| Show Columbus Was Searching For Spices on His Trip When Columbus discovered America Amer Amer- America AmerIca ica he was making a voyage in earch search of spices In fact much of the early exploration of the world was based on the hunger for the fragrant spices of the Tropics ac ac- according according ac- ac according cording to a writer in the Prairie Farmer In 1937 the United States spent more than 12 million dollars for im im- imported imported im- im imported ported spices Chief among the vari vari- various various varIous ous spice imports amounting to to nearly 40 per cent of the total were various kinds of pepper Second in importance was mustard Cinnamon and its near relative cassia from Ceylon China and the Indies gin gin- ginger ginger ger Ber mostly dried roots from Jamaica ca and West Africa nutmeg and its wrapper mace from the East and West Indies cloves doves from Madagascar car and British East Africa all aU came in in surprising quantities There is a great deal of art in in- Lv in the preparation an and har har- vesting of these spices me lne inner mner bark of the cinnamon or cassia must be cut from year two-year-old trees if the spice is to be of the best ity It must be stripped rolled and ard fermented with the most exacting hand care Mace which is the cov cov- covering covering covering ering of the nutmeg seed must be cut from each nutmeg by hand Yellow which gives color to the popular mixture of spices known as os curry is the ground up root stock of a plant closely related to ginger Cloves and caper blos blos- blossoms blossoms blossoms must be gathered before they burst into bloom and spice berries and black peppercorns just before they are ripe Black and white pepper come from the same peppercorns If the entire berry is ground the pepper is black if the black outer coat is stripped off the mild white pepper results The fiery cayenne is made by grinding the small pods of a plant related to the tomato Paprika is similar but comes from a plant with much milder flavor |
