Evening journal., 1893-08-18
TALKS ABOUT SPICES.
Few Spice Men But They Un
derstand Their Business.
ALL RED PEPPER NEED NOT BE HOT

1
His own Pepper and Mustard In His
Pocket TO the Restaurant.
The other evening reporter Of the
EVENING JOURNAL was sitting in well
known eating house when Two men
came in and took seat at table
directly opposite. One was Jolly good
fellow and attracted the reporters at
tention. When the supper arrived this
man commenced to pepper his chops with
unusual vigor.
He Liked Pepper.
Look outl Look outl Do you see
that that's red pepper you are putting on
your chopsg" exclaimed the other man.
The other diner continued TO smile
blandly aud eject bright red pepper from
a small bottle.
ITS all right" he answered 81
know what / am about This Is red
pepper in one sense, but not In the sense
that you mean II. That is, IL Is not
cayenne pepper. Il is what we call
Paprika, a Hungarian pepper that, al
though fiery red In color. is mild and
sweet and much more digestible than
the ordinary black pepper. One grows
fond Of the flavor OF IL. and / often bring
small bottle of it In my pocket, as
have done to day. This is not one of the
restaurants bottles
He Knew II All.
This time the lover Of pepper SMILED
: again, not only blandly, but as though
ali the secrets Of the spice ISLANDS were
> locked within him. II know a little
about spices, he replied. have been in
che spice business in several large cities
g for twenty FIVE years.
Another smile, and It gave the i'm.
preston this time that the more a man
knew about spices" the. less he would
use them 81 did not know there was
r any other form Of red pepper but the
o hot cayenne, bis companion ventured.
81 suppose not, " the diner laughed
! lliI am prepared TO believe that you
- know nothing whatever about peppers
II For instance, why is IL that some black
pepper is whittier OF course, you don't
know But it is not only pepper that
you know nothing about. You know moth
10 ing about any kind Of spice. Excuse me.
don't mean to be PERSONAL when | say
you, / mean every body. If there Is any
N subject on which people are absolutely
and totally ignorant that subject is
spices.
No Use to Argue.
a. The other man started TO reply, but
~ was cut off by the spice man.
m "Wait a moment. please It's not
worth while to argue this thing, for
can convince you of your ignorance In
IN two minutes. There are some secrets IN
! the trade Of manufacturing spices, bui
you need not be afraid that l am goinf
ru to tell you
"You must be a connosseur In spices
ry was suggested, Ito carry your own pep
er per into restaurant
.D There are in New York city. he
went on, putting another dash Of Pa
~ prika on his chop. "hve spice importing
lie houses. seventeen wholesale houses,
ifty eight brokers, and ten converters
~ or manufacturers These people have
ne mentioned are the only ones In New
In York who T. ally know anything abou
spices; so you see IL is altogether un
I'D likely that you should know anything
d. about them.
is Before ] take up any particular
he spice let me tell you something about
re spices in general It is pretty well
on established-at least IL is commonly be-
lieved-that all vegetables were spice
All a few millions Of years ago. Spices ar
ca the essences of vegetation; that Is e
'ly say, they contain an essential oil whicl
at distinguishes them from othe
20 vegetables. The presence O
.or this oil Is always accompa
MED by a resinous property which pro
he duces pungency By the process O
'at evolution, an evolution produced in thi
en- case by cultivation, the vegetables gro'
er larger and lose their strength. For el
=. ample, the crab apple. the smallest forI
an of the apple that we know, is extremel
~ sour Doubtless is was originally smalle
he fIurt hIanlr and 80 H. Vl
to eventually be cultivated into a pumpki
Ter in size, and lose all its strength.
at There are some liquours made froi
st spices beside which whiskey and brand
lhe are water; but they have nothing
red do with the spice trade pr0per-not
hg this country at least, for most of thel
ley are made in other lands
Also Carries Mustard.
es- $50 you thought l was very fastidiou
lde to bring my own pepper into restar
ers rant did you But that is not all hay
oV brought see here
red He produced from his coat pocket
small tin can Of mustard, In the powder
lnd II carry not only my own pepper, b'
ms my own mustard, too. No, II is !
NY better than the mustard that they u
ere here in the restaurant. Pure2 Well,
is as pure as any mustard ought to b
III Is bOueu uONui ike III lue Bioul
req mustard you buy, with flour or col
starch. Bat that does not hurt it IL
rather an advantage, for tperfectly pu
40 ground mustard is too hot,to be used wi
hO. comfort. Then why do / carry it2 B
cause 10 be in its best state must8i
In- must be used as soon as it is nike
900 Aud it must be mixed only with pu
cold water-no vinegar, no sugar, not
ing but water. Look at that stuff
Is. the caster bottle. IL has stood there
the days, and is disgusting to look at, {
yee, tirely unfit to eat. With a teaspoonf
ar. Of dry ground mustard, freshly mix
i,oa with teaspoonful of cold water, ha
a condiment with a flavor, instead o.
ueu muddy, stagnant paste. No mustard
fit to use after It has been mixed
am hour"
An Interested Listener.
and All this talk was very interesting
said the reporter and his meal was as yet U
He touched The next day a prominl
grocer and dealer in tea, coffee, q
spices was called on and he told what
knew after first gaining the prom
vii that his name would not be used.