500 years of the Columbian Exchange, updated from my Columbian Exchange lectures (
1991, 1992).
Allspice
Native American, allspice is still mostly produced in America, Grenada being the major producer. Allspice, of which I imported more than 1000 tons in 1989, worth nearly $2 million, is essentially the dried unripe fruit of tropical Pimenta racemosa, assigned to Zeven and Zhukovsky’s Middle American Center of Diversity.
| Jamaica | 310 tons worth ca. | $725,000 |
| Honduras | 260 tons worth ca. | $325,000 |
| Mexico | 240 tons worth ca. | $325,000 |
| Guatemala | 185 tons worth ca. | $225,000 |
| Total | 1100 tons worth ca. | $1,800,000 |
Appropriately first in my discussion, this is the only spice exclusively cultivated in the western hemisphere, and one of only three native to America. As with other commodity groups, Latin America has contributed more to the World Food Basket (allspice, capsicum, vanilla) than North America, which contributed briefly, only sassafras, also called cinnamonwood, and spicebush, namesake of the nutmeg state. In the Journal of Columbus’ First Voyage (4 Nov. 1492), I read that Columbus showed Kuna Indians of San Blas peppercorns and they, by sign language, apparently indicated that there was a lot of it around. Early Spanish explorers found this tree in the West Indies in the 1500s. Apparently, introductions to Asia failed to flower and consequently fruit, so introductions were all but abandoned. Long before Columbus, Maya Indians used allspice in embalming. Still under the influence of the Pipermania, Francisco Hernandez called it Piper Tabasci, having found it in Tabasco Mexico between 1571 and 1577. That’s also why it was called pimienta, later corrupted to pimento. And like pepper (Piper), the allspice fruits were used to preserve meats on long voyages. These preservative activities are due to some of the aromatic and antiseptic compounds which abound in allspice (anethole, caryophyllene, eugenol, linalool, pinene, and terpinene).
Anise
This seed (1106 tons worth $1.777 million) is in reality the fruit of temperate Pimpinella anisum, assigned to the Near Eastern Center of Diversity.
| Turkey | 700 tons | $1,000,000 |
| Spain | 170 tons | $400,000 |
| China | 150 tons | $275,000 |
| Hong Kong | 35 tons | $64,000 |
| Total | 1100 tons | $1,800,000 |
First century Romans ingested aniseseed cakes after feasts to prevent indigestion. Anise is said to have helped repair London Bridge way before Columbus. In 1305, King Edward I put a toll on anise. By the time of Edward IV, anise was used to perfume his personal linens. Oil from aniseseed gives most of the flavor to licorice, at least in the U.S.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1500 MT of aniseed worth more than 3 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Basil
Basil (1992 tons worth $2.47 million) is the dried (or fresh) leaves of temperate Ocimum basilicum, assigned to Zeven and Zhukovsky’s Indochina-Indonesia Center of Diversity, although I still think of it as a Mediterranean herb.
| Egypt | 1800 tons | $1,900,000 |
| Albania | 45 tons | $125,000 |
| Yugoslavia | 40 tons | $150,000 |
| Mexico | 20 tons | $90,000 |
| Total | 2000 tons | $2,500,000 |
Basil, with marjoram, mint, sage, savory, and thyme have long been used since ancient time to flavor foods. Dioscorides even added that a little basil wine was good for the eyes. Basil rivals oregano as a pizza herb and is, of course, indispensable to pesto. But it contains estragole, closely related to safrole.
In 2000, the US imported ~3300 MT of basil worth ca. 5.5 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Capers
Capers (1246 tons worth ca. $7.857) are pickled flower buds of Mediterranean Capparis spinosa, assigned appropriately to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity:
| Spain | 500 tons | $3,500,000 |
| Morocco | 300 tons | $1,800,000 |
| Italy | 10 tons | $60,000 |
| Denmark | 10 tons | $70,000 |
| Total | 1250 tons | $7,900,000 |
Known as “Desire” in Ecclesiastes 12, and still today produced mostly in the Mediterranean, this spice is one of several that were important in the Bible. Other Biblical spices include black cumin, cassia, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, dill, fenugreek, frankincense, galbanum, garlic, hyssop (debatable), laurel, mint, mustard, myrrh, myrtle, onion, oregano (sensu lato), poppy, and saffron.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~ 450 MT of capers worth more than 1.5 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Capsicums
Capsicums (22,868 tons worth $42,132.7 million) are fruits of subtropical capsicum species, native to Latin America. California alone produced 10,261 tons of capsicum worth $11 million. Categorization skews the import data.
Mexico was main source of “Anaheim” and “Anco” imports, in 1990 providing 1250 tons worth
$2,350,000.
Paprika:
| Spain | 2700 tons | $5,000,000 |
| Hungary | 950 tons | $1,650,000 |
| Total | 4200 tons | $7,500,000 |
Other ground capsicum:
| Mexico | 2700 tons | $1,200,000 |
| Pakistan | 285 tons | $525,000 |
| India | 280 tons | $460,000 |
| China | 280 tons | $625,000 |
| Total | 4200 tons | $4,000,000 |
Other unground capsicums:
| China | 3300 tons | $6,500,000 |
| India | 3215 tons | $5,575,000 |
| Mexico | 2925 tons | $5,000,000 |
| Pakistan | 1125 tons | $1,800,000 |
| Total | 13,200 tons | $28,000,000 |
In 1493, Peter Martyr reported back that Columbus had brought back “peppers more pungent than that from Caucasus.” By 1650, capsicum cultivation had spread to Africa, Asia, and Europe. Specialization led to paprika in Hungary and sweet peppers in Spain, moving us back into the realm of vegetables.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~21,000 MT of capsicum pepper worth ~28 million dollars. And in 2000, the U.S. imported nearly 9000 MT of paprika worth nearly 18 million dollars and ~1500
MT of pimento worth ca. 5.5 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Caraways
Caraways (3446 tons worth $2.507 million) are ripe fruits of temperate Carum carvi, supposedly native to the Eurosiberian Center of Diversity.
| Netherlands | 2750 tons | $2,000,000 |
| Hungary | 255 tons | $200,000 |
| Egypt | 250 tons | $165,000 |
| Poland | 60 tons | $40,000 |
| Total | 3500 tons | $2,500,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~3300 MT of caraway worth nearly 3 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Cardamoms
Cardamoms (164 tons worth $545 thousand) are the dry whole fruits or decorticated seed of tropical Elettaria cardamomum, assigned to the Indochina-Indonesia and Hindustani Centers of Diversity. Here’s a spice that moved to America with a vengeance.
| Guatemala | 125 tons | $400,000 |
| Costa Rica | 20 tons | $50,000 |
| India | 20 tons | $90,000 |
| Morocco | 2 tons | $10,000 |
| Total | 165 tons | $550,000 |
Early reports of Ayurvedic medicine mention cardamoms for dysuria and obesity. It was already in Greek commerce. In the first century a.d., Rome imported cardamom from India. In Alexandria, taxes were levied on Indian cardamoms in a.d. 176. In Rosenthal’s day, cardamoms were the third most expensive spice (then $6.00 per kilo, country of origin, now [1989] $3.23 per kilo f.o.b. NY) topped by saffron (then $225/kilo, now $100/kg) and vanilla (then $9.80/kg country of origin, now $41.65 f.o.b. NY).
And cardamom coffee, known as “gahwa,” was a symbol of hospitality, served and received with ritual. You are supposed to drink at least three cups, audibly slurping, before any business transpires. Bedouins roast green coffee beans and crush them in a brass mortar and pestle. Then green cardamom pods are broken so that the seeds can be dropped into a pot of hot water, with a dash of saffron or cloves, sugar, and the ground coffee. Boil 2 to 3 minutes, strain, and serve. Poor Saudi’s are said to prefer to be without rice than to be without cardamoms, perhaps because it is believed (1) to cool the body during extreme heat, (2) to help digestion, and, (3) to be aphrodisiac. Non-Arab Scandinavians are said to chew cardamoms after excessive consumption of alcohol, hoping to deceive the noses of their spouses.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~325 MT of cardamoms worth nearly 3.5 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Cassia and Cinnamon
Cassia and cinnamon (14,796 tons worth plus $37.289 million) are dried bark of tropical Cinna-momum cassia, assigned to the Indochina-Indonesia Center, and C. verum, assigned to the China-Japan Center. But most American cinnamon is cassia, and around 1992, they became aggregated with it in the FTEA statistics.
| Indonesia | 10,900 tons whole cassia | $29,000,000 |
| China | 1450 tons | $3,050,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 550 tons | $1,900,000 |
| Madagascar | 700 tons | $600,000 |
| Indonesia | 165 tons ground cassia | $425,000 |
| Madagascar | 55 tons | $55,000 |
| Sri Lanka | 50 tons | $90,000 |
| Total | 15,000 tons | $37,000,000 |
In Exodus 30:23-5, the Lord told Moses to use cinnamon and cassia et al., to anoint the tabernacle of the children of Israel. In 1990, the DOC and USDA aggregated cinnamon and cassia in their statistics, since most American cinnamon was in fact the related species cassia. Most of the “cinnamon” purchased in the U.S. is said to be “cassia,” so perhaps I should talk about ”
cassia
” buns, “cassia” toast, and “cassia” teas. The cinnamon toast my wife takes for upset distress and the cinnamon tea some people take for hangovers is more probably cassia. Both cassia and cinnamon contain carminative compounds.
In 1264 London, cassia (fit for commoners, usually cheaper than cinnamon, once fit for lords) sold for 10 shillings a pound, cf 12 shillings for sugar, 18 shillings for ginger, and only 2 shillings for more temperate cumin. In 1971, Rosenthal said the contemptuous “commoner” evaluation for cassia was no longer valid, but in the last year of separate record in FTEA documents (1988), cassia bark was ca. $2.00 a kilo f.o.b. NY, while cinnamon still commanded closer to $3.00.
Sadam Hussain may have burned a year’s supply of (U.S.) oil during the Gulf War. In his grief over the loss of his wife, fiddling Nero is said to have burned a year’s supply of cinnamon. France was receiving cinnamon as early as 761, to be assigned to various monasteries. Ninth century Swiss chefs used cinnamon cloves and pepper to season fish. Cinnamon played a big bad role in Sri Lanka’s history. As the most sought after spice in fifteenth and sixteenth century explorations, it, with the black pepper, played a role in the colonization of Ceylon and the discovery of America. Portuguese colonialists forced Ceylonese to pay tribute with cinnamon bark in 1505 when they seized it.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~15,000 MT of cinnamon/cassia worth ~16 million dollars (FAS,
2001).
Celery Seed
Celery seed (2901 tons worth $2.211 million) is the fruit of temperate Apium graveolens, assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity.
| India | 2800 tons | $2,100,000 |
| China | 65 tons | $40,000 |
| Egypt | 14 tons | $7,000 |
| France | 11 tons | $22,000 |
| Total | 2900 tons | $2,200,000 |
Wild celery was woven into some garlands found in Egyptian tombs of the twentieth dynasty. Romans and Greeks grew it more for food than medicine. It does have carminative, hypotensive, and sedative activities.
Cloves
Cloves (1134 tons worth $2.328 million) are dried flower buds of tropical Syzygium aromaticum, assigned to the Indochina-Indonesia Center of Diversity.
| Madagascar | 380 tons | $750,000 |
| Brazil | 300 tons | $525,000 |
| Indonesia | 175 tons | $250,000 |
| Comores | 60 tons | $120,000 |
| Total | 1150 tons | $2,500,000 |
Native to the Spice Islands, cloves are mentioned in oriental literature of the Chinese Han period. Chinese courtiers, ca.. 2500 B.P., were said to hold a clove in their mouths when addressing an emperor. The clove’s Chinese name meant chicken-tongue, while its French, Portuguese, and Spanish names implied nails. By a.d. 176, cloves were imported to Alexandria, and they were well known in Europe by the fourth century. The Portuguese controlled the Spice Islands from 1514 until 1605, when the Dutch expelled them. By 1651, the Dutch adopted strict measures to control their clove and nutmeg monopolies. Any person illegally growing or trading cloves was killed.
When a child was born in the Molucas, a clove tree was planted to keep a rough record of its age. Death of the tree was a bad omen. You can imagine what the new Dutch law requiring destruction of unauthorized clove trees did for the Moluccans. The French broke the Dutch monopoly by smuggling seeds and/or plants to some of the French colonies of Bourbon and Mauritius.
Indonesians invented their kreteks in the late nineteenth century, mixing two parts tobacco to one part ground cloves. Although Indonesia is still a producer today, most of its cloves are imported for the kreteks, unfortunately for the health of other nations. In Rosenthal’s day, ca. half the worlds cloves went into Indonesia kreteks.
Containing the dental analgesic eugenol, cloves have quite a medicinal reputation. USDA’s Richard Anderson (Am. Health, Nov. 1989, p. 96) reports that bayleaf, cinnamon, cloves, and turmeric all can treble insulin activity, hinting that as little as 500 mg might be enough to have some effect. A tea of 500 mg each of these spices, with coriander and cumin, should be enough to treble insulin activity, possibly helping in late-onset diabetes.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1000 MT of cloves worth more than 4 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Coriander
Coriander (2418 tons worth $1.230 million) is the fruit of temperate Coriandrum sativum, assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity.
| Morocco | 1175 tons | $630,000 |
| Romania | 400 tons | $175,000 |
| Canada | 250 tons | $150,000 |
| Argentina | 250 tons | $75,000 |
| Total | 2500 tons | $1,250,000 |
Both coriander and cumin have hypoglycemic activity in experimental animals.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~4000 MT of coriander worth more than 2 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Cumin
Cumin (4707 tons worth $4.539 million) is the fruit of temperate or subtropical Cuminum cyminum, assigned to the Mediterranean and adjacent Centers of Diversity.
| Turkey | 3150 tons | $2,650,000 |
| Pakistan | 700 tons | $900,000 |
| India | 550 tons | $725,000 |
| China | 150 tons | $160,000 |
| Total | 4700 tons | $4,500,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~8000 MT of cumin worth ~14.5 million dollars (FAS, 2001).
Dill
Dill (615 tons worth $525,000), although referred to as dillweed (the herb) and dillseed (the fruit), is more appropriately called dillfruit and dillweed, from temperate Anethum graveolens, assigned to the Mediterranean and Hindustani Centers of Diversity.
| India | 475 tons | $350,000 |
| Egypt | 45 tons | $50,000 |
| Pakistan | 30 tons | $15,000 |
| Sweden | 25 tons | $60,000 |
| Total | 625 tons | $550,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~700 MT of dill worth more than 1 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Fennel
Fennel (2810 tons worth $2.964 million) is really the fruit of temperate Foeniculum vulgare, assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity.
| Egypt | 1900 tons | $1,900,000 |
| India | 700 tons | $700,000 |
| Turkey | 70 tons | $60,000 |
| Taiwan | 50 tons | $150,000 |
| Total | 2800 tons | $3,000,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~3300 MT of fennel worth ca. 3.7 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Garlic
Garlic (3196 tons worth $3.917 million) is, in this case, the dehydrated bulb of temperate and subtropical Allium sativum, assigned to the CJ, CE, NE Centers of Diversity, but clearly in the Mediterranean in Biblical times. For dehydrated garlic:
| China | 2750 tons | $3,350,000 |
| Mexico | 200 tons | $300,000 |
| Guatemala | 90 tons | $80,000 |
| Hong Kong | 80 tons | $100,000 |
| Total | 3250 tons | $4,000,000 |
Ginger
Ginger (5865 tons worth $6.643 million) is the root or rhizome of tropical Zingiber officinale, assigned to the Hindustani Center of Diversity. Latin Americans grow much of their own ginger, Indonesia, Thailand and Taiwan, being the major producers. Hawaii produced nearly 4000 tons in 1989, worth nearly 6 million dollars. Fiji was the major source of U.S. imports, followed by China and Brazil. For whole ginger, major sources are:
| Fiji 1500 tons | $1,500,000 |
| China 1100 tons | $1,100,000 |
| Brazil 950 tons | $1,050,000 |
| India 500 tons | $500,000 |
| India also provided 280 tons ground ginger | worth $100,000. |
| Total Ginger 6000 tons | $6,750,000 |
Confucius, ca. 2500 years B.C., mentioned the chiang, still important in Chinese cookery and medicine. By the second century A.D., ginger was imported to Alexandria. It was mentioned in Anglo-Saxon leech topics. Since live rhizomes were imported from the East Indies, it was logical that ginger would be one of the first post-Columbian introductions to the West Indies.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~19,000 MT of ground ginger worth ~15 million dollars (FAS, 2001).
Laurel
Laurel (1701 tons worth $3.061 million) is the bayleaf of Mediterranean Laurus nobilis, appropriately assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity.
| Spain | 750 tons | $1,750,000 |
| Turkey | 650 tons | $875,000 |
| Morocco | 125 tons | $170,000 |
| France | 50 tons | $170,000 |
| Total | 1750 tons | $3,000,000 |
Mythology generated the Greek name for the plant Daphne. Apollo was said to have relentlessly pursued the unwilling nymph Daphne until merciful Gods turned her into a laurel tree. At the Olympic Games, founded ca. 2775 b.p., champions were crowned with laurels. Our Baccalaureate means nothing more than laurel berries (more appropriately drupes), rather suggestive of American sassafras drupes. Roman legionaires, in atonement, wiped blood from their swords with laurel leaves.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~110 MT of bayleaf worth ca. 230 thousand dollars (FAS, 2002). Licorice
Licorice is the root of temperate species of the genus Glycyrrhiza, most often Glycyrrhiza glabra, assigned to the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian Centers of Diversity. Ninety percent of our imports go into flavoring tobacco, hence, I treat it as spice.
| China | 5000 tons | $3,000,000 |
| Afghanistan | 2650 tons | $1,150,000 |
| Turkey | 1120 tons | $900,000 |
| Pakistan | 425 tons | $250,000 |
| Total (1988) | 9500 tons | $5,500,000 |
Note how much bigger Afghanistan is today than Pakistan. In 1985-1986, their roles were reversed.
Mace
Mace (294 tons worth $1.863 million) is the aril of the seed of tropical Myristica fragrans, assigned to the Indochina-Indonesia Center of Diversity. Nutmeg, q.v., is a different part of the same fruit.
| Indonesia | 175 tons | $1,500,000 |
| Singapore | 90 tons | $250,000 |
| France | 15 tons | $75,000 |
| Netherlands | 10 tons | $25,000 |
| Total | 300 tons | $2,000,000 |
Native to the Spice Islands, nutmeg reached Constantinople commerce ca. A.D. 540. Once again the Arabs interjected themselves and showed the origins in myth. Note the Dutch and French connection above. As with cloves, the Dutch attained the monopoly on nutmeg and mace shortly after driving off the Portuguese. Then, by subterfuge, French explorers arrived back in France in 1770 with a lot of seeds and seedlings of clove and nutmegs from the Spice Islands. Plants found their way to Bourbon, Cayenne, and Syechelles. Nutmegs were introduced to Zanzibar in 1818 from Mauritius or Reunion.
Marjoram
Marjoram (1988 imports of 380 tons worth $481,500) is foliage of temperate Origanum majo-rana, assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity. Data reporting was discontinued. 1988 imports were:
| Egypt | 350 tons | $420,000 |
| France | 20 tons | $30,000 |
| Canada | 12 tons | $12,000 |
| Indonesia | 4 tons | $3000 |
| Total | 400 tons | $500,000 |
Mint (Leaves)
Mint leaves (1988 imports of 171.8 tons worth ca. $580,000) are leaves of various temperate and subtropical Mentha hybrids, especially Mentha x piperita, assigned to the Mediterranean and Eurosiberian Centers of Diversity. (But, in 1989, the U.S. produced 3017 tons of peppermint oil worth $86 million and 1510 tons spearmint oil worth $25.6 million.) Data reporting has been discontinued on imported mint leaf following 1988, data for which follow:
| Germany | 75 tons | $375,000 |
| Egypt | 65 tons | $65,000 |
| Turkey | 20 tons | $25,000 |
| Taiwan | 6 tons | $100,000 |
| Total | 175 tons | $600,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported nearly 400 MT of mints worth more than 1 million dollars (FAS,
2002).
Mustard (Seed)
Mustard seed (53,479 tons worth $21.858 million in 1989) is the first true seed on the list, from temperate species of Brassica and Sinapis. The new “Canola” variety puts this Old World spice in the hands of Canada, as far as unprocessed seed are concerned.
| Canada | 46,500 tons | $12,500,000 |
But when it comes to prepared and/or ground mustard:
| Canada | 3425 tons | $4,800,000 |
| France | 2500 tons | $3,500,000 |
| Germany | 300 tons | $450,000 |
| Thailand | 130 tons | $150,000 |
| Japan | 50 tons | $275,000 |
| Total | 53,000 tons | $21,500,000 |
By 2000, whole mustard seed was the top-volume spice import to the U.S., at ca. 51,000 MT. Prepared mustard was imported at ~7000 MT worth nearly 9 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Nutmeg
Nutmeg (1915 tons worth $11.073 million) is the seed of tropical Myristica fragrans, assigned to the Indochina-Indonesia Center of Diversity.
| Indonesia | 1600 tons | $9,500,000 |
| L & W Islands | 100 tons | $600,000 |
| India | 70 tons | $300,000 |
| France | 60 tons | $350,000 |
| Total | 1900 tons | $11,000,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1.900 MT of nutmeg worth more than 12 million dollars, and nearly 200 tons of mace worth ca. 1.8 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Onions (Dehydrated)
Onions (1371 tons worth $1.115 million) are the bulbs of temperate and subtropical Allium cepa, assigned to the Mediterranean and Central Asian Centers of Diversity.
| Mexico | 1200 tons | $850,000 |
| Hungary | 70 tons | $150,000 |
| Germany | 60 tons | $30,000 |
| Yugoslavia | 25 tons | $50,000 |
| Total | 1375 tons | $1,115,000 |
Oregano
Oregano (4405 tons worth $6.545 million) is dried leaf of several mostly temperate species, not all in the same families. Most people associate oregano with Origanum vulgare, a temperate species assigned to the Eurosiberian Center of Diversity but clearly at home in a Mediterranean climate.
| Turkey | 2100 tons | $3,200,000 |
| Mexico | 1550 tons | $1,900,000 |
| Greece | 310 tons | $525,000 |
| Israel | 200 tons | $550,000 |
| Total | 4400 tons | $6,500,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~360 MT of oregano worth more than 900,000 dollars (FAS, 2002). Parsley (Advanced)
Parsley (268 tons worth $561,000 in 1989) is the dried leaf of temperate Petroselinum sativum, assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity. Separate statistics were abandoned for whole unground parsley following 1988 when imports were:
| Mexico | 750 tons | $550,000 |
| Israel | 75 tons | $200,000 |
| Canada | 25 tons | $20,000 |
| Turkey | 10 tons | $25,000 |
| Total (1988) | 975 tons | $1,100,000 |
Advanced parsley such as parsley flakes were in 1989.
| Israel | 140 tons | $340,000 |
| Mexico | 80 tons | $100,000 |
| Germany | 30 tons | $80,000 |
| Brazil | 10 tons | $15,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1700 MT of parsley worth nearly 6 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Pepper (Black and White)
Pepper (37,753 tons worth $95.211 million) is the dried fruit of tropical Piper nigrum, assigned to the Hindustani Center of Diversity. Black Pepper:
| Indonesia | 11,000 tons | $28,000,000 |
| Brazil | 11,000 tons | $21,500,000 |
| Malaysia | 6750 tons | $19,000,000 |
| India | 1275 tons | $3,700,000 |
| Total | 32,000 tons | $77,000,000 |
White Pepper:
| Indonesia | 5275 tons | $16,000,000 |
| Singapore | 90 tons | $325,000 |
| Malaysia | 60 tons | $200,000 |
| China | 40 tons | $100,000 |
| Total | 5500 tons | $17,000,000 |
| Netherlands | 1650 tons | $1,450,000 |
| Australia | 1600 tons | $1,450,000 |
| Spain | 625 tons | $500,000 |
| Turkey | 250 tons | $200,000 |
| Total | 4200 tons | $4,000,000 |
Purseglove et al. (1981) note that pepper was one of the first oriental spices introduced to Europe. Theophrastus (ca. 2300 b.p.) alluded to black pepper and long pepper. At the time of Christ, pepper probably traveled from India through the Persian Gulf to Charax, or up through the Red Sea to Egypt, thence overland to Alexandria and the Mediterranean. By A.D., customs was levied on long pepper and white pepper but not black pepper. Hindu colonists took pepper to Java. In his 1298 memoirs, Marco Polo describes pepper cultivation in Java and mentions Chinese sailing vessels trading in pepper. By the Middle Ages, pepper was big in Europe, to preserve and season meats, and, with other spices, “to overcome the odours of bad food and unwashed humanity.” Toward the end of the tenth century, England required Easterlings, early German spice traders in England, to pay tribute including 10 pounds of pepper for the privilege of trading with the Brits. Under Henry II, 1180, a pepperer’s guild was founded in London. This gave way to the spicer’s guild and finally, in 1429, the present Grocer’ Company. The pepperers and spicers were the forerunners of the apothecaries, emphasizing the “vital role that spices formerly played in occidental medicine.” There’s a return to the spicerack for medicine, especially with capsicum, cloves, garlic, ginger, licorice, onions and turmeric.
In 2000, the U.S. imported 43,500 MT of black pepper worth ~205 million dollars and 7300 MT of white pepper worth ~37 million dollars (FAS, 2001).
Poppy seed
Poppy seed (4160 tons worth $3.718 million) is in reality a seed, the same as the temperate opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, early moved about but assigned to the Mediterranean, Central Asian, and Near Eastern Centers of Diversity.
Cretans used opium medicinally as early as 3400 B.P., and it was in use by early Egyptians and Sumerians, apparently. By the time of Mohammed (A.D. 570-632), its medicinal and narcotic properties were appreciated by the Arabians. Its narcotic usage moved to India, thence China. Antagonistic roles of British smugglers, and Chinese officials, trying to curb the scourge of millions, ended up in the Opium Wars of 1840 and 1855. Then morphine and heroin reciprocated within a century, causing addiction in thousands of Caucasians, to be supplanted, at least in part, in the 1980s by cocaine.
Poppy seeds were used for food and oil two millennia before Christ in Egypt, and the plant now grows from 55° N in Russia to 40° S in Argentina. Here I see Australia challenging another new Dutch monopoly.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~5300 MT of poppyseed worth nearly 4 million dollars (FAS, 2002). Rosemary
Rosemary (1988 imports of 810 tons worth $682,800) is the aromatic foliage of the climatically Mediterranean shrub, Rosmarinus officinalis, of the Mediterranean Center of Diversity. On the last year of record (1988), imports were:
| Spain | 450 tons | $400,000 |
| France | 175 tons | $125,000 |
| Yugoslavia | 90 tons | $70,000 |
| Portugal | 60 tons | $55,000 |
| Total | 800 tons | $675,000 |
In the first century a.d., Pliny assigned all sorts of medicinal claims to rosemary, home of more than a dozen antioxidant and chemopreventive compounds. It is one of the main herbs in the NCI Designer Food Program to prevent cancer, with capsicum, flaxseed, and licorice.
Already in eleventh century English herbals, rosemary had moved fast, without Columbus.
Saffron
Saffron (34 tons worth $3.286 million) represents the stigmata of the flowers of Mediterranean Crocus sativus, assigned to the Mediterranean and Near Eastern Centers of Diversity. Imports in 1989, the first year recorded separately by FAS, were:
| Pacific Islands | 15 tons | $14,000 |
| China | 10 tons | $7200 |
| Spain | 8 tons | $3,000,000 |
| Total | 34 tons | $3,000,000 |
Obviously, there is something wrong with the accounting above. Spain is a classic supplier, and I believe the price there is correct. If anyone is buying saffron at less than $1000 a ton as the figures above indicate, it probably isn’t saffron, possibly azafran or turmeric. While Azafran is the Spanish name for turmeric in Latin America, where turmeric is common and saffron is not, za’faran was the arabic word for yellow. Traditionally, saffron has been the western food colorant corresponding to turmeric in the east. Columbus may have changed all that, if I can believe all the FTEA statistics.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~14.3 MT of saffron worth nearly 6 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Sage
Sage (2044 tons worth $6.833 million) represents leaves of temperate Salvia officinalis, another climatically Mediterranean herb assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity and secondarily to the Indochina-Indonesia Center.
| Yugoslavia | 1000 tons | $3,500,000 |
| Albania | 700 tons | $2,500,000 |
| Turkey | 150 tons | $250,000 |
| Greece | 50 tons | $125,000 |
| Total | 2000 tons | $7,000,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~2500 MT sage worth ca. 4.5 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Savory
Savory der bohnenkraut represents foliage of summer savory, Satureja hortensis, or winter savory, Satureja montana, both assigned to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity. On the last year of record (1988), I imported only from:
| Yugoslavia | 145 tons | $55,000 |
| France | 50 tons | $50,000 |
Sesame
Sesame (40,514 tons worth 39.962 million) is truly a seed of subtropical Sesamum indicum, assigned to the African and Hindustani Centers of Diversity and early in the China-Japan Center. Much of our imported sesame seed end up in the hamburger rolls.
| Mexico | 27,000 tons | $27,000,000 |
| Guatemala | 3800 tons | $4,000,000 |
| Salvador | 3000 tons | $3,000,000 |
| India | 2700 tons | $2,500,000 |
| Total | 40,000 tons | $40,000,000 |
Herodotus tells us that sesame saved several innocent boys from becoming eunuchs. Corinthians were sending 300 boys to Ayates, who were hustled into a temple en route by sympathetic citizens. Forbidden from entering the temple, the Corinthians cut off the boys food supplies. But their saviors saved them with sesame cakes.
By 2000, sesame imports were 49,000 MT worth nearly 55 million dollars.
Tarragon
Tarragon is the foliage of the warm temperate herb, Artemisia dracunculus, assigned to the Central Asian Center of Diversity. On the last year of record (1988), major U.S. imports were:
| France | 30 tons | $350,000 |
| Netherlands | 11 tons | $50,000 |
| New Zealand | 7 tons | $200,000 |
| Israel | 6 tons | $25,000 |
| Total | 60 tons | $625,000 |
Thyme
Crude thyme was aggregated, strangely, with the laurel or bay leaf above for 1989. Processed thyme (71 tons worth $123,000) is the leaf of climatically Mediterranean Thymus vulgaris, appropriately referred to the Mediterranean Center of Diversity. On the last year of record (1988), crude thyme imports to the U.S. were:
| Spain | 850 tons | $1,800,000 |
| Morocco | 50 tons | $40,000 |
| Jamaica | 30 tons | $200,000 |
| France | 20 tons | $55,000 |
| Total | 950 tons | $2,000,000 |
Advanced Thyme (1989):
| Jamaica | 23 tons | $84,000 |
| Morocco | 17 tons | $12,000 |
| Lebanon | 16 tons | $10,000 |
| Jordan | 9 tons | $6000 |
| Total | 70 tons | $125,000 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1900 MT of thyme worth only about 500,000 dollars (FAS, 2002). Turmeric
Turmeric (2147 tons worth $1.807 million) is the rhizome of tropical Curcuma longa, assigned to the Hindustani Center of Diversity.
| India | 1900 tons | $1,600,000 |
| China | 70 tons | $35,000 |
| Costa Rica | 45 tons | $50,000 |
| Peru | 45 tons | $25,000 |
| Total | 2150 tons | $1,800,000 |
Some scholars suggest that use of turmeric in magical rites intended to produce fertility became so entrenched that turmeric moved with early Hindus to the “Hinduized kingdoms of Southeast Asia,” quoted in Marco Polo records, China in 1280. Turmeric reached East Africa in the eighth century and West Africa in the thirteenth. It reached Jamaica in 1783.
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~2400 MT of turmeric worth nearly three million dollars (FAS, 2002).
Vanilla
Vanilla (1107 tons worth $46.125 million) beans aren’t beans, although they are seed pods of tropical Vanilla planifolia, assigned to the South American Center of Diversity.
| Indonesia | 525 tons | $11,000,000 |
| Malagasy | 425 tons | $25,000,000 |
| Comores | 100 tons | $7,500,000 |
| Mexico | 15 tons | $850,000 |
| Total | 1100 tons | $46,000,000 |
Truly an American Rain Forest species, vanilla might be suggested as an Extractive Reserve candidate. Vanilla can be harvested renewably from tropical agroforestry scenarios, although heavy shade reduces yields. In spite of the published threats of biotechnology, artificial vanillin as a byproduct of the forest industry (could be a tropical forest as well as a temperate forest), and vanilla from tissue culture, the natural vanilla has not been supplanted for some usages.
Native American vanilla is much produced abroad now, Indonesia recently replacing Madagascar as the “largest supplier of the U.S. market” (Dull, 1990). Recent surveys suggest that, of an estimated 400 million gallons of vanilla (still our most popular flavor) ice cream, 20-25% is all natural, 40-50% is vanilla flavored, and 25-35% is artificially flavored. Ice-cream continues to be the largest use of natural vanilla, at slightly less than half the market. I have heard people speculate that synthetic will replace the natural. But Dull (1990) says, “The continuing trend toward natural flavorings in food products is keeping demand for vanilla beans steady, despite strong competition from synthetic flavorings like vanillin.” I, too, have heard it said that, more and more, Americans are demanding naturals rather than synthetics—for flavors, food colorants, antioxidants and preservatives, extenders and thickeners, and sometimes even medicines and pesticides. If this trend continues, it bodes well for Extractive Reserves.
On the other hand, if the 1988-1989 trend continues for vanilla, things are not so cheerful; biotechnology may be taking its toll. Here are the tonnage and dollar figures (excluding Belgium/ Luxemburg middle men):
| 1988 | 1989 | |||
| mt | $1,000 | mt | $1,000 | |
| Comoros Islands | 184.9 | 12,694 | 107.2 | 7502 |
| French Polynesia | 3.1 | 215 | 9.0 | 430 |
| Indonesia | 423.3 | 8282 | 526.5 | 11,073 |
| Madagascar | 576.5 | 39,841 | 420.7 | 24,652 |
| Mexico | 10.2 | 460 | 15.6 | 825 |
| Other Pacific Isles | 7.7 | 426 | 28.4 | 1,643 |
| Totals | 1214.7 | 61,918 | 1107.4 | 46,125 |
The 1107 tons is just about 10% off the 1988 figure of 1214 tons. I should watch the figures in 1991. Yokoyama et al. (1988) give figures for U.S. imports for 1981-1986:
| Value (C.I.F.) ( = Cost, | ||
| Imports | Insurance, and Freight) | |
| Year | mt | $ million |
| 1981 | 642 | 32 |
| 1982 | 886 | 47 |
| 1983 | 979 | 53 |
| 1984 | 839 | 51 |
| 1985 | 745 | 49 |
| 1986 | 1003 | 60 |
In 2000, the U.S. imported ~1300 MT of vanilla worth nearly 44 million dollars (FAS, 2002).
