Panel 5 — Pharmacopoeia
Herbs and spices have long been seen as medicine: whether dealing with ways of combatting scurvy, a justification for consuming saffron with unleavened bread, or as healing cordials, these key…
Panel 6 — Interpreting Medieval Texts
Often frustratingly imprecise and obscure to the modern cook, medieval culinary texts nonetheless offer clues to the cuisines of centuries past: these papers explore mysterious ingredients in China as well…
Panel 7 — Structures of Cuisines
Why do certain local herbs and spices appear regularly in a cuisine, while other available seasonings are missing? Why do certain ‘flavour profiles’ emerge? These two papers approach these questions…
Panel 8 — Chilis on the World Table
Capsicums are nearly ubiquitous, appearing in many of the world’s cuisines, but capsicums signify different things depending on context. This panel explores their use as table condiments in Japan, Turkey,…
Panel 9 — Changing British Cuisine
No cuisine is static; these three papers trace changes in British cuisine, whether the early modern elevation of wild herbs, the desuetude of the savoury course, or the imperial messages…
Saturday Lunch: One Good Spice. The pleasures of a single fragrance by David Tanis and Jill Norman
David Tanis says: "A concept I have played with quite a bit is the notion of letting one spice or herb dominate in a dish, rather than a blend or…
Tea Break
To blend or not to blend, that is the question ... Over delicious saffron tea (check out David Tanis' recipe!), let's linger at the lunch table and discuss those beautiful dishes.…
Keynote by Vivienne Lo. Potent Flavours: Nutritional Practice in the Sinosphere
Dr. Vivienne Lo is a Senior Lecturer at University College London specializing in the history of Asian medicine and classical Chinese medicine. Her work explores, among other things, the social…
Tea Break
Following the keynote by Vivienne Lo, let's gather for tea, to continue discussing informally. And who knows? Our speaker may even drop in to chat. Your host will be Naomi…
Panel 10 — Contemporary Issues
Do herbs and spices have ‘terroir’ and how does this impact global marketplaces? This panel presents case studies for the development of tsiperifery pepper in Madagascar and the question of…
Panel 11 — Evidence from the Herbals
Herbals, natural histories, and medicinal writings from the 16th through 19th centuries have documented the spread of plants between Old and New Worlds—or at least that is what conventional wisdom…
Panel 12 — The Cuisines of India
The many regional cuisines of India provide a rich tapestry of culinary pleasures; these papers explore two spices that are less well-known in the West, asafoetida and stone flower (the…
