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Native spices
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Factor
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Hey guys,my wife asked me the other day what spices,and herbs the First Nations used in cooking before The Europeans got here.Has anyone done any research on this subject?


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Booshway
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One that I have heard of is the little blue berries on Eastern Red Cedar trees. I have not tried them in cooking, however I did eat one. I did not like it.


Know what you believe in. Fight for your beliefs. Never compromise away your rights.
 
Posts: 1296 | Location: Cherokee Land, Tenasi | Registered: 06 January 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Hmm,sorta like Juniper berries,no good by themselves,but ok in other stuff maybe?


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Just Google spices and see where they are indigenous. For example, Columbus was looking for a faster route to get Black Pepper, but instead what we call Red Pepper or Chile Pepper , are what he found and what we get from the Americas. Also Allspice, was encountered.

The California Bay Leaf is native to California, and similar to European Bay, but stronger....if you live in California. Big Grin Mint was present in North America at contact, as were variations on Juniper. Sassafras is also North American.

While we got a lot of foods from the New World, Maize, lots of different Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes, strawberries, quinoa, "wild rice", beans, squash, pumpkin, jerusalem artichokes, cattails, and etc.....only three "spices" really came from North America, as mentioned the most notable were Chile Pepper and Allspice. Vanilla is the third.

You should also be aware that those are all Caribbean spices. If you are wondering about spices for Eastern Woodland cultures, probably none. Sassafras was a medicine to them, and while they may have eaten ramps, they may not have used them in combination with other foods to impart flavor.

Our spices pretty much come from Asia, and the American "spice pallet" ignores a bunch that are much more common in regular cooking. Turmeric, coriander, nutmeg, fenugreek, tamarind, cardamon, and several others are pretty often ignored.

LD


It's not what you know, it's what you can prove
 
Posts: 3843 | Location: People's Republic of Maryland | Registered: 10 November 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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* sounds of pencil scribbling on paper* Thanks guys....Now that you mention all this,I may have been marginally aware of most of it.


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
Picture of volatpluvia
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LD, You just may have given me the basis for a TALL Tale. Thanks, ole Volie


pistuo deo lalo
 
Posts: 3714 | Location: Acatlan de Juarez, Jalisco, Mexico | Registered: 22 October 2004Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Factor
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Oh goody!!


Beer is proof that God loves us,and wants us to be happy-B. Franklin
 
Posts: 2014 | Location: Oreegun Territory | Registered: 24 March 2013Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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