If you consider yourself to be passionate about food, then there’s a good chance you’re also fascinated by spices. The two things tend to go hand in hand — the more thought you put into what you eat, the more you start to appreciate the transformative power of certain seeds, fruits, roots and barks.
But as well as elevating your cooking, an appreciation of spices will also give you a better understanding of how different cuisines work. It’s often such a key point of distinction from region to region — after all, so many of us have grown up eating, say, chicken, but whether you prefer yours cooked with saffron, turmeric, lemongrass or cumin can say something about either where you were raised, or simply which cuisines you’ve gravitated to.
Spices have always connected the world. Whereas once they were one of the major driving forces behind vast trade routes, today they’re able to transport us to the kitchens of faraway places. In this spirit, our cover story takes us around the world via seven spices — from delicate, temperamental vanilla pods grown on the island nation of São Tomé & Príncipe to the brick-red soups and stews infused with paprika in the restaurants of Budapest. So, dive in — and while you plot your next culinary adventure, perhaps it’s time to consider a bigger spice rack, too.

Glen Mutel, editor

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