Asia; Columbus reached the Americas, the
home of chillis and vanilla, in 1492, and
Vasco da Gama reached India in 1498. The
Portuguese and then the Spanish controlled
the Spice Islands and the trade in nutmeg
and cloves until around 1600, when the
Dutch embarked on two centuries of
brutally efficient control.
As spices were planted in other tropical
countries and became cheaper and more
commonly available, they slowly faded
from their former prominence in European
dishes, persisting mainly in sweets. But at
the end of the 20th century, the
consumption of herbs and spices rose
sharply in the West. In the United States it
tripled between 1965 and 2000 (to about 4
grams per day per person), thanks to a
growing appreciation of Asian and Latin
American foods, and especially the
spiciness of “hot” chillis.The Nature of Flavor