns of Alexander the Great got as far as India in 327 B.C.
Man's oldest ancestors fed on the seeds of grasses, although later they began to occasionally eat the flesh of various animals. This was eaten raw for fire was unknown to them and so they had no knowledge of cooking. The change to the present wide assortment of foods took place slowly and our day and age continues to see an increase in the variety of foods, which is mainly due to the use of herbs and spices. Thanks to these it is possible to make a tasty pt even from seaweed.
The late Middle Ages might be called the Golden Age of Herbs and Spices for that period saw the emergence of the science of cookery and housekeeping. Cookery was considered an art and a properly prepared dish the best of medicines. The following recipe for 'Douce Ame' (meaning 'sweet breath'), recorded in 1390 by the head cook at the court of Richard II of England, is an example of the recipes of that day.
Translated from the old English it reads: 'Take good cow's milk and pour it in a pot. Take parsley, sage, hyssop, savory and other good herbs, add them to the milk and boil. Take roast capons, cut them into small pieces, and add strained honey. Add salt, saffron for colour, and serve.'
There exist many records from the days of ancient Greece, thanks to the great physician Hippocrates and the Greek philosopher Theophrastus, as well as from the days of the Roman Empire, thanks to the Roman scholar Pliny. As we see, herbs were used by man long before the advent of modern civilization.
Tropical spices made their way to Europe by a far more complicated route. In all probability, it was used by the Indians long before that. In the first millennium B.C., the Indians made their way as far as the Persian Gulf and Red Sea, introducing pepper to the cultured nations of the Orient, mainly the Persians. Of the Europeans, the first to be introduced to pepper were the Greeks, who during the military campaigns of Alexander the Great got as far as India in 327 B.C.
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