Cassell's dictionary of cookery

Spice, Mixed, for Seasoning Sauces, Stews, &C. — Take two dozen allspice, the rind of three lemons, a quarter of an ounce of mace, twelve cloves, and two nutmegs. Powder the ingredients, first separately, and afterwards together, and mix with them a saltspoonful of cayenne and three ounces of white pepper. Put the powder into a perfectly di-y and sound bottle, cork closely, and store in a dry place tiU wanted. It will retain its flavour for months. Spice, Mixed (another way),— Take three quarters of an ounce of ground allspice, three-quarters of an ounce of ground black pepper, three-quarters of an ounce of grated nutmeg, an ounce and a half of ground ginger, a dozen cloves powdered, and nine ounces of salt. Slix these ingredients thoroughly, put the powder into a dry, closely-stoppered bottle, and keep it corked for use. Spice, Mixed, for White Sauce ((see Kitchen Mixed Spice, &c.). Spice Nuts (a German recipe) .— Take four eggs and beat them up ; stir in a pound of sifted sugar, half an ounce of powdered cinnamon, a quarter of an ounce of powdered cloves, and the peel of a lemon cut very fine. Stir these ingredients together for a quarter of an hour, then add by degrees a pound of flour and two ounces of candied peel. When this is well mixed, drop the preparation on buttered tins in small lumps. Bake in a moderate oven. Spices. — Under this head are ranged those vegetable products which are fragrant to the smell and pungent to the palate. "AU the substances classed as spices are the product of tropical climates only ; none of our native plants, and no plants that come to maturity in the open air in this climate, possess sufficient aromatic flavour to be reckoned among the spices. The most valuable of these natural productions were originally found in the islands situated in the Indian Ocean, called the Spice Islands or Moluccas, and were probably conveyed from them in the most distant ages." The chief spices are pepper, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, ginger, allspice, &c. Spices, Wholesomeness of.— On the use of foreign spices we may quote Dr. Paris, in his work "On Diet." "These are not," he says, " intended by Nature for the inhabitants of temperate climes : they are heating and highly stimulant. I am, however, not anxious to give more weight to this objection than it deserves. Man is no longer the child of Nature, nor the passive inhabitant of any particular region ; he ranges over every part of the globe, and elicits nourishment from the productions of every climate. It may be, therefore, necessary that he should accompany the ingestion of foreign aliment with foreign condiment. Nature is very kind in favouring the growth of those productions which are most likely to answer our local wants. Those climates, for instance, which engender endemic diseases are in general congenial to the growth of the plants which operate as antidotes to them. But if we go to the East for tea, there is no reason why we should not go to the West for sugar. The dyspeptic invalid, however, should be cautious in their use, for they may afford temporary benefit at the expense of permanent mischief. It has been well said that the best quality of spices is to stimulate the appetite, and their worst to destroy, by insensible degrees, the tone of the stomach.