Your kitchen spice rack may look like an innocent piece of kitchen decoration — but it holds far more history and intrigue than you ever may have realized.

While the wonderful spices from all over the world that fill your cabinet shelf or hanging spice rack may be common and easy to get today – a simple trip to the store and walk down the spice aisle – it was not always this way. Many spices have been extremely rare and much valued throughout most of history. In fact, many spices have interesting histories of their own.

Here is just one.

Religion is often cited as the reason for most of history’s wars. But what about the good stuff? What caused men to pickup and take off for new worlds? What caused them to brave hostile natives and vicious animals to make roads to far off lands? What caused them to get into little, leaky boats and set off across unknown oceans?

Would you believe…Pepper?

The First World-wide Commodity

Black pepper originated in the mountains of Southern India and made it’s way to Europe about 2,000 years ago.

And it is no exaggeration to say that the world has never been the same.

Rich Europeans immediately feel deeply, madly in love with the spice.

Even though the potent black powder traveled an intricate and expensive route from India to Europe (the pepper changed hands up to 100 times during it’s journey — doubling in price every time), it was still the most popular spice in all levels of society.

Has always been and still is today.

But with the demand always far outstripping the supply, it is only natural that people would start looking for shorter, easier, cheaper routes to bring pepper to Europe — and consequently make their fortune doing so.

The New Millennium Brings New Trade Routes

Unlike the 19th century exploration of Africa and the Polar regions, “explorers” in the middle-ages set out not to map rivers and collect specimens, but in search of a way to get spices back to Europe as quickly and cheaply as possible.

And they often succeeded.

Entire cities were built and flourished along the trade routes — Istanbul, Venice and Genoa are just a few that pepper money built.

Family fortunes that have lasted until the modern times were made on spices — the chief of which is pepper. Marco Polo’s father and uncle were the richest men in Venice because of spices.

Worlds were discovered looking for shorter trade routes. What do you think Columbus and Vasco da Gama were looking for? New worlds? No. Pepper.

Safe to Say…

It not a stretch at all to say that the world was built by a desire to make food taste better.

Now that’s some history I can believe in. Yum.

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Here in the Northeast we can’t even think about planting vegetables outside until mid May, when the danger of frost has passed. Luckily there are ways to extend the growing season and one thing that we have been seriously looking into are garden greenhouses. Luckily there are many greenhouses available to fit not just about any budget but even the smallest of spaces as well. Read more »