Our guide stops along the path to pick and crush a leaf. He hands it to us with a friendly challenge, “Can you name it?”. We breathe in the unmistakable sweet-spicy fragrance that we associate with the Thanksgiving desserts of our childhood. “Clove”, we respond confidently. “Very good”, says our guide. He points out the unopened flower buds on the tree and explains that those will become the dried, nail-shaped, spice that we see in the spice aisle at the grocery store.
Tag Archives: Penang
Getting to Know Malaysia
For millennia, spices were valued as highly as gold and silver — sometimes higher. Their lucrative trade drove world leaders to wage wars, inspired the Age of Exploration, established vast empires, and helped to create an early form of globalization.
With spices so plentiful and easily accessible today, it can be hard to believe how prized and closely controlled they once were. Pepper was (and is) the most popular and sought after spice. It was so highly valued that there was a time when you could pay the rent with it and the Goths listed it amongst their ransom demands when they defeated Rome. Other spices such as cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg were also highly valued. In fact, the Dutch sold Manhattan (New Amsterdam) to the British in return for a tiny, nutmeg-rich island. Continue reading Getting to Know Malaysia
Meandering Family: Beyond the Nest 