Spices

Appears in
The Food of India: A Journey for Food Lovers
The Food of India

By Priya Wickramasinghe and Carol Selva Rajah

Published 2005

  • About
Spices became important items of commerce early in the evolution of trade. They were small, easily transported and often worth their weight in gold.

India was essentially ‘discovered’ by Vascoda Gama in May 1498 as he searched for the, Indies’, the origin of the spices which were arriving in Europe via Arab traders. It is said that he came ashore and shouted “for Christ and for spices”. The discovery of the spice coast of India had a profound effect on the European spice trade as it broke the stranglehold of the Arabs and cut out the middlemen.