Baharat (= spice)

Spices are natural flavorings that are made either by grinding seeds, kernels, roots, fruits, flowers and peels, or by crushing and drying them. Spices add color, taste, fragrance and aroma to our food. In addition, it has bactericidal, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effects because it contains essential oils and alkaloids. In Ancient Greek, China, Sumer, Assyria, Egypt, and Rome, spices were used to cure diseases, and famous doctors such as Hippocrates and Galen used the spice in the manufacture of medicines.

Spices were and still are an integral part of the culture and tradition in Turkish cuisine. The origin of the spices is in India, which is called "Bharat" in its national language. India is the country that consumes the most spices. In Arabic, the word "bahar" means scent and if you take the plural "baharat", which means in Turkish language "spice". The word "aroma" comes from the Greeks and from ancient Roman traditions it is known that the term "aroma" was used for the spice. If the food tastes delicious, then you actually mean the smell, because only 20% of taste perception takes place on the tongue. The tongue only perceives whether the food is sweet, bitter, salty or sour. With the sense of smell, millions of different scent can be distinguished. The perception of e.g. Anise on the tongue is just plain sweet. The sense of smell, however, perceives more than 20 different aromatic components.

The history of the spice goes back to the day when people learned to cook with the first fire. Archaeologists claim that as early as 5000 BC. humans discovered and used aromatic plants to give flavor, smell and aroma to foods. The use of spices may originally have been used to prevent meat products from spoiling or the food consumed from smelling bad. Archeological excavations in southeastern Turkey have found spices such as cloves, saffron, mustard, fennel and thyme in an area called "Mesopotamia". The first written record of the use of spices in food was found during excavations in Egypt. In these records from 3500 B.C. It is reported that mustard has been used as both a flavoring and a preservative. It has also been proven that the history of spices begins in the "Far East".

The fact is that most of the spices were traded along the Silk Road. What sounds more romantic back then had more of an economic background. Spices have been mentioned and traded in written sources for thousands of years. In the 13th century, spices were as valuable as gold and had replaced money as a means of payment. In the past, the countries and the trade routes in which the "spice trade" was carried out grew richer, e.g. Venice and Genoa. The spices brought by camel caravans and ships from Asia to the Middle East and from there to the west were the most valuable commodities on the trade routes known as the "Silk Road" (blue), "Spice Road" (red) and "Fur Road" (green).

In ancient times, the wealthy merchants of the East brought the spices to Rome in large caravans. During Roman times, spices were used to decorate the aroma of dishes served at banquets. But not just to flavor dishes. Also laurels that crowned the heads of the Olympic heroes. Oils used after bathing. Wines that have been flavored with spices. Or the use of incense in holy places was brought to Europe on these trade routes. The story of the spice is intertwined with the history of mankind. Nowadays, spices no longer play a major role in international trade. The cultivation and trade monopolies have disappeared. Because of the abundant and affordable offer, spices are no longer of particular value. What has remained, however, is the touch of the distant and exotic that has always been attached to the spices.