Yes you are right. They had spices from the silk route via Istanbul but was heavily taxed so they decided to set sail to find new trading routes and that was how Penang came about.
Actually it was one of the (main) reasons for Europeans to sail out (and conquer the world. European cuisine up to the 16th century was quite plain. Salt was very expensive (heavily taxed). No pepper, of course. No nutmeg, no vanilla, no clove. The only ingredients that added flavour were herbs such as thyme, but that grew in the south, as most “herbes de Provence”. 🙂 There was onions, garlic, but that was about it.
June 19, 2017 at 07:33
Yes you are right. They had spices from the silk route via Istanbul but was heavily taxed so they decided to set sail to find new trading routes and that was how Penang came about.
June 16, 2017 at 17:59
Actually it was one of the (main) reasons for Europeans to sail out (and conquer the world. European cuisine up to the 16th century was quite plain. Salt was very expensive (heavily taxed). No pepper, of course. No nutmeg, no vanilla, no clove. The only ingredients that added flavour were herbs such as thyme, but that grew in the south, as most “herbes de Provence”. 🙂 There was onions, garlic, but that was about it.
June 16, 2017 at 10:54
Yes! Worth conquering the world for!
June 14, 2017 at 00:01
Nutmeg. Noix de muscade. Many a dish will benefit from a sprinkle of nutmeg. 🙂
June 12, 2017 at 06:11
Loving your digital work T 🙂