Fragra Nt & Floral

Delicately scented petals and seeds and other aromatics, such as balsam, sandalwood and frankincense, crisscrossed the world in early trade, being embraced wholeheartedly into the cuisines and perfumes of adopted nations.

Rosebuds came to the Middle East from China, lending romance to both their pilaus and poetry. In the twelfth century, distilled damask rose water came back to the Chinese courts from Persia, more fragrant and evocative than the form in which it had left. Tibetan musk reached Rome in around 400 AD, prompting Jerome to disapprovingly dub it ‘well suited to lovers and hedonists’. Coriander seeds sailed in the opposite direcbtion, exported from the Mediterranean for their citrusy, woody aroma to find a natural home in Middle Eastern braises, South Asian curry powders and Indonesian bumbus.