The Spice of Life

See how chilies, the fiery pepper plants with a 9,000 year history in Mexico,were taken to Spain by Columbus, and became, by the 16th century, the world's most popular spice.

Discloses the many uses of cinnamon (or cassia) world-over. Cinnamon has been cherished for centuries for its fragrance as well as its flavor. The Arabs created a legend about it, and three European nations invaded Sri Lanka to acquire it. We see the harvesting of this labor-intensive crop in Sri Lanka, where methods have not changed for thousands of years.

Traces the origins of cloves from the Spice Island Moluccan culture to its growth as a major Indonesian crop. Describes the many uses of cloves. Once thought to cure the plague, cloves originally grew only in the Moluccans.Learn how Magellans search for these islands in 1519 made him the first voyager around the world, how Moluccan culture suffered destruction by Dutch traders seeking to capture the spice, and how today Zanzibar has become the world's major source of cloves.

When the British left India they took home the memory of delicious Indian food in packets of mixed spices hoping they would be able to reproduce it. It was called curry powder. Today, whether from curry powder or direct from Indian recipes (as in Jamaica and Sri Lanka), a taste of India enlivens cuisines around the world.

In south west France, we see how this pungent member of the lily family is cultivated, and in Gilroy, California which supplies 90% of Americas crop,watch its processing into garlic powder and look in at their annual festival.

Prized by the ancients for treatment of ailments as well as for taste and fragrance, watch and learn about the rediscovery of herbs in the modern world.

Canada is the world's largest supplier of mustard seed. Americans use the white seed for yellow mustard; the French enjoy many different blends. The English favor the hot mustard popularized by J. and J. Colman.

Watch how in 1621, the remote island of Banda in Indonesia was captured by the Dutch to acquire its trees, whose fruit yields two spices from its core;nutmeg and mace. The unusual versatility of nutmeg makes it one of the most widely used spices in the foods of many countries.

In the 15th century, Portugal's Vasco Da Gama navigated the first route around Africa to reach pepper's source, India, breaking the monopoly of wealthy Venetian merchant traders. Today, pepper is an important crop of Malaysia where it is shown at all stages of growing and processing for the world market.

Peppercorns, either whole or freshly ground, provide a flavour that is as essential to the Nouvell Cuisine introduced by France as it is to a Manhattan deli pastrami or the pork sausages England inherited from the Romans. This program criss-crosses the world to show how peppercorns are used in dishes from New York to Singapore.

Introduced into Spain by the Arabs, saffron was used in almost all European food in the Middle Ages. See why the labour required in cultivating and extracting the spice limits its use to such special dishes as bouillabaisse of Marseilles, Jewish Challa bread and Spains paella.

Mixing spices to achieve a blend of taste is an inherent part of Indian culture. In this program we see how food is prepared in the home, the role it plays in the traditional Festival of Lights, and the lavish array offered at a banquet at the Maharajah's Palace. See the exotic new effect of 17th century Mogul invaders on Indias already broad menu. See how food is prepared in the home, the role it plays in the traditional Festival of Lights and the lavish array offered.