The sun., 1893-08-14
HINTS FROM A SPICE MAN.
sosrE RED PEPPER Is MILD, SOME
BLACK PEPPER rs WHITE

Take carel Take carei Do you see tha,
that's red pepper you are putting on your
chop?"
The diner on the opposite side Of the rostau-
rant table smiled blandly. and continued to
eject bright red pepper from small bottle.
Its all right" he answered. II know what
am about. This ia red pepper In one sense.
but not In tho sense that you moan It. That is.
1t Is not cayenne pepper. 1t Is what we call
Paprlka, Hungarian pepper that. although
fiery red In color. is mild and sweo. and much
moro digestible than the ordinary black pep
per One grows fond OF the flavor Of 1t. and I
ofton bring q small bottle OF 1t in my pocket, as
/ have done to-day. This 10 not one OF the
restaurants bottlea"
You must be q oonnolseur In Spices" was
suggested. ito Garry your own pepper into o
restaurant"
The diner smiled again; not only blandly
this time. but wisely. as though all the secrets
OF the spice islands were locked In his bosom.
"Iknow O thing or two about Spices" he re-
piled. IL have been in the spice business In
this city and In Providence, r. l.. for twenty
eight years" His smile this time gave the i'm
preston that tho more man knew about
spices, the less he would use OF them.
IT did not know there was any form Of red
pepper but the hot cayenne" his companion
venturod.
Most likely not" tho diner laughed II am
prepared to believe that you know nothing
whatever about peppers. For instance, why is
1t that some black pepper is whitep OF course
you don't know. I'll tell you in a few minutes.
But It is not only pepper that you know moth
ing about. You know nothing about any kind
Of spice. Excuse me. don't mean to be per-
sonal: when I say you, mean everybody. II
there Ia any subject on which people are abso-
lutely and totally ignorant that subject is
spices-"
But"
wait o moment. please. It's not worth
while to argue this thing. for 1 can convince
you OF your ignorance in two minutes There
are some secrets in the trade OF manufacture
ne spices. but you need not be afraid that
am going to tell you any OF the secrets. can
tell you. however. some facts. and they will
anSwer equally we'll
There arc in this city" he went on. putting
another dash OF Paprika on his chop. five
spice-importfng houses. seventeen wholesale
houses. fifty eight brokers. and ten convert
ers. or manufacturers. Manufacturing. in this
business. means merely grinding. mixing.
and. II you choose to regard It SO. adulterating.
Most spices we use are adulterated. but not
only increases the bulk and reduces, the
strength. These people have mentioned arc
anything about spices: so you see. it is alto
together unlikely that you should know any
Before 1 take up any particular spice lot
me toll you omething about spices in gen.
rS is pretty well Isas It
spices few millions OF years ago Spices are
The the. essences = Of vegetati0n: M that ts to say.
tinguishes them from other vegetables. The
presence OF this oil is always, accompa-
punsenoS. e by the process process Of evolutlon. a an
evolution produced In this case by cultivation.
9Ss the
smallest form OF the aEpe that we know Is
smaller than black pepper. and stronger. It
may eventually be cultivated into a pumkin in
size and lose all its strength.
vegota bles: the big ones are mild the small
ones are st strong. Look at peppera There is
in our gardens You can eat one down With
out difficulty But to eat one OF the tiny
burn your mouth out. That is the original pep
Per. or something like It: the big one has been
the ha 81
waitef;neloa5 si : hess' pu%pEis, 6i eesrss
-" The SPICES that our importers and manu-
miut. pepper. cloves. ,tumeric, tamarind.
Those are not properly spices but they are ali
considered spices in nj the trade. Pepper is the
why some black pepper is white. White pep. e
per harvested when fully ripe: There
long. rod or. cayenne. Paprika, Ashantee..
Sapaica and MaIsGuetta 5ameien rsDper Is
to tho pepper family; Many people consider
s name ' But Gtes that Spf' e afSa ssnss
only the product Of pimento. or Jamaica
pho black pepper plant is a climbing shrub.
and few minor Pacific islands: It has how
islands and the West Indies. % Penang Pc IAN pro- pro-
duces half the worlds crop at present The
seed grows loosely in pod. and is harvested
The nutmeg is not only ono of the most i'm
our spices It is tho Kernel Of the i seed Of an
evergreen tree that grows from fifty to sixty
tie s' and nsand nr n %e4 she rae wild
tree is cultivated in many tropical countries.
and will grow almost anywhere below. the
even Key West having an occasiona!
In this country. except. as the jokers put It in
sHme ff factories in Connecticut; Tho soil and
the growth OF the nutmeg tree. and some are |
goWnf 1nede hst sSrpass S the Banda tress ia
increasing in numbers. and should not be |
snrpriSed II within few years Jamaica sup:
mace. =
For nptmegs and mace go together. mace |
being only the inner lining OF the nut In which |
the nutmeg is the kernel The trees begin 70 |
Dear these nuts when about eight years old. |
and they continue to hear for nearly century.
me rlEe nut Is Is salmost as large as small apple. |
ana when fully matured IT splits open,cand tile
single seed is exposed. The nuts are allowed to |
Iall from the tree. and when picked up the outer
covering is torn of. The next layer OF cover
Ing Is mace. which Is an important article OF
commerce. Tho nutmeg Is the heart OF the |
nut-the seed from which another utmeg tres
may spring. This kernel. the nutmeg. Is put
IN nn oven over q gentle flre, and Is kept there
slowly baking for about eight weeks being
turned .n a. over two Or three times every week.
ing little Of lite flavor, Tho nutmeg is the most
pnpr2htable thing that the spice man can
90 strong that the ma anuiacturer finds it neces.
sary. solely for the public good. to tone them
thero is no toning down a whole nutmeg.
Nutmegs are very full OF OIL and tho fatty sub
stance is called oil OF mace or nutmeg butter.
But that's another story. and does not proper
ly belong to the spice mans trade. |
speaking of cOyeS-W6 weren't anan king