Spices

Question 1

What functional chemical unit are spices composed of? How are these often arranged? What common chemical group is formed this way?

Answer 1

Isoprene units linked in many ways (often aromatic). That’s how ya get TURPENES

Question 2

What advantage could compounds which we call spices confer to plant survival?

Answer 2

scent attraction of pollinators, deterrent of herbivory, pathogen defense

Question 3

When did Europeans first begin exploring by sea? What might they have been looking for?

Answer 3

In the 1400s, possibly in a search for pepper

Question 4

What were the major seafaring countries during the early exploration period?

Answer 4

Portugal, Spain, England, the Dutch

Question 5

How did spices first arrive in Europe?

Answer 5

Trafficked to Europe from Asia by Arabian traders

Question 6

When did Portugal have dominance over spice cultivation? Where was this? When did the Dutch take control? How did the British get around this?

Answer 6

The 1500s in India, China, and the spice islands. Dutch took control in the 1600s but their monopoly was broken when the British established other areas of spice production

Question 7

What makes spices desirable?

Answer 7

They add smell and flavour, but also help to preserve and cure food

Question 8

What were the 6 most valuable spices from the “Old World”?

Answer 8

1. Black pepper
2. Nutmeg/mace
3. Cloves
4. Cinnamon
5. Saffron
6. Turmeric

Question 9

What is the scientific name of the plant which produces black pepper? What makes it notable among the spices?

Answer 9

Piper nigrum, the world’s most widely used spice (also didn’t have a major conflict revolve around it unlike other spices). Worth 10 times more than other spices in medieval Europe

Question 10

What differentiates white pepper from black pepper?

Answer 10

Black pepper is made by drying green, unripe berries. White pepper is made the same way but using ripe berries (less pungent)

Question 11

What is the active component of pepper?

Answer 11

Piperine, a pungent alkaloid

Question 12

Nutmeg and mace both come from the same plant, what makes them different? What is the scientific name of this plant?

Answer 12

Nutmeg is the stony seed of Myristica fragrans, while mace is a membrane which surrounds it

Question 13

What is the active component of nutmeg?

Answer 13

Myristicin, an essential oil

Question 14

Where did Myristica fragrans originate? What was significant about the British influence here (date of arrival and event)?

Answer 14

The “spice islands” (present day Banda islands). The British arrived in 1603 and in 1616 convinced the occupants to acknowledge British rule, making them this the first British colony

Question 15

When did the Dutch take control of the spice islands?

Answer 15

1620

Question 16

When was the Dutch monopoly on nutmeg broken? How?

Answer 16

Broken in 1776 when French botanist Pierre Poivre stole seeds from the islands to plant in Mauritius (a French colony)

Question 17

What did the treaty of Breda between the Dutch and the British entail? When was this?

Answer 17

In 1667, the British gave control over Run island (a spice island) to the Dutch, and received the Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam in return (Manhattan - New York!)

Question 18

What is the scientific name for cloves? What part of the plant is harvested to produce this spice? What other spice shares a similar history?

Answer 18

The un-opened flower buds from Eugenia caryophyllata are used for the spice, which shares a similar history as nutmeg

Question 19

What is the scientific name of the plant from which we harvest cinnamon? Where did it originate? What part of the plant is harvested?

Answer 19

Cinnamomum zeylanicum is native to India and Sri Lanka. The inner bark is harvested and dried as cinnamon

Question 20

Which spice is the most expensive today (common and scientific name)? Where is it mainly produced? What part of the plant is harvested?

Answer 20

Saffron, the stigma of the Crocus sativus flower. Mainly produced in Spain and harvested by hand

Question 21

Where did Curcuma longa originate? What is the common name for the spice which comes from this plant? What part of the plant is harvested as a spice?

Answer 21

Native to India, the rhizome of the plant is harvested as turmeric

Question 22

Besides food, how else has turmeric been used? Why? What is the active component?

Answer 22

In traditional medicine. Possibly has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-bacterial, and anti-cancer properties. The active chemical is curcumin (not an alkaloid)

Question 23

What are the two most commonly used spices that originated in the “New World”?

Answer 23

Vanilla and hot chili peppers

Question 24

To what family of plants does vanilla (Vanilla plantifolia) belong? Where did it originate?

Answer 24

Part of the orchid family, native to the rain forests of Central America

Question 25

Of the 18000 species in the orchid family, how many are grown as crops?

Answer 25

Just one: vanilla

Question 26

What European nation was the first to be introduced to vanilla? How did this come about?

Answer 26

It was part of the Aztec chocolatl drink offered to the Spanish conquistadors

Question 27

How is vanilla processed for consumption?

Answer 27

complex, many-month process of drying, heating, and sweating… (induces fermentation)

Question 28

What is the primary active component in vanilla? How can compound be produced in other ways?

Answer 28

vanillin, a phenolic. Can be synthesized from lignin in wood/wood pulp, but also converted from glucose by GMO yeasts

Question 29

What is the active component of Capsicum solanacea? What is the common name for the spice harvested from this plant? To what plant family does this species belong?

Answer 29

From the nightshade family, grown for the production of hot chili peppers. The active compound in these peppers is capsaicin

Question 30

What differentiates Capsicum annuum from Capsicum frutescens?

Answer 30

C. annuum is the most common (cayenne, jalapeno, bell)

C. frutescens is more fiery

Question 31

What gives chili peppers their hot taste? How does this interact with the body?

Answer 31

Capsaicinoids (a group of 7 alkaloids in the seeds) bind to the same nerve receptors that perceive physical burning sensations