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Christmas Spices

© Audrey Stallsmith

For three of the other incense spices--cassia, cinnamon, and stacte--the inner bark is harvested. Cassia and cinnamon are closely related, the former being cinnamomum cassia and the latter cinnamomum zeylanicum. (I will cover the cinnamons more extensively with the baking spices later in this article.) Stacte belongs to the same family (liquidambar) as the American sweet gum. Its inner bark is pressed to remove a semi-liquid balsam. Onycha is believed to be cistus ladaniferus, an ornamental whose flowers are as lovely as its scent.

The only one of the incense spices that would be hardy here in PA is acorus calamus or sweet flag. Also known as gladdon, myrtle grass, or cinnamon sedge, it flourishes in swampy conditions and won't flower unless actually growing in water. People once nibbled on bits of its rhizome to soothe their stomachs.

Most of the baking spices are native to Asia or to tropical islands. Some, such as ginger (zingiber officinalis) and turmeric (curcuma longa), are derived from the rhizomes of plants. Those two related roots might almost be considered too good to be true, since they treat a wide variety of ailments.

Both are blood-thinners and antifungals that also relieve indigestion and pain, lower blood pressure, protect the liver, and help prevent cancer and heart disease. Ginger is probably the best remedy around for nausea, vomiting, morning sickness, and motion sickness-one study proving it even more effective than Dramamine! In the good old days people consumed the spice, wrapped in bread, after a big meal to ward off digestion problems. (The ancient version of Tums, perhaps!) Eventually somebody got the bright idea of including the spice in the bread's ingredients, and gingerbread made its debut.

Ginger beer, the forerunner of ginger ale, was also very popular. In my family, we quaff ginger ale as a remedy for nausea. (This only works, of course, if the soda is naturally flavored.) I also pop a couple ginger capsules with any meal that includes baked beans or other hard-to-digest dishes. Ginger breaks fevers and dispels mucous too. As a hot compress, it relieves muscle stiffness and pain as well as congestion.

Turmeric is found in curry powders and prepared mustards. Mixed with a little oil and applied externally, it is the premier herbal treatment for all kinds of skin problems, including acne, dermatitis, and diaper rash.

Most of the other baking spices come from the seeds, fruits, or bark of trees. Almost all of them are antiseptic and antifungal, and many are rich in a compound called eugonol that aids digestion and relieves pain. Among those is pungent cassia, the "inferior" of the two cinnamons, which generally spices meats and curries. Sweeter zeylanicum is the cinnamon we commonly add to desserts and breads.