Evening star., 1936-01-23
Spices and
Seasoning
In Cooking
Condiments Lift Plain
Dishes Into Epi-
curean Class.
By EDITH M. BARBER.

COOKERY as an art has been said
0-perhaps justly--to have begun
with the introduction Of spices into
It. For thousands of years spices had
been highly priced for medicinal uses.
They were literally worth their weight
In gold and were considered fit gifts
for king.
While salt Is not spice we group it
with spices as q condiment-the old
est condiment In the world. Some OF
the earliest trading between groups
OF people began with the exchange Of
other products for salt. In the days
Of the Romans the soldiers were given
. special appropriation for this pur-
pose.
The spices used today in largest pro-
portion are peppers Of various types,
mustard, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and
Glove. Among the peppers are black,
white. cayenne. paprika and chill.
the dry powdered mustard flour, the
whole seed and In its mixed form. One
mix Of mustard may be very different
from another.
English mustard is usually strong
In flavor and at its best is very good,
indeed. The well-known Bahaman
mustard is of the English type. French
mustard is more delicate in flavor. as
It Is usually mixed with wine or wine
vinegar, sometimes favored with tar
ragon. Epicures are very particular
about the flavor Of blended mustard.
II you with to mix your own you
may use wine, vinegar. cream or milk.
In this country the mustard pot
usually accompanies cold meat, hot
cornbeef and sometimes roast beef. A
hot mustard sauce is delicious with
either meat or fish. Dion, on account
of its famous mustard, has given its
name to many Fresh dishes. II you
see the word Dijonnaise on the menu
you may be sure that mustard will be
used as seasoning.
While mustard is usually used with
main dishes, cinnamon has its larg-
est use in combination with sweets.
Cinnamon is actually the inner bark
of young cinnamon trees. Cinnamon
is actually the inner bark of young
cinnamon trees. It comes from the
Far East, and for many years the
Arabs had a monopoly Of it by spread
ing tales of mythical dragons which
were supposed to have inhabited the
country from which 1t came. At one
time cinnamon was sold entirely in
''sticks." Now, except for pickle max
ing and for few other purposes, we
generally use it in its ground form.
Nutmeg may be used as seasoning
or as 1avoring. There is much dis
cussion as to whether nutmeg or
cinnamon should be used with apples.
The nutmeg is the kernel Of the fruit
of an East Indian tree. Mace comes
from the same fruit and Is found
around the kernels. Grated nutmeg
is satisfactory as long as it is fresh.
The whole nutmeg, Of course. retains
its flavor longer.
Ginger is also q tropical product.
The roots are used for flavoring. When
they are used in their natural form
they are known as green ginger or
ginger root. The roots are sometimes
preserved or crystallized. The great
majority, however. are dried and
powdered.
Cloves have q long history Of war
fare over their possession. They come
from the so-called Spice Islands, the
East Indies, East Africa and the West
Indies. Glove trees live almost
hundred years. They are evergreens
and produce two crops of Glove buds
each year. They have been known