Spice Up Your Life, It’s Good For You
Ah, spices… They can give depth to any dish by enhancing its flavor. But they also have a variety of functions beyond improving taste. Not only are spices are valued for medicinal purposes, but also because they kill food borne microorganisms by inhibiting toxin growth. Before I explore, analyze, and discuss the role of spices within the context of food and culture in the D.C. area, I should first begin with a definition.
For this project, I visited five grocery stores- Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Safeway, Streets Market, and Capitol Supermarket- in the Northwest area of D.C. and did optical observations and analysis on commodity of my choice: spices. In my first blog post, I purposely did not define spices in order to avoid confining my optical observations and field notes to align with a particular definition. But it is now time to address and define this subcategory of food. In the literature, most scholars seem to agree that “the term spice refers to any dried plant product used primarily for seasoning, be it the seed, leaves, bark or flower” (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 8). Furthermore, “each spice has a unique aroma and flavor that derives from ‘secondary compounds,’ chemicals that are secondary (not essential) to the plant's basic metabolism” (Sherman & Flaxman 2001, p. 142), which are important components that contribute to the enduring value and function of spices.
If one of the functions of spices is to kill toxic microorganisms, which subsequently protects humans from food-borne disease, it is no wonder that spices are so popular and high in demand across the world. This importance became evident in my fieldwork through the sheer quantity and selection of spices in the five grocery stores I explored. The five sites, which were all located in the Northwest area of D.C., all differed in their spice selection, pricing, packaging, and location. While the variety and amount of spices differed across all five grocery stores, each one contained an aisle, or section, exclusively for spices and seasonings. One overarching and consistent observation had to do with the amount of space dedicated to popular and commonly used spices, such as garlic powder, allspice, oregano, cumin. In all five grocery stores-- Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Capitol Supermarket, Streets Market, and Safeway-- at least one of those listed spices was in abundance and easily identifiable within the spice aisle (placed at eye level or spread out across one row). Unsurprisingly, this is not random. According to Sherman and Flaxman’s (2001) research, who predicted that spices used in cooking should exhibit antimicrobial activity, “the four most potent spices- garlic, onion, allspice and oregano- killed every bacterial species tested,” (p. 143) which was evidently reflected through the volume and space dedicated to those particular items in the five grocery stores I visited. What I initially believed was a ploy to entice customers to buy larger quantities of basic yet essential spices was actually consistent with the finding their potency is extremely effective in killing toxic bacteria found in food and other spices.
Another consistent observation across all five supermarkets was an overall emphasis and preference for selling organic spices, which I didn’t quite understand until I began reading about spice contamination. Contamination in spices can occur in a number of ways, one of which is through mycotoxins (mold), especially if a spice is dried on bare ground (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 9). Additionally, spices like coriander, paprika, and chilis can also become contaminated through storage pest infestation (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 9). In order to avoid pesticides and/or chemical contamination, organic spice farmers dedicate/spend additional time and energy (getting certifications, partnering with producers, shorter harvesting periods, not drying their own spices) to ensure the proper growth, quality, and packaging of their spices prior to exportation (Pepping Up Production 2009, p. 8). This phenomenon thus explains and is consistent with the price spike that accompanies most, if not all, spices labelled as organic across all grocery stores, especially in Streets Market, where organic spices were twice as expensive as in Whole Foods or Safeway.
Something that increasingly perplexed me as I visited the grocery stores was the relatively small amount of spicy or hot spices sold, such as curry powder (it was stocked but with little to no variety), aleppo pepper (did not find in any store), cajun (only sold at two of the five grocery stores!), chiles (most grocery stores sold it but the variety was underwhelming), or berbere (only at Whole Foods). After reading Sherman and Flaxman’s research (2001), who postulated that “the use of spices should be greatest in hot climates, where unrefrigerated foods spoil quickly” (p. 144), the lack of hot spices began to make sense given Washington D.C.’s climate and geography. Located in a humid subtropical zone characterized by cold winters and hot and humid summers, Washington, D.C. is not subject to immense contamination or spoilage, which might explain the relatively low presence and variety of spicy spices sold in various grocery stores, and that’s not accounting for the increasing presence of foreign populations. Capitol Supermarket, for example, was one of two grocery stores (the other one being Whole Foods) that included an immense selection and variety of hot spices for its customers, which may reflect the presence and cuisine preferences of Latino populations in the area.
Unlike Whole Foods, Capitol Supermarket, and Trader Joes, Safeway and Streets Market were the two most ‘neutral’ stores in the sense that they didn’t seem to cater their products and prices to specific populations. Given the selection, location, arrangement, and pricing of the grocery stores and their spices, I gathered that the Capitol Supermarket spice selection is tailored to Latinx groups and people of lower socio-economic status (cheap pricing, wide selection of Central and South American spices); Whole Foods spices are for avid home cooks and foodies, college students, and individuals from higher socio-economic status (ethnic and organic spices, medium to high pricing); and Trader Joes spices are for college students and individuals who don’t have time to prepare and cook elaborate or complex dishes (cheap pricing, small quantities, little spice variety). By contrast, the spice selection in Safeway and Streets Market did not seem to have selections tailored to particular populations or cuisines, although one could argue that the ridiculously overpriced spices in Streets Market are not affordable or economically effective for populations of lower socio-economic status.
Food, which is essential for survival, is also deeply embedded in culture, identity, customs/practices, history, health, geography, and lifestyle. Spices, which are a small but significant feature of food preparation and consumption across the world, provide a window for studying food and culture by revealing underlying social, medicinal, and sensorial functions and values of seasonings within a particular society, community, or group. While this fieldwork project exclusively focused on the distal (receiving) end of the food supply chain, i.e. grocery stores, I gained a lot of knowledge almost exclusively through optical observation, which allowed me to make sense of a variety of questions and topics I address in this culminating piece.
Works Cited
Sherman, Paul W. and Samuel M. Flaxman. “Protecting Ourselves from Food: Spices and morning sickness may shield us from toxins and microorganisms in the diet.” American Scientist, Vol. 89, No. 2 (2001): pp. 142-151. https://www.jstor.org/stable/27857437
“Spices: Pepping up production.” Spore, No. 141 (2009): pp. 8-10. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24343555