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Medieval Blogs

The criteria for being listed as a spice source on this page are a bit complicated. Of the spices commonly used in medieval European cooking, there are seven that are not usually found in local US grocery stores. If a spice merchant carries at least four of these seven spices then they will be added to the list.

The seven "Must Have" spices are:

ceylon cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum)
cubebs (Piper cubeba)
galingale (Alpinia officinarum)
grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta)
hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis)
saffron (Crocus sativus)
saunders / red sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus)

(see the list of spice merchants included in this directory)



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Alexander
Alexander - Wikimedia Commons

Alexander

(Smyrnium olusatrum)

Also known as: Black Lovage


Available from:

The Spice Shop (UK)


Notes:
It's not clear that the lovage sold by The Spice Shop is Alexander / Black Lovage.


Search: Find recipes that reference Alexander in medieval cookbooks.



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