Throughout the history of spice trading, fraud was a constant concern. Each spice exchange provided an opportunity for manipulation and deception to achieve financial gain. Adulteration took various forms, including replacing valuable ingredients with lower-quality ones, diluting spices with other plants, or contaminating them with unsafe substances like dyes.
Spicy Scandals of the Past: Ancient World's Food Fraud
The roots of food fraud stretch back to ancient civilizations. As early as 300 BC, regions in present-day India had strict laws against food fraud, particularly for wine and grains. Ancient Egypt had similar regulations targeting deceptive practices.
In Babylon, diluting beer with water was punishable by death. This was not about lowering the quality of beer but mainly because of the safety issues. Water was often polluted and risky to drink so beer was a safer choice. Mixing beer with unsafe water could have been hazardous for health.
A special inspector in charge of checking the quality of wine and detecting adulteration existed in ancient Athens. Sellers would sometimes add certain ingredients to make the wine taste better and seem more mature. Inspectors had to identify fake products and protect the customers.
Pliny the Elder (23–79), a renowned Roman naturalist, philosopher, and author of Naturalis Historia, delves into the issue of wine fraud in ancient Rome. Pliny also discusses diverse ways of recognizing fake herbs and spices, and methods to verify the authenticity of various natural substances, like silver. Additionally, he complains about the unreasonable prices at which India sold goods (spices) to the Romans. The prices were 100 times higher than their original cost (Pliny, Natural History, Book VI, Ch. 26).
Galen of Pergamum, a physician in the service of the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius, referred to sellers of medicines as cunning and tricky. He was probably concerned about the adulteration and substitution of medicinal herbs that were practiced by some of these sellers.
When it comes to spices, pepper was extremely popular among the Romans. Apicius, the presumed author of the cookbook De Re Coquinaria ("On Cookery"), used pepper in 349 out of 468 recipes. In his writings, Pliny the Elder claims that the trade between Rome and India was mostly based on the black pepper.
Luxurious Flavors of the Middle Ages: Spices and Social Prestige
In Ancient Rome, spices were pricey and enjoyed by the wealthy. The Romans had well-maintained and secure roads which enabled easy transportation of spices. After the fall of the Roman Empire, travel became much tougher due to wars, robbery, and neglected roads. As a result, in the early Middle Ages, Europeans did not have reliable access to spices.
When crusaders encountered Middle Eastern cuisine, the spice trade revived. Spices regained their luxury status in Europe. Traders on the hunt for spices were taking dangerous routes through the Middle East and Africa, facing pirates, raiders, religious and political conflicts, and risky sea journeys.
In medieval times, people primarily used black pepper and other spices such as cinnamon, ginger, and saffron. Less common spices like galangal, zedoary, long pepper, and "grains of paradise" were also in use, although they eventually disappeared from European tables. Additionally, sugar was regarded as a spice and was widely used during this period.
Isidore of Seville (560-636), in his influential work Etymologiae, talks about various types of pepper available in European markets and sheds light on fraudulent practices of his time. Isidore writes that fresh pepper is heavy, while old pepper is light. To deceive buyers, merchants sometimes sprinkled litharge or lead over very old pepper to make it heavier and appear fresh.
In the book Out of the East: Spices and the Medieval Imagination by Paul H. Freedman, we discover that during medieval times, the consumption of spices indicated wealth and good social standing. Even individuals with moderate wealth spent significant amounts of money on spices, amounts that might seem unreasonable by today's standards. Peasants were often ridiculed because they had never tasted any spice other than pepper.
Medieval Spice Trade: The Fraud and The Punishment
At the time, Muslims held control over both land and maritime routes, creating a dominant presence on all roads. Ongoing tensions and conflicts between Christians and Muslims were a significant challenge to trade. While the demand for spices was high, obtaining them was difficult. Therefore, the merchants were tempted to increase their profits through adulteration.
Mixing cheaper herbs with expensive ones like cinnamon, black pepper, or nutmeg could make a lot of money. Some dishonest sellers went further by adding things like nut shells, stones, or dust to spices and selling them at lower prices. Medieval trade guilds had the job of keeping an eye on spice trading to maintain its good reputation.
During that period, saffron held the title of the most valuable spice and was also highly prone to fraud. Saffron threads were frequently blended with those from similar flowers, primarily marigolds. Tasteless yellow saffron stamens were occasionally dyed red to imitate their flavorful stigmas. Deceptive practices also included storing saffron in humid locations to absorb water and increase weight or soaking it in honey or oil for the same purpose.
In the 15th century, Nuremberg, a major saffron trading city, introduced The Safranschou Code to deal with saffron fraud. According to that code, if proven guilty of adulterating saffron, fraudsters could end up in jail, face serious punishments, and even execution.
Guardians of the Arabic Markets: Deception and Retribution
In the Middle Ages, Arabian markets had inspectors called muhtasibs. Their job was to make sure all traders followed strict quality rules and behaved ethically. Cheating customers was seen as both against their religion and considered evil.
The pricier the item, the higher the chance of adulteration. Saffron, among spices, was particularly prone to tampering. One deceitful method involved mixing it with safflower. Another quite unusual tactic was using boiled chicken breasts, shredding them into small pieces, and dyeing them to mimic saffron stigmas. Turmeric also came under scrutiny in inspection manuals, with ground pomegranate skin added to increase its volume.
When rules were violated, inspectors had the authority to punish fraudsters using the whip and the turtur. The turtur was a conical hat with a turban cloth wrapped around it. If adorned with unusual items like shells or foxtails, it became a tool of punishment. Merchants found guilty of fraud had to wear these hats in public, and repeat offenders faced whipping.
In Conclusion
Across ancient times and the medieval ages, spices symbolized luxury and were susceptible to fraud. The passion for spices gave rise to both fair trade and deceptive schemes. Spice fraud has been consistently present in our history and it persists to this day. While some seek authentic flavors, others are driven to deceitfully acquire wealth. The story of spices mirrors humanity's quest for authenticity and honesty and the ongoing battle against fraud and deception.