The Nutmeg Trail: Recipes and Stories Along the Ancient Spice Routes

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In this richly illustrated volume, Eleanor Ford uses recipes as maps as she takes readers on a culinary journey that weaves through history and around the world. She explores both the flavor profiles and the spread of spices—from cardamom to cinnamon, ginger to sumac—and provides fascinating insights such as how nutmeg unites the spice blends Indian garam masala, Lebanese seven spice, French quatre epices, Moroccan ras el hanout, and Middle Eastern baharat, lending its bittersweet, fragrant warmth to them all.

The Nutmeg Trail offers a historical account of the spice trade with invaluable advice on the use of culinary spices - how to prepare and combine them, when to introduce them, and what delights to expect.Mouth-watering.” John Keay Eleanor Ford’s The Nutmeg Trail is an illuminating and inspirational guide to the rich, tumultuous history of the ancient spice routes and how spices not only changed the course of history, but how they influence the food we eat today.” Word of Mouth Garlic Clove Curry is an even bigger revelation! Who would ever have thought to make whole cloves of garlic the main ingredient in a curry? The Sri Lankans is who and this is an absolute stonker of a dish. Despite the relatively short cooking time, the garlic cloves become sweet and tender, contrasting with the savoury curry of onion, coconut milk and spices. We loved this one so much we asked for special permission to share it (instead of one of the shortlist of recipes offered by the publisher) and they generously agreed! The eclectic collection of recipes from across the world will make the reader want to head straight into the kitchen to conjure up heady meals to share with their family and friends.” Anissa HelouThis dish seems really unusual but it’s definitely one worth trying for yourself. Don’t be put off by the large volume of garlic – it works! verifyErrors }}{{ message }}{{ /verifyErrors }}{{ Chapters are prefaced with a glorious tiger artwork featuring around it the spices covered in that chapter. I adore these and would happily hang them on my walls! The Nutmeg Trail is an enhanced look at the flavour profiles that we use in cooking to add that something to a dish. Eleanor examines how spices can be used, combined and layered—how some bring sweetness, others fragrance, heat, pungency, sourness or earthiness to create something one-of-a-kind. Chapters and recipes are divided by spice—by the fire and thunder of ginger and peppercorns, floral petals & bark, chillies, lime & lemongrass, earthy cumin & coriander, plus complex spice blends. Interspersed with the recipes are essays about ‘ The kebab empire‘, ‘ Layers of spice and rice‘, ‘ Curry and conquerors‘, and ‘ Redrawing the world‘. For those of you who love food writing as much as I do, these are a delight.

Eleanor Ford is a cook and a historian, a culinary detective and, as she says, a gastronomic archaeologist. What a deep dive this is into the world of spice. It’s a deep-dive, a culinary history, a spice library, anatomy and miscellany. And then the recipes! Recipes which allow the reader to travel from Asia to the Middle East along the spice route, taking in so much flavour and so much context on the way. It’s the green coconut hot sauce from Somalia first up for me, followed by the green peppercorn asparagus from Thailand.”– Yotam Ottolenghi InThe Nutmeg Trail, Eleanor Ford takes us on a mouth-watering culinary voyage to the fabled ‘spiceries’, those semi-mystical islands of the East Indies. A heady blend of history, adventure and deliciously authentic recipes, this book will make you hungry!” Giles Milton

How we tested

In The Nutmeg Trail, Eleanor Ford takes us on a mouth-watering culinary voyage to the fabled 'spiceries', those semi-mystical islands of the East Indies. A heady blend of history, adventure and deliciously authentic recipes, this book will make you hungry!" Giles Milton What a deep dive this is into the world of spice. . . . And then the recipes! Recipes which allow the reader to travel from Asia to the Middle East along the spice route, taking in so much flavor and so much context on the way." -Yotam Ottolenghi There are beautiful recipes along with photos and spectacular illustrations of tigers that I have fallen in love with. It’s a book that will encourage you to use the ingredients that are in your pantry and also try out new things.” Nik Sharma

A fascinating and evocative journey along the spice routes, the 'central nervous system of the world'. The author's blend of history, geography, taxonomy and enticing recipes offers a fresh look at these small, potent ingredients that bring magic to our kitchens." Fuchsia Dunlop, author of The Food of Sichuan In this richly illustrated volume, Eleanor Ford uses recipes as maps as she takes readers on a culinary journey that weaves through history and around the world. She explores both the flavor profiles and the spread of spices-from cardamom to cinnamon, ginger to sumac-and provides fascinating insights such as how nutmeg unites the spice blends Indian garam masala, Lebanese seven spice, French quatre epices, Moroccan ras el hanout, and Middle Eastern baharat, lending its bittersweet, fragrant warmth to them all. A fascinating and evocative journey along the spice routes, the ‘central nervous system of the world’. The author's blend of history, geography, taxonomy and enticing recipes offers a fresh look at these small, potent ingredients that bring magic to our kitchens.” Fuchsia DunlopOpen the cover of The Nutmeg Trail and a spice-led journey around the world awaits… It’s an ambitious book, and a deliciously successful one.” Susan Low, ‘Best World Food Writing Books’ The Independent From humankind's earliest travels, people have followed and sought out the spice routes. These maritime trading trails acted as the central nervous system of the world, enabling the flow of goods and ideas.