Lecture 10: Spices 2

Question 1

The Ottoman Empire ca. 1453 began to obstruct both the ______ and ______ thus spurring exploration motivated by the finding of ______.

Answer 1

Spice Route, Silk Road, sea route around Africa.

Question 2

The _______ is the earliest surviving map showing Portuguese Discoveries in the east and west.

Answer 2

Cantino World Map of 1502

Question 3

______ discovered America while trying to find a new route to spice-land (Asia).

Answer 3

Columbus (1451-1506)

Question 4

______ did the first travel around the globe while trying to find a new route to spice-land (Asia).

Answer 4

Magellan 1468-1521

Question 5

True or False: The spice trade has been THE major economic force that spurred geographical exploration on Earth until a few centuries ago.

Answer 5

True

Question 6

______ led to the colonization of the New World and it opened the colonial period and imperialism in the history of humanity.

Answer 6

Spice trade

Question 7

_____ is an orchid native to Veracruz (Mexico). Used as a spice are the dried capsules that look like pods.

Answer 7

Vanilla

Question 8

The ____ people were the first to cultivate vanilla.

Answer 8

Totonac

Question 9

True or False: In the 15th century, vanilla was used for flavoring, perfume, and as medicinal.

Answer 9

True

Question 10

1519- Spanish Conquistador Hernandez Cortez first met the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II who offered it to smoke tobacco and a cup of chocolate, _______ made from cocoa and flavored with vanilla, hot chillies, and aromatic herbs.

Answer 10

xocolatl

Question 11

________ is currently responsible for the vast majority of the world’s vanilla production and 58% of the world total vanilla fruit production.

Answer 11

Madagascar

Question 12

The oldest documented and most expensive spice today is?

Answer 12

Saffron

Question 13

Saffron as a spice and medicinal has been documented in ______ and _______.

Answer 13

Middle East and N Africa

Question 14

Why is saffron the most expensive spice?

Answer 14

Because each flower’s 3 stigmas need to be collected by hand

Question 15

How many flowers does it take to make 1 kg of saffron?

Answer 15

200 000

15-20$/g

Question 16

The first perfume was ______ with religious/ritual use

Answer 16

Incense

Question 17

When were perfumes first used and by who?

Answer 17

Egyptians and Mesopotamians

4000ya

Question 18

The ______ developed floral scents that were mixtures of oil and crushed herbs and petals.

Answer 18

Greeks & Romans

Question 19

True or False: The idea that perfumes and cosmetics were a feminine art developed later.

Answer 19

True

Question 20

The Persian chemist Avicenna (980-1037) introduced the process of extracting fragrance from flowers by means of ______, the procedure most commonly used today.

Answer 20

distillation

Question 21

Why do flowers smell?

Answer 21

To attract pollinators, which can recognize plants by their scent

The fragrance is given by essential oils (often volatile compounds) produced by secretory tissues.

Question 22

______ ravaged Europe and Asia from the 14th to 19th century killing up to 60% of the Europe’s population thought to be caused by a bad odour

Answer 22

Black death

Question 23

How did people try and combat black death?

Answer 23

Doctors prescribed using strong natural odours to combat the disease-causing odour.

The rich carried small boxes with myrrh, violet, mint, lemon balm to be inhaled as an antidote for the disease

Question 24

How does headspace analysis work? (4 steps)

Answer 24

Odour molecules floating
around the flower are sucked into an airtight glass container

The molecules are passed through a filter where they get stuck

A sample of captured molecules is collected in a vial and subjected to gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy

Molecules can be analyzed and synthetically replicated

Question 25

What is incorrect about this statement: Saffron results from the dried stamens of Crocus sativum

Answer 25

Dried stigmas

Question 26

Who invented floral perfumes?

Answer 26

The ancient Romans and the Greeks