the.com/spice
plants invented pain to repel pests, and we built empires chasing the burn
means An aromatic plant substance — like pepper, cinnamon, or clove — used to flavor food, or by extension anything that adds excitement or zest.
from From Old French 'espice,' worn down from Latin 'species,' which meant 'kind' or 'sort' — the same word that gives us 'species' and 'special.' In late Latin and medieval trade, 'species' came to mean 'goods,' especially the precious aromatic wares sold by weight, until the word narrowed to mean the prized seeds, barks, and roots themselves. So a spice is, quite literally, a 'particular kind of thing' — the merchant's catch-all for the small valuable items worth their weight in gold.
- chemical defense
- capsaicin evolved to deter mammals from eating peppers
- worth gold
- black pepper once paid Roman ransoms and rents
- trade wars
- nations sailed, conquered, and died for nutmeg
- no flavor
- chili heat is pain receptors, not taste
- birds win
- birds feel no capsaicin and spread pepper seeds freely
saffron — world's most expensive spice at $10+ per gram, from crocus sativus flowers in iran and kashmir
vanilla — second most expensive spice, madagascar produces 80% of world supply from orchid pods
black pepper — most traded spice globally, 400,000 tons annually, vietnam is largest producer
nutmeg — band islands indonesia was monopoly source for 350 years, worth more than gold in 1600s