From NPR: How Snobbery Helped Take The Spice Out Of European Cooking.
In medieval Europe, those who could afford to do so would generously season their stews with saffron, cinnamon, cloves and ginger. Sugar was ubiquitous in savory dishes. And haute European cuisine, until the mid-1600s, was defined by its use of complex, contrasting flavors.
“The real question, then, is why the wealthy, powerful West — with unprecedented access to spices from its colonies — became so fixated on this singular understanding of flavor,” Srinivas says.
The answer, it turns out, has just as much to do with economics, politics and religion as it does taste. [continue]
Fascinating insight into how class has affected the culinary tastes of those with British ancestry. I’m so glad that migration and globalisation have helped reintroduce us to the spicier dishes on the subcontinent and elsewhere!