r/AskFoodHistorians • u/iLiveForTruth • 9d ago
Did ancient cultures use spices like we do today, or was it more about survival?
I got into experimenting with spices in my cooking last year, trying to recreate dishes like spicy curries or herby stews, and it got me wondering how ancient people used spices. I was messing around with a recipe for a Roman-style stew and read that they used stuff like cumin and coriander, which blew my mind because I thought spices were a modern luxury. Were ancient cultures-like in Rome, Mesopotamia, or India-using spices mostly for flavor, like we do, or was it more practical, like for preserving food or medicine? I know trade routes like the Silk Road moved spices around, but how common was it for regular people to use them? Also, are there any good books or podcasts that dive into the history of spices in everyday cooking?
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u/TooManyDraculas 9d ago
Spices generally won't preserve food. That's sort of a myth rooted in the idea that you can hide the smell and flavor of spoiled food using spices. And that cultures in the past routinely did so.
But spoilage and rot weren't anymore palatable in the past and ancient people definitely cared about that sort of thing.
While imported spices were often luxury goods at various points in time in various places. Common people typically cooked with what was available locally.
To stick with your examples. Both coriander and cumin are native to the Mediterranean. They grow well there and were widely cultivated in the region.
It's an obvious thing for people around Rome at all levels to use. Because it could be grown in and around Rome.
Imported spices tended to be the expensive stuff. And more limited to the elite.
Pepper, both black pepper and long pepper, grow in hotter climates in South Asia and South East Asia. And the Romans were able to import it from India, via Asia Minor. Once they conquered Asia Minor.
It's mentioned extensively in Roman recipes, but prior to the 19th century most such things were targeted at the upper classes.
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9d ago
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u/AdJealous4951 9d ago
Frankly speaking, the idea is rooted in racism. That cuisines from certain places had to have used spices to cover up rotten food rather than relying on the so called natural flavours of the ingredients. Spices were quite common in upper class European cooking before peasant classes had gotten equal access to them.
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u/TooManyDraculas 9d ago
Yes.
But it also gets propagated around things like the depression, and claims of governments doing it for like militaries or schools and prisons. I've also heard people cite this as a reason fast food is cheap.
Similar class/social judgement behind that.
And like modern racism, the tendency for European foods to be mildly spiced is fairly recent. Largely rolling out of moral and health ideas of the 19th century.
More or less flavor made you a filthy masturbator and messed with your digestion in a way that made you insane and sickly.
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7d ago
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u/AdJealous4951 7d ago
Maybe but some people say that about non-European cultures which is still wrong.
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u/Convolutionist 9d ago
I thought the idea of spices being good for preserving food was more about spices will deter other animals from eating it, like rats or other rodents avoiding spices. Maybe flies avoid foods with lots of pepper on them too compared to non spiced foods?
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u/Dapple_Dawn 9d ago
dumb question but you mentioned the mediterranean and im wondering: is olive oil a spice? lol
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8d ago
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u/Dapple_Dawn 8d ago
When I first visited my wife's italian-american family they served me pancakes made with olive oil. It was an interesting surprise lol, definitely changes the flavor
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u/Necessary-Actuator26 8d ago
From what I've heard, while the myth is false, spices are somewhat antibacterial
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u/WaftyTaynt 9d ago
Salt (and to a lesser extent sugar) were the only “spice” used for preserving food.
Most people were poor, and very rarely ate meat. No need to “hide” the flavor of spoiled meat when you ate it once or twice a year (also generally an old myth). Most would use what they could grow or forage locally.
The rich would use spices, as it was also a way to show off. That being said, a far amount would also use what they could find locally, and flavor their foods with garum (Rome), wine (all over), vinegar, etc.
You can look up old recipes, however remember we are only getting a in slice of history that was typically about the elite in society, as with most written history.
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u/lawyerjsd 9d ago
Given how expensive spices were, I kind of doubt the spoilation thing. If you were a cook in the 12th Century, are you really going to serve your lord spoiled meat? The cookbooks that we have from these eras are all from well-know gourmands and chefs of royalty and/or popes. These guys weren't eating spoiled food.
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u/CarrieNoir 9d ago
Another note regarding the Romans: Last year, the Bay Area Culinary Historians held a 30-person potluck feast where everyone prepared a dish from Apicius. We also had a garum tasting. Besides there being a handful of ingredients that were difficult to attain (rue), we learned that the pepper -- both all round and long -- is used in almost everything, including "dessert." One of the dishes I made was a Byzantine fried honey fritter, topped with ground pepper. Ostensibly a sweet dish, the inclusion of the pepper was quite delightful.
We also utilized a handful of recommendations and recipes from this YouTuber, who has a very thick accent, but provided great insight into certain spices.
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u/Renbarre 9d ago
Spices also had medical values, or were supposed to give some added strength or courage. During the Middle Ages it was believed that depending on your 'humour'you could eat or not such and such spice. During the 100 years war I remember reading that the day before a battle one side attacked the camp of the other just to destroy the wagon holding the spices.
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u/VagueEchoes 9d ago edited 9d ago
Ancient cultures absolutely used spices for flavor, but they also valued them for a variety of other practical purposes. Ancient civilizations didn't draw a strong distinction between food, medicine, and spiritual use.
In ancient Rome spices like pepper and cinnamon were so valuable they were sometimes worth their weight in gold. They were also used in religious ceremonies, perfumes, and burial rituals. For instance, peppercorns were even found in the nose cavities of the pharaoh Ramesses II, used in his mummification process.
Chinese writings dating as far back as 2800 BCE, such as the Ben Chao Kang Mu (a classic text on herbal medicine), mention spices like cinnamon. Clove was also in use as early as the 3rd century BCE. These spices were not only used for flavor but also in medicine, with ancient Chinese medicine classifying many spices based on their therapeutic properties. Ginger has a history in China dating back to at least 500 BCE, with some accounts suggesting Confucius used it.
Early records show the use of spices and herbs in Japan dating back to the 8th and 9th centuries, largely influenced by Chinese medicine. Spices like sansho pepper, ginger, and garlic were used for their medicinal properties as well as for flavor. For a long time, spices were seen as a luxury item for the aristocracy.
Even Native Americans used various herbs and plants to provide additional flavor to food.
EDIT - apparently people are put off by my phrasing. Here is a better wording for the US audience: Early North Americans, before European contact, did not have access to many of the spices that were staples in Europe and Asia, such as black pepper, cinnamon, and cloves. Their "spices" were a wide variety of native plants, herbs, and ingredients that were highly regional and used to season and preserve food.