Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices (California Studies in Food and Culture, 1) (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Covers a great deal of ground geographically as well as historically." -- Associated Press

"[Y]ou will never again regard cocoa as just that yummy milk flavoring." -- Pasadena Star-News

Product Description

Spices and aromatics-the powerful, pleasurable, sensual ingredients used in foods, drinks, scented oils, perfumes, cosmetics, and drugs-have long been some of the most sought-after substances in the course of human history. In various forms, spices have served as appetizers, digestives, antiseptics, therapeutics, tonics, and aphrodisiacs. Dangerous Tastes explores the captivating history of spices and aromatics: the fascination that they have aroused in us, and the roads and seaways by which trade in spices has gradually grown. Andrew Dalby, who has gathered information from sources in many languages, explores each spice, interweaving its general history with the story of its discovery and various uses. Dalby concentrates on traditional spices that are still part of world trade: cinnamon, cloves, ginger, pepper, saffron, and chili. He also discusses aromatics that are now little used in food but still belong to the spice trade and to traditional medicine: frankincense, myrrh, aloes-wood, balsam of Mecca. In addition, Dalby considers spices that were once important but that now are almost forgotten: long pepper, cubebs, grains of Paradise. Dangerous Tastes relates how the Aztecs, who enjoyed drinking hot chocolate flavored with chili and vanilla, sometimes added annatto (a red dye) to the drink. This not only contributed to the flavor but colored the drinker's mouth red, a reminder that drinking cacao was, in Aztec thought, parallel with drinking blood. In the section on ambergris, Dalby tells how different cultures explained the origin of this substance: Arabs and Persians variously thought of it as solidified sea spray, a resin that sprung from the depths of the sea, or a fungus that grows on the sea bed as truffles grow on the roots of trees. Some Chinese believed it was the spittle of sleeping dragons. Dalby has assembled a wealth of absorbing information into a fertile human history that spreads outward with the expansion of human knowledge of spices worldwide. 8 color illustrations, 48 b/w photographs

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 184 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1st edition (November 21, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520227891
• ISBN-13: 978-0520227897
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,631,459 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Tough going, small result, February 25, 2004

By	Anne Claessens "foxwold" (Grass Valley, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices (Paperback)

Clearly, the author didn't have those who's interest is in the culinary use of spices in mind as an audience. One of my degrees is in history, I'm used to sorting through dry tomes for nuggets of fact, but didn't find anything useful here. May I suggest that before taking it on, the reader will want to obtain an excellent historical atlas, and a detailed botanical guide, it's the only hope one has of following along. My interest is in recreation of historically accurate recipes, but found myself sadly disappointed by the lack of reference to flavors, and a great many spices popular in medieval Europe missing entirely.

The author is clearly fascinated by ancient documents for their own sakes, and a linguist. Unfortunately for me, I'm interested in spices for their own sakes. This is scholarly enough that by page 25 I was convinced I was reading a doctoral dissertation, by page 35, I was questioning the editor's judgement. This is a stunningly dull book. Of the 200 or 300 culinary reference books I've purchased over the past 10 years, this is ONLY disappointment. It is quite functional as an insomnia cure, however.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars I agree mostly with Foxwold's review, May 1, 2005

By	C. J. Thompson "Arctic John" (Pond Inlet, Nunavut Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices (Paperback)

Foxwold (his review is above mine), gave no stars to this book but I give it one. Ultimately, I think Foxwold is right that the author doesn't appear to really be an enthusiast about the history of spices.

The book is not a comprehensive view of the subject by any means, but I would still enjoy the it as a whole had it mitigated against the normal 'dry' result of reference works by being an interesting read. Dalby doesn't manage to do this at all... The style of writing is not nicely flowing and the way in which the information is organized is sterile and uninteresting. I gave him one star because I learned a FEW interesting things while reading it but ... if I am not looking at an encyclopedia or a reference text, then I want my reading material to be stimulating too.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating Look at the History of Spices, September 22, 2005

By	Lilinah "bibliophiliac" (San Francisco Bay Area, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices (Paperback)

This book was a pleasure and a joy to read. I couldn't put it down. I even find myself rereading it, because the information is so much fun.

Besides describing the history of spicees, Dalby quotes from many ancient sources, showing what people believed in the old days about spices: how they came to be, where they grew, how they were harvested. Some tales are truly astonishing, but that's no surprise, since for many centuries, spice merchants kept the true sources a closely held secret.

While not comprehensive, the book covers all the major spices and many more unusual ones. I recommend this book to all my friends who are interested in the history of spices and the spice trade.