History of Spices (Radio Edit)
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What is the history of spices and their significance?
This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hei, mä lähden nyt oikeesti. Mä oon lomalla.
Kappas, täällähän onkin vanhoja jätskituttuja. Ei olla vanhoja tuttuja. Me ollaan uutuusjätskejä. No siinä tapauksessa, hauska tuuttistua. Mistä ste tuutte? No tötteröö, tietysti S-Marketista.
Elämä on ruokaa. S-Market.
Hello and welcome to You're Dead to Me, the Radio 4 comedy podcast that takes history seriously. My name's Greg Jenner. I'm a public historian, author and broadcaster. And today we're rummaging in the kitchen cupboards and learning all about the history of spices and the spice trade. And to help us, we have two very special dining companions. In History Corner, he's a lecturer in early modern history at Bangor University in Wales, where he specialises in the early modern British Empire. and the East India Company. You might have read his wonderful book, The Great Defiance, How the World Took On the British Empire. It's Dr David Beavers.
How did spices influence ancient trade routes?
Welcome, David. Thank you. Thanks for having me. I'm super excited. Delighted to have you here. And in Comedy Corner, he's a stand-up comedian and renowned quizzer. You'll have seen him on Taskmaster, QI, Would I Lie to You, and heard him on all over Radio 4 with his various wonderful series about general knowledge. But he's surely best known as a formidable chaser on the TV game show The Chase. Yes, it's the cineman himself, Paul Sinner. Welcome, Paul. It's a delight to be here. Thank you very much. Paul, your first time on the show, but you are a professional quizzer.
There's only about 20 of us in the country in history, so that's a nice description. I'm proud of that one. That's a great description. Where are you with spices and spicy food? Are you a spicy food lover? On the scale of 0 to 10, I'm sort of 7 slash 8. That's quite... Which means I don't like to show off like the drunk in the curry house making a bad decision on the vindaloo or the fowl.
What role did Alexander the Great play in the spice trade?
But I don't like my food too mild either. OK. Spices are good. Spices are good.
I am not particularly good on the spices. I'm probably a kind of five to six out of ten spicy me. David, where are you on the spice index? I'm lower. I write about spices, but I'm probably like a two. A korma, I need a big glass of water.
OK. This is the equivalent of me discussing Keeping Up With The Kardashians.
That's right, yeah. So, what do you know? This is the So What Do You Know? This is where I have a go at guessing what you, our lovely listener, might know about today's subject. And you might know, of course, that spices famously come in five varieties. You've got ginger, baby, scary, sport... Hang on, no, that's not right. My bad. Anyway, you've all heard of spices.
How did the Roman Empire impact the spice trade?
They turn our food from drab to fab. They're a key ingredient in England's national dish, which, of course, is chicken tikka masala. And every autumn, pumpkin spice objects conquer the shops, from lattes to cat litter. But what other uses have people found for spices? How did they make their way into our global spice rack? Let's find out. Dr. David, what is a spice? There wasn't a clear definition of what a spice was for a long time. Traditionally, medieval, early modern period, a spice is a kind of blanket term for anything that's unusual, expensive, smells a bit funny. Technically, a spice is a part of a tropical plant, like the bark or the flower or the seed. And then there are some like vanilla that is actually the flower of a tropical plant.
So the most common ones that we talk about really are from Asia. They're native to Asia, with a few exceptions. So saffron from Greece, for example, chilies from South America. But it's predominantly Asia we're talking about. And it's important that we do because the geography of spices really shapes their history and the history we've had in trading with them.
So saffron's from Greece?
Yes, yeah. This is new to me. Did you know?
What was the effect of the Crusades on spice accessibility in Europe?
I didn't know that. I always assumed it was from India, but it's... Vanilla, chilli, allspice, they're South American. So we're predominantly talking about Asia, but not exclusively.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the history of spices and their significance?
0:00–1:15
2
How did spices influence ancient trade routes?
1:15–2:04
3
What role did Alexander the Great play in the spice trade?
2:04–2:47
4
How did the Roman Empire impact the spice trade?
2:47–3:52
5
What was the effect of the Crusades on spice accessibility in Europe?
3:52–4:55
6
How did the Dutch and British East India Companies shape the spice market?
4:55–6:06
7
What were the consequences of colonialism on spice production?
6:06–7:14
8
How do spices reflect global economic inequalities today?
7:14–30:46
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from You're Dead to Me
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