Spices attract, heal and inspire
Spices in the Deutsche Museum in Münich? Nothing is simpler. It stands to reason. Not only that spices belong to the oldest medicinal plants of mankind and are therefore well kept in a natural science museum, but also the fact that the museum is on the River Isar – which was one of the most important trade routes for the transport of herbs, spices and medicines.
The focal point of this special exhibition shows a selection of the most important traditional herbal medicinal plants such as nutmeg, cloves, pepper, chilli and saffron until December 2002. The aspects covered extend from botanic to chemical pharmaceutical correlations, their cultural historical background, and their uses in the kitchen to technology, including spice mills.What are the ingredients that make us perspire when we are enjoying a steak with pepper sauce, or goulash with paprika or a hot and spicy chilli con
carne? Apart from pharmacists almost no one today knows that in earlier times spices were used as medicines or for their pharmaceutical properties. For hundreds of years, sage, rosemary, thyme and chilli have been used in Europe for medicinal purposes. From the Ancient World until far into the 17th Century they were considered treasures, especially in the Middle Ages when they were consumed in incredible quantities as food ingredients. Using these large quantities was not only a way of demonstrating social standing but also a demonstration of a healthy life style. Everyday health care took place in the kitchen under the motto “Every cook is half a doctor”.
In the last century, with the rapid development in scientifically-oriented chemical and pharmaceutical areas, many spices disappeared from everyday medical life. The once so multi-functionally applied plants which had been in use for hundred of years as medicines, scents, seasonings and textile dyes are now only used as food flavouring enhancers.
