Black pepper & and the Age of Discovery

Last week I caught half of 'Michael Wood -The Story of India -Spice Routes and Silk Roads' He made it sound so romantic about the discovery of the western monsoon opening a sea route for Greeks and Romans with southern India. Most people may have forgotten one of the reasons for the early voyages of discovery...BLACK PEPPER. They were crazy for this simple vine...which became known as 'black gold'

The race for the coveted spices from Indian sub continent, and the Spice Islands of Indonesia was fought by the Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch and the English. And its also really a history of colonialism...sad but true.

However this did lead to some quite fantastic new flavours being passed around these trade routes. Most notable being the chilli pepper. Finding its way from South America to India and even as far away as Korea and the Cook Islands. I adore this subject and have numerous books on the subject, amongst all my cook books.  I simple can't imagine life without my spices...

WOW a brilliant book on BURMESE FOOD

I have been waiting for ' Burma - Rivers of Flavour' by Naomi Duguid to be published for ages. Heck I'd even pre-ordered it from Amazon. I have not been disappointed. Its a mix between a cookbook and travel log, with brilliant photography. Soooo much information about little daily rituals and personal observations.

She has traveled extensively and  gone to some of the more remote regions to gain further understanding of the diverse Burmese cuisine. There are chapters on a myriad rice, noodle, and salad dishes. An absolute delight.

Potential Spice Almighty Inspiration...

It was actually my birthday last month and apart from the usual girly gifts ( smellies/ Cath Kidston) my in-laws gave me something rather good. Its the newly published 'Masterchef everyday' cookbook. It has a great section featuring past contestants and whats they've been up to since. The 130 recipes are all the contestants own - including Celebrity Masterchef like Phil Vickery. And I think one of the best features is Gregg & John's reworking of 20 recipes for everyday folks who can't get hold of monkfish liver.

Linda Lusardi's Malaysian Beef and Potato curry sounds lush- and rather close to the new spice kit 'Magnificent Malaysian Rendang' with star anise and cinnamon. Might have to give her recipe a go...see how it compares.