Review

Advance praise for The Taste of Conquest

ÔÇ£As a chef I have always been deeply intrigued by the mystique of spices. Michael KrondlÔÇÖs book awakens and transports the reader into this mysterious world, showing us how our lives and history have been transformed by the sensuous odors of cardamom, nutmeg, and turmeric.ÔÇØ
ÔÇôGray Kunz, chef and owner of Cafe Gray and Grayz, co-author of The Elements of Taste,

ÔÇ£Michael KrondlÔÇÖs new book on the spice trade peeks behind the usual histories of Venice, Lisbon, and AmsterdamÔÇôand tells a tale that is at once witty, informative, scholarly, and as consistently spicy as its subject. In short, itÔÇÖs delicious!ÔÇØ
ÔÇôGary Allen, food history editor at LeiteÔÇÖs Culinaria and author of The Herbalist in the Kitchen

ÔÇ£With a dash of flair, and a pinch of humor, Michael Krondl mixes up a batch of well-researched facts to tell the story of the intriguing world of spices and their presence on the worldwide table. This is a book that every amateur cook, serious chef, foodie, or food historian should read.ÔÇØ
ÔÇôMary Ann Esposito, host/creator of the PBS cooking series Ciao Italia

ÔÇ£The Taste of Conquest is the savory story of the rise and fall of three spice-trading cities. It is filled with rich aromas and piquant tastes from the past that still resonate today. Michael Krondl serves up this aromatic tale with zest and verve. This book isnÔÇÖt just for historians and spice loversÔÇôitÔÇÖs for all who love good writing and great stories.ÔÇØ
ÔÇôAndrew F. Smith, editor of The Oxford Companion to American Food and Drink

ÔÇ£In common with the finest food writersÔÇôElizabeth David, Mark Kurlansky, Anthony BourdainÔÇôMichael Krondl shows a respect for the details of the past that never slays his appetite for the realities of food now. His love of history, travel, and food is as compelling as it...

Product Description

The smell of sweet cinnamon on your morning oatmeal, the gentle heat of gingerbread, the sharp piquant bite from your everyday peppermill. The tales these spices could tell: of lavish Renaissance banquets perfumed with cloves, and flimsy sailing ships sent around the world to secure a scented prize; of cinnamon-dusted custard tarts and nutmeg-induced genocide; of pungent elixirs and the quest for the pepper groves of paradise.

The Taste of Conquest offers up a riveting, globe-trotting tale of unquenchable desire, fanatical religion, raw greed, fickle fashion, and mouthwatering cuisineÔÇôin short, the very stuff of which our world is made. In this engaging, enlightening, and anecdote-filled history, Michael Krondl, a noted chef turned writer and food historian, tells the story of three legendary citiesÔÇôVenice, Lisbon, and AmsterdamÔÇôand how their single-minded pursuit of spice helped to make (and remake) the Western diet and set in motion the first great wave of globalization.

In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the worldÔÇÖs peoples were irrevocably brought together as a result of the spice trade. Before the great voyages of discovery, Venice controlled the business in Eastern seasonings and thereby became medieval EuropeÔÇÖs most cosmopolitan urban center. Driven to dominate this trade, PortugalÔÇÖs mariners pioneered sea routes to the New World and around the Cape of Good Hope to India to unseat Venice as EuropeÔÇÖs chief pepper dealer. Then, in the 1600s, the savvy businessmen of Amsterdam ÔÇ£inventedÔÇØ the modern corporationÔÇôthe Dutch East India CompanyÔÇôand took over as spice merchants to the world.

Sharing meals and stories with Indian pepper planters, Portuguese sailors, and Venetian foodies, Krondl takes every opportunity to explore the world of long ago and sample its many flavors. The spice trade and its cultural exchanges didnÔÇÖt merely lend kick to the traditional Venetian cookies called peverini, or add flavor to Portuguese sausages of every description, or even make the Indonesian rice table more popular than Chinese takeout in trendy Amsterdam. No, the taste for spice of a few wealthy Europeans led to great crusades, astonishing feats of bravery, and even wholesale slaughter.

As stimulating as it is pleasurable, and filled with surprising insights, The Taste of Conquest offers a fascinating perspective on how, in search of a tastier dish, the world has been transformed.

From the Hardcover edition.