c) The Portuguese and the Spanish were the first to engage in this overseas race to bypass the Italians. XIV more so, at the western end, when the Italians or Portuguese or, most effectively of all, the Dutch East
N.B.
F: poivre / D: Pfeffer / … After seeing what McCormick charges for spice, I can see why North America was discovered as a result of spice import/export. The European elite ate a lot of spices, first for dietary reasons (spices were supposed to make digestion easier and the medical books were full of prescriptions combining such spice, reputed hot, to such other product, considered cold, for the balance) and also for the sake of social distinction (spices were prestigious, expensive and rare, coming from a somewhat magical Orient). daily wage
0.67
Penny Ale (Beer)
MOUTON Y-ROSTED WITH SAWSE CAMELYNE: Roast Lamb with Cameline
Record Office: Bridge Master's Account Rolls, 1381-1398; Bridge Master's Accounts: Weekly Payment Series, 1404 - 1510 (Vols. No. price has not really dropped, and the truly costly modern spice is saffron. 1.50
105.82
2. London Guildhall Manuscripts Library: MS 5174, vol. dramatic difference (pepper and ginger cheaper, cinnamon more expensive).
spoke a French dialect: Anglo-Norman), i) Hiett and Butler believe that the aristocracy, the landed gentry, and probably some of the upper
Continuing Education Symposium (University of Toronto): http://www.economics.utoronto.ca/munro5/lecnot201.htm. 1.24
ground), 1 tsp. But economic decline during the 14th century takes its toll on the success of the Hanseatic towns. in d groot
It is found, along with garum, in most Roman recipes. 0.171
not living by bread alone. 3,750.00
It is starting to be rediscovered now. per lb
by Daily
POMMEAULX: late 14th - early 15th century French and English, 2 lb.
As a result, they were often extraordinarily expensive.
2. 5. 373.15
This had to be pointed out ! Just want to add here, that the Dutch East India company (the VOC) was founded because Dutch merchants found that those super expensive spices such as cloves, mace, etc. ... that up to 90% of Spanish saffron exports were fraudulent. European exports to Asia were roughly 75% silver and only 25% goods in the early modern era. master building craftsmen (mason, carpenter): showing how many days' wages to buy a pound; and
yard
Crocus sativus, family iridaceae. 168.23
One widely disseminated explanation for medieval demand for spices was that they covered the taste of spoiled meat.
pints
No. pound
No. per lb. Later, on this screen, I
Hieatt and Butler. d. ster.
yard
The clove trade was a Dutch monopoly for several centuries. Spices were among the most expensive and in-demand products during that period, used mainly in medicine and as an ingredient in different food dishes, perfumes and wine.
For a harmonious flavouring, it is better to grind the clove to a powder, as it was done in the Middle Ages. In Catalan it was nous de xarch. of plain roasted, fried, broiled or indeed boiled flesh, with simple vegetables. 1.988
in relative values, on this chart, i.e. 0.447
By the 14th century there about 100 such towns, some of them as far afield as Iceland and Spain.
Capons
0.47
b) We also know from the composition of ship cargoes, by both the Dutch and English East India
6.000
Saffron
pound
8.00
35.27
Eugenia caryophyllata, family myrtaceae. Photos: Gérard Moncorgé. 0.67
Spices, by that view, are a necessity (without substitutes). were more likely to cause it than cure it. In contemporary cooking, we stick the clove in an onion to flavour the court bouillon. They wanted to trade, they wanted to find an all water route to Asia, and they wanted to discover/find new land. and also meats. dominance of medieval commerce and finance rested principally upon their control of the Oriental
number
number
217.20
yard
founded at the same time, was also forcibly expelled from the East Indies and had to settle for a
3. respects, to the Indian recipes just shown, i) Pommeaulx (medieval English) and Shahi Kofta (Indian): for comparison, both of these are ground
a dozen courses), highly spiced dishes were a minority: that most of the meat dishes in fact consisted
Sauce (15th century English). Wage of 8d
22.000
English Kersey, Dyed
soups, vegetables, pies, cakes, jams and jellies, drinks, etc. 0.331
Spices were very ex vinegar, almonds, raisins, rice flour, The Relative Decline in Spice Consumption after 1650. In the 15th century, ginger was the least expensive, and saffron, because its price had become prohibitive, almost disappeared altogether from the table of the Lords. 176.00
It is often assumed that prohibitive prices for spices during the Middles Ages kept them to the fortunate few of the times.
It is necessary to go to specialized spice stores, nowadays in France, in order to find the hot tasting, hard and black little bunches of tiny seeds, native to India and 2 to 4 cm long.