Book Of Spices

The Book Of Spices - Having spent some years in the production of spices in Guatemala, the author has long felt the need for a comprehensive nontechnical book on spices. Reliable information is available on the botanical, agricultural, chemical, pharmaceutical, and other technical aspects of spices, but in general it is of difficult access to all except specialists. A few years ago two meritorious illustrated books in German were published about spices: Kostbarkeiten ferner Länder eine Gewürz-und Teepflanzenkunde von Alba, compiled by H. Stender and published by Gehring & Neiweiser in Bielefeld, West Germany, in 1951; and Das Buch der Gewürze written by Roland Gööck and published by the Mosaik Verlag in Hamburg in 1965. Cordial acknowledgment is made of the courtesies of the authors and publishers of these two works, as well as to other authors and publishers in English who have permitted the use of excerpts and illustrations from copyrighted works, all of which are duly credited. In the hope that the present effort will be of some use for reference in other parts of the globe, the Latin binomial of each spice is given, followed where possible by the name in eleven other modern languages. The author has attempted to clarify the existing confusion concerning the identification and nomenclature of some spices and herbs-between, for example, cassia and cinnamon, marjoram and oregano, and the various types of "peppers"-capsicum (chili) peppers, black pepper, white pepper, and Jamaican pepper (pimento) or allspice.