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Review: Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey, by Gary Paul Nabhan

Review: Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey, by Gary Paul Nabhan underlying the importance of an anthropological perspective what have we lost by entering into this Faustian bargain? And in understanding social movements as a set of multi-sited finally, how has this globalization irrevocably changed the practices. The variety of contexts explored and the attention human condition?” (p.2). given to the lived experiences of social actors (every chapter Nabhan uses spices, their trade, and four prominent trade is in fact sustained by in-depth ethnographic research) allows routes—the Silk Road, the Frankincense Trail, the Spice a very nuanced understanding of the scope and goals of dif- Route, and the Camino Real (the latter specifically for chiles ferent movements, with an attention to internal differences and chocolate)—to answer these questions throughout twelve and hierarchies within movements. The editors have done an chapters. Complementing these chapters are corresponding excellent job of maintaining an impressive level of cohesive- illustrations, recipes, and “spice boxes”: insets within each ness while presenting such a wide range of topics covering chapter highlighting a variety of spices such as “herbs, musks, many fields. fruits, and teas” (p.xiii). —Elisa Ascione, The Umbra Institute As the author uses the spice boxes to give a more specific olfactory, medicinal, and historical snapshot of the various spices, the conversation expands within the chapter and the Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey overarching questions and answers are brought forward, cre- Gary Paul Nabhan ating a well-rounded account that also includes a strong eth- Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2014 nobotanical approach. “It is possible that my own clan, the xiv + 305 pp. Illustrations. $29.95 (cloth) Banu Nebhani, may have been part of the diaspora. . . . It ap- pears that whenever the loose symbiosis between nomadic It is not often, if at all, that we are given the opportunity to be forager-herders and sedentary agriculturalists was stressed by enveloped by the sensuous aromas of spice-filled souks or natural or political pressures, something innovative and un- markets located at the farthest ends of the earth. For most, usual began to emerge out of these demographic upheav- this sensation can only be imagined and, as a result, the ori- als” (p.93). gins and stories of these plants become miniscule and only While the examination of spices or trade is not uncharted modestly comprehensible. We often settle, purchasing and territory, the approach and angle that Nabhan has taken here applying only the red-capped plastic containers available to is what sets this book apart. The subjective, storytelling na- us in the common grocery. With this sensorial sacrifice, ture of Cumin, Camels, and Caravans draws its readers in knowledge is lost and, with it, appreciation and potential. and the use of his personal experiences as he travels keeps As if to remedy this very situation, bringing us out of this de- them captivated. “After Sulaiman finishes translating my an- scending spiral, here arrives literature that feeds both mind swer, he and Mr. Nebhan banter back and forth for several and soul. Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey is more minutes. Sulaiman finally turns back toward Laurie an informative, forward-thinking book that is brilliantly voiced and me and grins. ‘He wants to know what your family trades through reminiscent narrative. It is a thought-provoking and in your shops in America’” (p.46). Any burden of heavier vivid account of author Gary Paul Nabhan’s pilgrimage to topics and a complex storyline is lifted through the ease of places that once bustled with cultural customs and economic narrative, first-person voice, and the occasional tongue-in- vitality based so strongly on the spice trade. Inspired by his cheek pun. own Arabic ancestry, Nabhan also explores a deeper mission Due to its narrative methodology, Cumin, Camels, and as he seeks to use this journey to address the roots and mod- Caravans: A Spice Odyssey succeeds in painting a picture of 109 ern effects of globalization, homogenization, and culinary places and periods that may be unreachable for most of its imperialism. readers. It vividly demonstrates with practical purpose how The introduction is an essential read as it sets a solid globalization is so inextricably linked to agricultural trade foundation for the rest of the book, acutely summarizing and, by doing so, Nabhan further proves how the intermin- Nabhan’s inspirations behind and intentions for his quest. gling of cultures and subsequent cuisines are so heavily The fact that the author is on an investigative journey with influenced by trade. Ultimately, whether inquiring readers only hypothesis in hand is evidenced here, and it is made ap- are novices, students, professionals, or longtime devotees of parent that the reader is invited to explore and theorize as Nabhan’s work, they will find a read that simultaneously well. “I am ultimately trying to answer a series of much larger enlivens and educates, as well as restores an appreciation questions. When, where, how, and through whose hands did for aromatics. the process of globalization begin? What have we gained and —Natalie Rachel Morris, Mesa Community College GASTRONOMICA SPRING 2016 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Gastronomica University of California Press

Review: Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey, by Gary Paul Nabhan

Morris, Natalie Rachel
Gastronomica , Volume 16 (2): 1 – May 1, 2016
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Publisher
University of California Press
Copyright
© 2016 by the Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved. Please direct all requests for permission to photocopy or reproduce article content through the University of California Press's Reprints and Permissions web page, http://www.ucpress.edu/journals.php?p=reprints.
ISSN
1529-3262
eISSN
1533-8622
DOI
10.1525/gfc.2016.16.2.109
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Abstract

underlying the importance of an anthropological perspective what have we lost by entering into this Faustian bargain? And in understanding social movements as a set of multi-sited finally, how has this globalization irrevocably changed the practices. The variety of contexts explored and the attention human condition?” (p.2). given to the lived experiences of social actors (every chapter Nabhan uses spices, their trade, and four prominent trade is in fact sustained by in-depth ethnographic research) allows routes—the Silk Road, the Frankincense Trail, the Spice a very nuanced understanding of the scope and goals of dif- Route, and the Camino Real (the latter specifically for chiles ferent movements, with an attention to internal differences and chocolate)—to answer these questions throughout twelve and hierarchies within movements. The editors have done an chapters. Complementing these chapters are corresponding excellent job of maintaining an impressive level of cohesive- illustrations, recipes, and “spice boxes”: insets within each ness while presenting such a wide range of topics covering chapter highlighting a variety of spices such as “herbs, musks, many fields. fruits, and teas” (p.xiii). —Elisa Ascione, The Umbra Institute As the author uses the spice boxes to give a more specific olfactory, medicinal, and historical snapshot of the various spices, the conversation expands within the chapter and the Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey overarching questions and answers are brought forward, cre- Gary Paul Nabhan ating a well-rounded account that also includes a strong eth- Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2014 nobotanical approach. “It is possible that my own clan, the xiv + 305 pp. Illustrations. $29.95 (cloth) Banu Nebhani, may have been part of the diaspora. . . . It ap- pears that whenever the loose symbiosis between nomadic It is not often, if at all, that we are given the opportunity to be forager-herders and sedentary agriculturalists was stressed by enveloped by the sensuous aromas of spice-filled souks or natural or political pressures, something innovative and un- markets located at the farthest ends of the earth. For most, usual began to emerge out of these demographic upheav- this sensation can only be imagined and, as a result, the ori- als” (p.93). gins and stories of these plants become miniscule and only While the examination of spices or trade is not uncharted modestly comprehensible. We often settle, purchasing and territory, the approach and angle that Nabhan has taken here applying only the red-capped plastic containers available to is what sets this book apart. The subjective, storytelling na- us in the common grocery. With this sensorial sacrifice, ture of Cumin, Camels, and Caravans draws its readers in knowledge is lost and, with it, appreciation and potential. and the use of his personal experiences as he travels keeps As if to remedy this very situation, bringing us out of this de- them captivated. “After Sulaiman finishes translating my an- scending spiral, here arrives literature that feeds both mind swer, he and Mr. Nebhan banter back and forth for several and soul. Cumin, Camels, and Caravans: A Spice Odyssey is more minutes. Sulaiman finally turns back toward Laurie an informative, forward-thinking book that is brilliantly voiced and me and grins. ‘He wants to know what your family trades through reminiscent narrative. It is a thought-provoking and in your shops in America’” (p.46). Any burden of heavier vivid account of author Gary Paul Nabhan’s pilgrimage to topics and a complex storyline is lifted through the ease of places that once bustled with cultural customs and economic narrative, first-person voice, and the occasional tongue-in- vitality based so strongly on the spice trade. Inspired by his cheek pun. own Arabic ancestry, Nabhan also explores a deeper mission Due to its narrative methodology, Cumin, Camels, and as he seeks to use this journey to address the roots and mod- Caravans: A Spice Odyssey succeeds in painting a picture of 109 ern effects of globalization, homogenization, and culinary places and periods that may be unreachable for most of its imperialism. readers. It vividly demonstrates with practical purpose how The introduction is an essential read as it sets a solid globalization is so inextricably linked to agricultural trade foundation for the rest of the book, acutely summarizing and, by doing so, Nabhan further proves how the intermin- Nabhan’s inspirations behind and intentions for his quest. gling of cultures and subsequent cuisines are so heavily The fact that the author is on an investigative journey with influenced by trade. Ultimately, whether inquiring readers only hypothesis in hand is evidenced here, and it is made ap- are novices, students, professionals, or longtime devotees of parent that the reader is invited to explore and theorize as Nabhan’s work, they will find a read that simultaneously well. “I am ultimately trying to answer a series of much larger enlivens and educates, as well as restores an appreciation questions. When, where, how, and through whose hands did for aromatics. the process of globalization begin? What have we gained and —Natalie Rachel Morris, Mesa Community College GASTRONOMICA SPRING 2016

Journal

Gastronomica – University of California Press

Published: May 1, 2016

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