@@craigelkin53 You insult an entire people, disregard their culture, and then can't even spell tradition correctly. Even when phones, tablets, and pc's all have spell and grammar checkers...amazing.
One of the most humbIe cuIture manipulated. It has its own ancient and iconic culture to be proud of with temple elephants for example that naturally inspired the East Indies.
Very nicely made documentary. The Snake boat race is from the banks of the Pamba river, my native place. I notice many familiar faces in this video. Pepper vines in my village have almost all been destroyed by the floods in 2018.
I worked with people from India in the software industry, and they told me about the flooding. Sounded very bad. I remember Karala was one of the main states hit? I suppose it will take years for the pepper to regrow.
@@Princesslaya90 Thank You for the concern. Unfortunately pepper wines are difficult to grow. My village being on the river bank is very prone to floods. The 2018 floods followed by the Pandemic have devasted Kerala. Ot is going to take years to recover normalcy.
I love this documentary. What we take for granted in our kitchen has an extensive labor behind it. We are lucky in this day and age that we can access the spices in a local supermarket near us.
in Borneo (Sarawak}, pepper berries are only harvested when ripe. young pepper berries are fragile even if had been dried, and shelf life is short. peppers are planted systematically in rows with a hard wood as supporting pole (about 10-12 feet} for each vine of pepper. matured pepper berries have higher market price. in Borneo,we don't plant peppers in the jungle or take the wild trees as poles, cos wild plants will rob away the nutrients from the pepper plant.
In Kerala also they are harvested ripe. I don't know, why they showed harvesting raw berries, maybe for shock effect or camera value. Me from Kerala, was cringing at the experience of somebody wasting perfectly viable peppercorns for a video
Sri Lanka was not known as Ceylon at the time. It was likely called Heladiva/ Helabima / Sinhaladipa by the locals. It was known by Arabs as Serandib and the Persians as Serendip at the time (fun fact: the word serendipity, meaning an unexpected but happy/ fortunate discovery, is derived from this). The Portuguese called the island Ceilao (likely derived from old Greek and Roman names), which may have been a root of the later name Ceylon.
While it is indeed a good and fun show to watch,reality and history are a little bit different indeed. And in no way to diminish what Kate Humble and her team did,also here reality is quite different. There is No 1st grade cinnamon on the local market. never mind what these spice peddlers are telling you. because that will fetch a premium on the export market, no local or even western Tourist will pay. When you buy 1st grade PREMIUM Cinnamon, you get only one long piece of bark and that rolled up tightly. The little pieces that are being stuffed in sa shown her, are already 2nd grade, And for the tourist and local market. Have you also noticed when Kate said that leaves are tasting and smelling of (either) Cinnamon or Pepper?. The western buyer wants to have cheap products. The producers of sweets or the likes even cheaper ones. And as song ist taste of cinnamon or pepper, when it is in a finely ground form, do we REALLY know or care where it comes from? Leaves or sticks or stalks, the main thing it is cheap... many years ago,as a young Chef, i had the privilege of a tour of Sri Lanka with a private Chef, who also showed me the things that no TV crew will ever see. Nothing bad, or dirty or some foul tricks. Just the facts. And the did, do and will differ from what we see on TV...
@OOOUZ The earliest mentioned name is for Thambapanni, which might be where Taprobane was derived from. The Hela/ Sinhala part came once the original settlers from India became more established (Simhala is the name given to the island even in the Bhagavata Purana). Eelam or Eelamka is thought by some to be a derivation of Lanka, which is thought to mean 'island', though some scholars argue that it started by referring to a specific caste.
@@shamaliwije4872 so from where the name Sri Lanka originated. Ramayana? Also what is cinnamon called in Sinhala? Here in kerala we call it karukapatta
@@ganh222 we call it Kurundu . Cinnamon harvesting is ancient Sri Lankan practice. Wonder how the kerala people do it? Is it the same method as Sri Lanka
I love you and the people you interacted with!!💞💕💓💕💞I'm a chef in Albuquerque, New Mexico and have taught Culinary Arts for over 20 years and cooked for over 55 years. The final paper for Culinary I was the Spice Report. I've read 100s of them and thought I had heard and read it all!!! But your personal stories of the people doing the work was fascinating and heart breaking. The way the medical aspect was woven into the story was fantastic and gives a whole different aspect to the importance of these precious spices to the world. I will always use the stories of the people in my teaching from now on. And will play this video on the day the reports are handed in. It is a wonderful documentary in all aspects of production, the host, the breathtakingly beautiful videography, the interesting and human story, and information about the spices!!! Thank you so much💞💕💓💕💞
@@TrapperAaron As a New Mexico licensed level 2 teacher with a Masters degree copy right laws say I can show a video if it's for educational purposes. Thank you for your concern.
This is a very underrated channel. I love learning about the history of different foods and spices. It has shaped the world we know today in more ways than people can imagine.
This is the kind of video I'm really interested in, that's why I liked Good Eats so much. I have intersecting interests in science, food, and history so this is right up my alley. ♥
and she for sure deserves a few more thumbs up. BUT Kudos also to the film tem. They for sure must have had sometimes a hard time catching up and follow with all her enthusiasm!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
My pepper grinder broke and I tried to buy another but they are so poorly made now, it broke too, so now I grind my pepper fresh in my mortar and pestle. I don’t think I will go back to another way - it is just so delicious. I learned how to make perfect spaghetti carbonara this summer with lots of freshly cracked fragrant black pepper.
This was beautifully done and I’m ashamed of never finding out where these things come from until now! I’m sorry people are saying they felt she was disrespectful, because I felt the opposite! She did a great job showing the hard work, time and care put into their craft and the honor of that, as well as the painful consequences. She also did a great job of helping (especially the women) relax, which is hard for anyone when you can’t speak the same language. God bless the people of India and Sri Lanka 🇮🇳🇱🇰
I made a comment about her just grabbing things off people's shelves, I went through the comments and saw most people that had a problem with her, was for much the same reason. I believe they are Americans, like myself. Don't misunderstand, I think she's a cute lady and she seems really nice, but I would cringe every time she would just insert herself into a situation including actually shoving her nose into the spices. Most Americans would ask permission before handling other people's items. I've seen British hosts do this on other shows, so I wonder if it is something common in the u.k. or if it's just for t.v., when I see Americans or Australians on shows like this they usually say something like "may I ?" first. Those guys were chopping trees and she's like "I'm going to go have a look" and was walking over to the workers before the guy could even say "ok".🙂
D Ket I agree about the “may i” part, but they did know what she was there to do and agreed to it. I always cringe when I see (usually a Brit) not asking permission, but that’s just a cultural thing. My comment was more directed at the people leaving comments saying she was treating people like trash and even brought race into it. I just find that to be disgusting. Apart from perceived manner differences, she did an excellent job. ✌️
@@MayimHastings yes, I'm quite sure there was a lot of pre production set up and so they knew she was going to do these various things, I was really talking more about how it looks to me, the viewer. I assume that while it is staged, they want it to look natural and spontaneous, and so they have her just doing it the British way...(maybe?). As for the others, I did see where people have a problem with the optics of a British person, like riding an elephant, while the Indian people walk, because it can seem like she is in a position of power, and britan did subjugate India at one time. For me I just see those guys like taxi drivers, it's their job to lead the elephants and they would be walking no matter what race person was riding. I wouldn't want any English people to think I have any ill will towards them, I really would like to know if that's a cultural thing, or if it is unusual, I'm kind of what ever a weeaboo for British people would be called.😁
@@oldleatherstocking3185 Since you yourself commented that you had the impression people who were negatively impacted were mostly American, maybe it is just a different culture of making, as well as viewing documentaries. I don't want to generalize, but in my experience most US productions, by neccessity are way more commercially oriented than productions done by the BBC or other European production companies, that are usually collaborations between several countries. My native Germany's ZDF is involved in a lot of these efforts and i've seen similar scenes in their documentaries. Maybe Brits and other Europeans are just assuming their audience will realize this is a previously set up situation where permission has been given in advance off camera and don't pay too much attention to trying to give the appearance of everything just happening as it would in a situation aimed more at storytelling. It's more like a lecture given to students with a huge budget for illustrating stuff, to them. US productions need to have a lot more of an entertainment value, so you'll definitely want to stay on and find out how the story goes on after the next commercial break. Maybe that different take on production and pace subconsciously creates different viewing expectations if you're more used to that approach to things. That in itself is of course neither a good or a bad thing, but it might explain the different perceptions people have on the matter.
There is a root from a tree that grows near where I live in Eastern North America. It's often used as a spice. The Sassafras Tree has three distinct leave shapes and when you inflict trauma onto the plant and mash the leaves, they release a aroma that smells like Root Beer, a soda drink from around here. The roots and young plants used to be used to make the soda and an older drink called sarsaparilla. The Tree might have carcinogenic properties and synthetic substances replaced it as the main ingredient in the commercial market but you can still make it the traditional way just know that your house will smell like root beer for a good two days!
We used to make homemade root beer at home when I was a child. Dad bought a new, clean, full sized plastic trash can for the mixing. Root beer extract, water ,5 lbs of sugar, and brewer’s yeast. He used a plastic tube to siphon the mixture into bottles, capped each bottle with a bottle capper and left them in my room to ferment. (I had plenty of room) it was fine-however , very now and then a bottle would pop the top off in the middle of the night. These were large glass bottles so it would make a deep “boom” sound. Usually at 3 in the morning
That’s because the consumers in a free market naturally want quality product at the cheapest prices possible. Same with the companies that sell them to the consumers. They look for quality at the cheapest prices possible from competing farmers and farmers compete with one another to sell their products. Humanity naturally want the most for the lowest cost, you probably do the same thing.......
Hi Kate! This is amazing. Never thought I would find Sri Lanka in your documentary. I am sure it was adventurous being there. Thanks for detailed explanations and diving into the roots of these amazing two spices!
Kate has given a professional touch in in this video. She has spent a lot of time in collecting the information by personally visiting places of origin with lot of historical evidence. Hope our News papers can learn a lot from this documentary. This video is a refreshing change.
What a deliteful doco. I learnt many things. A joy to watch, and so well crafted, I can almost smell the spices. . . Well done Kate. . . Blessings. . .
i dont take black pepper for granted, mind you. it has a very distinct and profound flavor, i am not fooled by its price and abundance. its perhaps the best tasting spice in the world
Yes, I am saddened by this, too. They do all the hard work for so many hours during the day with their aching backs for so little money while the filthy rich who exploit them can stay in bed all day and make so much more money just for being wealthy.
Sri Lanka is inexpensive beautiful and has extremely friendly people. I had decided once I left they are to retire there. However I am now in an electric wheelchair and the town's anyway are not wheelchair friendly. I was able bodied when I lived there. I could live in one of the villages but not in one of the Cities.
Black pepper grows wild in Ghana where in the Ewe language it is called "ca-gee". A squirrel is called "ca-gee a-doi", which means, small animal that hides among pepper vines.
I didn’t expect to finish this documentary, but it was very well done and it kept me engaged throughout. I was simplyeating a dish that I usually add a lot of black pepper to and wanted to watch something about pepper, but by the time she was done with pepper and on to cinnamon (real Ceylon cinnamon, not cassia) I was hooked. Well done.
The Ivory Throne, is a great read about how the Portuguese and other European traders systematically destroyed the Kerala's spice trade with rest of Asia. Paving way to the future coloniziation of rest of India.
@@RagingDong Nop...kerala was never indaved by the mughals nor did they get close to it...kerala had islam from the time of muhammed and the first mosque in india was built in kerala by hindu king sign of honor the trade relation with Arabs but Kerala was never invaded by Arabs.
As a chef of some 50 years, I love her style, her presentation, and her humanity. The Information is spot on, probably as I agree with here. I just wonder why she did not make the distinction between canola and cinnamon. Personally, I think there should be a REQUIREMENT that each be labelled properly!
This a common trend amongst many other commodities like coffee or cocoa. People who grow and harvest live in poverty, and the middleman live like kings. We westerners, just want to drink our cup of coffee, or hot cocoa and do not care about the harsh life those who haverst have. The same with clothing made in poor countries (like India or Sri Lanka).
If only the corrupt governments those people lived under would stop being so God damn corrupt and Actually enact regulations, worker health and safety laws, if only those places stepped away from socialism and gave their local farmers land rights. Their plight is not our doing. Period. All these countries have the potential to capitalize on their vast mineral and agricultural wealth, yet their people live in abject poverty...and somehow your knee jerk reaction is to place the blame on the west? The main issue, besides ineffective and corrupt governments is those people don't have land rights. So the literal and figurative fruits of their labor do not benefit them. One other thing you can easily blame are the companies in the west that take advantage of the farmers poor situation, and they do prioritize profit over human plight.
And sadly, the same way goes back with those who desire modern western medicine, technology and a way of life that we've developed and provide in return for in trade for such things as they can provide. Is it not? This reminds me of those who would see the downfall within the western society off which they depend and couldn't possibly survive without. Now, that's the dog that bites the hand that feeds it. The world of economics is the world of economics which is the long and the short of things. Otherwise the entire system collapses leaving the entirety of humanity back to simple survival of the fittest. Few of the whinning morons of whom would survive by any stretch.
There are collectives and cooperatives that are working to ensure a fair price to those that put in the back breaking work of providing those of us more privileged with things like coffee, chocolate, bananas, avocados...make informed choices about what you buy. Put your money where your mouth is so to speak. Often these products are a bit more costly but many still choose to turn a blind eye and buy what is cheaper
Beautifully done and I used this video for a educational class for teenage students. Thank you! They want to buy cinnamon from the farmers and pay a better price. Why 2000 percent increase and the farmers are not benefited from that money. I hope the pepper vines are coming back strong now.
The head wobble is very common amongst people over there and whilst it could be used to express disdain, it is more common to just signify affirmation. Which is probably the case here. I used to have a Sri Lankan friend who, kidding around, would solemnly rotate his head around a rigidly vertical neck, saying "if you see this, it means 'no' but if you see THIS " ... and he would relax and rotate his head in a complex figure 8 pattern "... then it means " and he'd never finish because we all burst out laughing! His greatest regret was to be away in exile whilst his country men and women tore themselves to pieces during the civil strife of the 1990's.
Of all the kinds of cinnamon I like Sri Lanken the best, it has a deeper and fruitier flavour than Asian or Mexican. It's usually the most expensive here in the USA but I don't mind a bit, it's the only one that makes my cinnamon chicken curry taste right.
In Cambodia and other South East Asian countries, they even use ripe pepper, known as red pepper. Red pepper is rare as producers have to wait much longer time. Price of red pepper is almost double that of black pepper.
Now this is how a spice documentary should be told ... subscribed..and notification hit ....lol won me me at the attempt to haggle ...as a American vet I had to learn to haggle at shops ....and had to learn not to haggle at WalMart when I got back ...I miss haggling...good show this how documentaries should be ...I wish tv was like this that
Wonderful video and Kate Humble is such a sweet gentle person. I loved watching this! How spoiled we are in the West, though. With disease ravaging pepper plantations and the rolling of cinnamon a potentially dying art, we have no idea how fragile the sources of our "simple pleasures" actually are.
not sure she's right about the peppercorn rent originating when currency (in India) was scarce, that implies high value, but 'peppercorn rent' means an insignificant amount. the phrase is English, was used in england when pepper was cheap, say when a lease was granted where the lessee paid a premium for the lease, akin to a purchase price, but for the contract to be legal a rent still had to be paid so it was set at a worthless level, one peppercorn, sometimes one rose, so that at any time the whole rent could be paid by anyone, no matter how many years were outstanding. up until the late eighties Midland Bank didn't take a "mortgage" over land when they provide a customer with a mortgage to buy, they took a 3,000 year lease instead, which included them paying a peppercorn rent.
As a fan of etymology myself, I find your comment very informative. I also note that it doesn’t take away from the point being made here that pepper was nevertheless extremely valuable and exclusive to the really well off, for a long time in history.
The mummy of Ramses II was found with black peppercorns stuffed in the nostrils, Malabar cost was trading hub ancient times, jews, Arabs , Dutch , even ancient Christians were there before the European colonisation
but i still think it's appropriate to say, peppercorn rent means low value, bit the peppercorn was once a currency so its a low currency, which is why the peppercorn was chosen, a single peppercorn at the time mughtve been technically worth something but very little, otherwise it would be called something else, but since peppercorns were once currency, a peppercorn rent would imply the use of a currency that was very low.
Love this video you have even featured my dad in this video who tells you that the demand of the pepper is more but the crops both in India and international places like Indonesia are less
Oh, you had been to my place? Glad to see the video from my birth place. Glad to see had taste of feast on a traditional banana leaf.You covered the spices route well. It was my taste of interest to do one day which I hope no one else did. Very much interesting. Through the silk route they also traded pepper, cinnamon, elephant tusk, sandal wood, redwood etc. and the merchants MEP the source as top secret to the rest of the world
So interesting to know how pepper and cinnamon are grown, harvested nd processed. Is the foot method the common way of processing, or is it doen otherwise, commercially, much like Italian wines, which are no longer mashed by feet, except for special demonstrations?
Italian wine? that's as arbitrary as saying french wines, israeli wines etc where the feet where used back in the day and not anymore or to the origins of wine of Georgia and Armenia where they still produce wines not with feet anymore but only for demonstration
Just as a point of interest, a place in Switzerland called Appenzellern where cheese is still made by hand in huge vats. I saw the procedure on a tour the factory gave. As they woman who was rolling cinnamon, there is no machine that can produce the cinnamon sticks as we buy them (although I buy it ground).
Fresh ground peppercorns are sharper in taste than the stuff in the bottles preground. So I can see how fresh dried could be very much stronger than what makes it here.
She has a sincere interest in and shows respect for all she meets, all save the middleman. The role of the middleman is among the most difficult to understand, most don't even try.
Such disparity and wars waged over another's seasonings and spices- yet a great disparity unequal to food with extra flavor or without exists. The humble crops deserve more appreciation and respect can easily be agreed on. But what of the people, in this modern age. If only America or some professional documentary group with skilled journalists could go to places like those.
long pepper in java called (cabe puyang) was abundance specially on my grandparent's village, my aunty told me when she was a child they never buy pepper because that long pepper just grow everywhere. but now it was rare and only used in traditional medicine, because it was beaten in market by white and black pepper, and it original habitant was destroyed by limestone mining, and it is very hard to cultivated because it only grow on very rich limestone soil
That was freakin fascinating. I've been visiting my local indian markets and making decent replicas of indian food like tikka masala, raita, and I'm truly in love with the origins of these cuisines.
I used to think pepper had only two places: eggs and potatoes. But lately I can't get enough of it, put on just about ev-er-y-thing. And sometimes I want so much of it I know I'll be shaking the shaker for days so I just unscrew the cap and pour it on!
There are disease resistant crops being developed regularly in places like the Agricultural Univerity in a small town called Mannuthy in Kerala, which is close to my hometown. All over Kerala, farmers often say a statement that translates to something like “I got the crop from Mannuthy” to mean they’ve got the latest bio-engineered version of some crop.
The Spice! The Spice melange! Lol seriously though this was good I learned some things as always. And I swore she called that area they grow pepper a dookie? Lol a pepper dookie, that is definitely a new one.
This lady is an amazing traveler. Very friendly, polite and respectful of cultures and people. I hope she does well in her travels
i love this about her too!
She is very Humble
She should be polite, centuries of colonialism is long over. Is it?
@@d.l.c7456 ikr its the bare minimum
I really like her as well!
I’m from Kerala and it’s nice to see people like Kate who immerses herself in the culture. Well done documentary.
GIMME THAT PEPPER, I KNOW AN ENGLISHMAN!!!
Lol "culture" aka non existant apart from one traddrion
@@craigelkin53 You insult an entire people, disregard their culture, and then can't even spell tradition correctly. Even when phones, tablets, and pc's all have spell and grammar checkers...amazing.
And I thought she is completely out of her mind when I saw her cheering on the members of her team when they were chanting in the temple.
One of the most humbIe cuIture manipulated. It has its own ancient and iconic culture to be proud of with temple elephants for example that naturally inspired the East Indies.
Very nicely made documentary. The Snake boat race is from the banks of the Pamba river, my native place. I notice many familiar faces in this video. Pepper vines in my village have almost all been destroyed by the floods in 2018.
Aw that's sad
Sorry to hear that. Best of luck to your region recovering from that.
I worked with people from India in the software industry, and they told me about the flooding. Sounded very bad. I remember Karala was one of the main states hit? I suppose it will take years for the pepper to regrow.
That’s so sad 😞
@@Princesslaya90 Thank You for the concern. Unfortunately pepper wines are difficult to grow. My village being on the river bank is very prone to floods. The 2018 floods followed by the Pandemic have devasted Kerala. Ot is going to take years to recover normalcy.
I love this documentary. What we take for granted in our kitchen has an extensive labor behind it. We are lucky in this day and age that we can access the spices in a local supermarket near us.
These lady has a beautiful heart and soul. God bless her
Kate certainly gives her heart and soul into her presentations.
in Borneo (Sarawak}, pepper berries are only harvested when ripe. young pepper berries are fragile even if had been dried, and shelf life is short. peppers are planted systematically in rows with a hard wood as supporting pole (about 10-12 feet} for each vine of pepper. matured pepper berries have higher market price. in Borneo,we don't plant peppers in the jungle or take the wild trees as poles, cos wild plants will rob away the nutrients from the pepper plant.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge/experience.
In Kerala also they are harvested ripe. I don't know, why they showed harvesting raw berries, maybe for shock effect or camera value. Me from Kerala, was cringing at the experience of somebody wasting perfectly viable peppercorns for a video
Sri Lanka was not known as Ceylon at the time. It was likely called Heladiva/ Helabima / Sinhaladipa by the locals. It was known by Arabs as Serandib and the Persians as Serendip at the time (fun fact: the word serendipity, meaning an unexpected but happy/ fortunate discovery, is derived from this). The Portuguese called the island Ceilao (likely derived from old Greek and Roman names), which may have been a root of the later name Ceylon.
While it is indeed a good and fun show to watch,reality and history are a little bit different indeed. And in no way to diminish what Kate Humble and her team did,also here reality is quite different.
There is No 1st grade cinnamon on the local market. never mind what these spice peddlers are telling you. because that will fetch a premium on the export market, no local or even western Tourist will pay. When you buy 1st grade PREMIUM Cinnamon, you get only one long piece of bark and that rolled up tightly. The little pieces that are being stuffed in sa shown her, are already 2nd grade, And for the tourist and local market.
Have you also noticed when Kate said that leaves are tasting and smelling of (either) Cinnamon or Pepper?. The western buyer wants to have cheap products. The producers of sweets or the likes even cheaper ones. And as song ist taste of cinnamon or pepper, when it is in a finely ground form, do we REALLY know or care where it comes from? Leaves or sticks or stalks, the main thing it is cheap...
many years ago,as a young Chef, i had the privilege of a tour of Sri Lanka with a private Chef, who also showed me the things that no TV crew will ever see. Nothing bad, or dirty or some foul tricks. Just the facts. And the did, do and will differ from what we see on TV...
Well.. even before Sinhala’pity’ya it was Eelam❤
@OOOUZ The earliest mentioned name is for Thambapanni, which might be where Taprobane was derived from. The Hela/ Sinhala part came once the original settlers from India became more established (Simhala is the name given to the island even in the Bhagavata Purana). Eelam or Eelamka is thought by some to be a derivation of Lanka, which is thought to mean 'island', though some scholars argue that it started by referring to a specific caste.
@@shamaliwije4872 so from where the name Sri Lanka originated. Ramayana? Also what is cinnamon called in Sinhala? Here in kerala we call it karukapatta
@@ganh222 we call it Kurundu . Cinnamon harvesting is ancient Sri Lankan practice. Wonder how the kerala people do it? Is it the same method as Sri Lanka
I love you and the people you interacted with!!💞💕💓💕💞I'm a chef in Albuquerque, New Mexico and have taught Culinary Arts for over 20 years and cooked for over 55 years. The final paper for Culinary I was the Spice Report. I've read 100s of them and thought I had heard and read it all!!! But your personal stories of the people doing the work was fascinating and heart breaking. The way the medical aspect was woven into the story was fantastic and gives a whole different aspect to the importance of these precious spices to the world.
I will always use the stories of the people in my teaching from now on. And will play this video on the day the reports are handed in. It is a wonderful documentary in all aspects of production, the host, the breathtakingly beautiful videography, the interesting and human story, and information about the spices!!! Thank you so much💞💕💓💕💞
3eq
U gunna get popped for copyright.
@@TrapperAaron As a New Mexico licensed level 2 teacher with a Masters degree copy right laws say I can show a video if it's for educational purposes. Thank you for your concern.
This is a very underrated channel. I love learning about the history of different foods and spices. It has shaped the world we know today in more ways than people can imagine.
I love that the temple offering of cinnamon is distributed among the poor, not burned or otherwise destroyed.
@Truth Seeker brother who you are trying to explain? ... she had already reached conclusion that it would be burned ... i wonder by what route
Me too. I thought they were about to throw it into the ocean.
I love that U love that and posted of such....and i love U😊💓
The best English documentary I have seen. She is the best narrator, appreciate her talent. Love it
This is the kind of video I'm really interested in, that's why I liked Good Eats so much. I have intersecting interests in science, food, and history so this is right up my alley. ♥
I just discovered this series and subscribed.
Same!
Kate Humble made the documentary not only informative, but also entertaining. I love her style. New fan here. ☺️
and she for sure deserves a few more thumbs up. BUT Kudos also to the film tem. They for sure must have had sometimes a hard time catching up and follow with all her enthusiasm!!👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
KATE! I love her attitude and live vicariously through her. Would love to travel with her!
Kate is an amazing story teller. I feel like im on a journey with her when i watch her documentaries. Thank you good teacher.
What a BEAUTIFUL and inspiring documentary. I'm from a whole different part of the world and yet I got teary eyed and touched. Well done!
My pepper grinder broke and I tried to buy another but they are so poorly made now, it broke too, so now I grind my pepper fresh in my mortar and pestle. I don’t think I will go back to another way - it is just so delicious. I learned how to make perfect spaghetti carbonara this summer with lots of freshly cracked fragrant black pepper.
Oxo makes good ones. I agree the mills break easy
I could see many of my villagers in the snake boat.Really amazing.
india man
It was wonderful to see them! Good health, long life, happiness and prosperity to all of you!
The most beautiful thing about us humans is our traditions. Hopefully, in another 2,000 years, we will still have them. Really good video.
This was beautifully done and I’m ashamed of never finding out where these things come from until now! I’m sorry people are saying they felt she was disrespectful, because I felt the opposite! She did a great job showing the hard work, time and care put into their craft and the honor of that, as well as the painful consequences. She also did a great job of helping (especially the women) relax, which is hard for anyone when you can’t speak the same language. God bless the people of India and Sri Lanka 🇮🇳🇱🇰
Disrespectful? I never saw that. Whoever said that must expect her to worship them or something. She was extremely upbeat, bright and nice as can be.
I made a comment about her just grabbing things off people's shelves, I went through the comments and saw most people that had a problem with her, was for much the same reason. I believe they are Americans, like myself. Don't misunderstand, I think she's a cute lady and she seems really nice, but I would cringe every time she would just insert herself into a situation including actually shoving her nose into the spices.
Most Americans would ask permission before handling other people's items. I've seen British hosts do this on other shows, so I wonder if it is something common in the u.k. or if it's just for t.v., when I see Americans or Australians on shows like this they usually say something like "may I ?" first.
Those guys were chopping trees and she's like "I'm going to go have a look" and was walking over to the workers before the guy could even say "ok".🙂
D Ket I agree about the “may i” part, but they did know what she was there to do and agreed to it. I always cringe when I see (usually a Brit) not asking permission, but that’s just a cultural thing. My comment was more directed at the people leaving comments saying she was treating people like trash and even brought race into it. I just find that to be disgusting. Apart from perceived manner differences, she did an excellent job. ✌️
@@MayimHastings yes, I'm quite sure there was a lot of pre production set up and so they knew she was going to do these various things, I was really talking more about how it looks to me, the viewer. I assume that while it is staged, they want it to look natural and spontaneous, and so they have her just doing it the British way...(maybe?). As for the others, I did see where people have a problem with the optics of a British person, like riding an elephant, while the Indian people walk, because it can seem like she is in a position of power, and britan did subjugate India at one time. For me I just see those guys like taxi drivers, it's their job to lead the elephants and they would be walking no matter what race person was riding.
I wouldn't want any English people to think I have any ill will towards them, I really would like to know if that's a cultural thing, or if it is unusual, I'm kind of what ever a weeaboo for British people would be called.😁
@@oldleatherstocking3185 Since you yourself commented that you had the impression people who were negatively impacted were mostly American, maybe it is just a different culture of making, as well as viewing documentaries.
I don't want to generalize, but in my experience most US productions, by neccessity are way more commercially oriented than productions done by the BBC or other European production companies, that are usually collaborations between several countries. My native Germany's ZDF is involved in a lot of these efforts and i've seen similar scenes in their documentaries.
Maybe Brits and other Europeans are just assuming their audience will realize this is a previously set up situation where permission has been given in advance off camera and don't pay too much attention to trying to give the appearance of everything just happening as it would in a situation aimed more at storytelling. It's more like a lecture given to students with a huge budget for illustrating stuff, to them.
US productions need to have a lot more of an entertainment value, so you'll definitely want to stay on and find out how the story goes on after the next commercial break. Maybe that different take on production and pace subconsciously creates different viewing expectations if you're more used to that approach to things.
That in itself is of course neither a good or a bad thing, but it might explain the different perceptions people have on the matter.
I had no idea a spice docu could be so interesting! And the host is delightful!
Just discovered this series on RUclips. Positively love the stories, production quality, and the host! Brilliant!
Some history about kerala, Kerala became a state only about 60 years back. Calicut , Cochin, Wayanad were all separate kingdoms
I love series like this as well. The origins of spices is fascinating.
There is a root from a tree that grows near where I live in Eastern North America. It's often used as a spice.
The Sassafras Tree has three distinct leave shapes and when you inflict trauma onto the plant and mash the leaves, they release a aroma that smells like Root Beer, a soda drink from around here. The roots and young plants used to be used to make the soda and an older drink called sarsaparilla. The Tree might have carcinogenic properties and synthetic substances replaced it as the main ingredient in the commercial market but you can still make it the traditional way just know that your house will smell like root beer for a good two days!
We used to make homemade root beer at home when I was a child. Dad bought a new, clean, full sized plastic trash can for the mixing. Root beer extract, water ,5 lbs of sugar, and brewer’s yeast. He used a plastic tube to siphon the mixture into bottles, capped each bottle with a bottle capper and left them in my room to ferment. (I had plenty of room) it was fine-however , very now and then a bottle would pop the top off in the middle of the night. These were large glass bottles so it would make a deep “boom” sound. Usually at 3 in the morning
If u finding sassafras trees there is probably ginger around as well, keep your eyes peeled. The spice must flow!
File’
@@greghemlock6679 Had to find it for my Jambalaya the other week!
I remember as a kid in south eastern Virginia coming across sassafras trees while playing and smelling that distinctive root beer scent.
It's heartbreaking, the Farmers, aren't paid fairly, for their crops!
No farmer, anywhere in the world, is paid fairly for their crops.
That's what the hand signals under the towel is for. They're not passive children.
That’s because the consumers in a free market naturally want quality product at the cheapest prices possible. Same with the companies that sell them to the consumers. They look for quality at the cheapest prices possible from competing farmers and farmers compete with one another to sell their products. Humanity naturally want the most for the lowest cost, you probably do the same thing.......
@@jontran4808 I think it's more an issue of these middle men getting a way bigger cut than the farmers and workers processing the goods.
@@jontran4808 So human nature has never changed or improved on a moral basis?
Hi Kate! This is amazing. Never thought I would find Sri Lanka in your documentary. I am sure it was adventurous being there. Thanks for detailed explanations and diving into the roots of these amazing two spices!
Kate has given a professional touch in in this video. She has spent a lot of time in collecting the information by personally visiting places of origin with lot of historical evidence. Hope our News papers can learn a lot from this documentary. This video is a refreshing change.
I’m loving this series! I especially love how she immerses herself into the culture and ways of the people who are growing these delicious spices 😊
Fascinating and so instructive. I won't see spices in the way that I have used them . Fantastic documentaries. Keep them comimg .
What a deliteful doco. I learnt many things. A joy to watch, and so well crafted, I can almost smell the spices. . . Well done Kate. . . Blessings. . .
i dont take black pepper for granted, mind you. it has a very distinct and profound flavor, i am not fooled by its price and abundance. its perhaps the best tasting spice in the world
Is chocolate a "spice" ?
*Better question* why is synthetic marijuana called "spice"?
@@ashleelarsen5002 *Better question* why did you make this comment?
@@mat4263 calling it "spice" is rude to cinnamon. That stuff is gross.
Why do you care "Mat"?
I love shows like this, very interesting. The vegetable dishes like yams etc….looks amazing !
Those two little jars in my cupboard have earned so much respect from me after watching this
We take for granted these and other spices but the knowledge and skill necessary to produce what we now take for granted is quite a story.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE freshly ground black pepper on almost EVERYTHING! It's not only a nutritious spice but a strong medicine. I literally crave pepper
As a home cook, understanding the origins of these spices is an amazing journey.
Sadly,. not all took equal parts in the riches of these spices.
Yes, I am saddened by this, too. They do all the hard work for so many hours during the day with their aching backs for so little money while the filthy rich who exploit them can stay in bed all day and make so much more money just for being wealthy.
Sri Lanka is inexpensive beautiful and has extremely friendly people. I had decided once I left they are to retire there. However I am now in an electric wheelchair and the town's anyway are not wheelchair friendly. I was able bodied when I lived there. I could live in one of the villages but not in one of the Cities.
I hope you're better now. Best wishes to you.
We are very thankful and grateful for all your efforts I watch your outstanding documentaries with respect and admiration.
This was an amazing journey. The presenter was awesome.
Fascinating! A wonderful documentary, a great way to teach world history.
please make more content like thiss, i love it. its help me to study about spices
I heard Genuine Cinnamon and Spiciest pepper comes from Sri Lanka, called as Ceylon in the past...
Black pepper grows wild in Ghana where in the Ewe language it is called "ca-gee". A squirrel is called "ca-gee a-doi", which means, small animal that hides among pepper vines.
Now I have to remember to wash my pepper before using it 😂🤣. Great documentary and so fun to watch. Love from NYC
Everybody: Too many commercial breaks!
Me: *laughs in adblocker*
I didn’t expect to finish this documentary, but it was very well done and it kept me engaged throughout.
I was simplyeating a dish that I usually add a lot of black pepper to and wanted to watch something about pepper, but by the time she was done with pepper and on to cinnamon (real Ceylon cinnamon, not cassia) I was hooked.
Well done.
The Ivory Throne, is a great read about how the Portuguese and other European traders systematically destroyed the Kerala's spice trade with rest of Asia. Paving way to the future coloniziation of rest of India.
@@RagingDong Nop...kerala was never indaved by the mughals nor did they get close to it...kerala had islam from the time of muhammed and the first mosque in india was built in kerala by hindu king sign of honor the trade relation with Arabs but Kerala was never invaded by Arabs.
Never too late to learn, thanks Kate
I'd like to know the story of ginger and horseradish next please.
As a chef of some 50 years, I love her style, her presentation, and her humanity. The Information is spot on, probably as I agree with here. I just wonder why she did not make the distinction between canola and cinnamon. Personally, I think there should be a REQUIREMENT that each be labelled properly!
Really enjoyed watching this.
i love all of the docmentaries, i hope it will be more videos, thanks a lot
This a common trend amongst many other commodities like coffee or cocoa. People who grow and harvest live in poverty, and the middleman live like kings. We westerners, just want to drink our cup of coffee, or hot cocoa and do not care about the harsh life those who haverst have. The same with clothing made in poor countries (like India or Sri Lanka).
If only the corrupt governments those people lived under would stop being so God damn corrupt and Actually enact regulations, worker health and safety laws, if only those places stepped away from socialism and gave their local farmers land rights.
Their plight is not our doing. Period. All these countries have the potential to capitalize on their vast mineral and agricultural wealth, yet their people live in abject poverty...and somehow your knee jerk reaction is to place the blame on the west?
The main issue, besides ineffective and corrupt governments is those people don't have land rights. So the literal and figurative fruits of their labor do not benefit them.
One other thing you can easily blame are the companies in the west that take advantage of the farmers poor situation, and they do prioritize profit over human plight.
And sadly, the same way goes back with those who desire modern western medicine, technology and a way of life that we've developed and provide in return for in trade for such things as they can provide. Is it not?
This reminds me of those who would see the downfall within the western society off which they depend and couldn't possibly survive without. Now, that's the dog that bites the hand that feeds it. The world of economics is the world of economics which is the long and the short of things. Otherwise the entire system collapses leaving the entirety of humanity back to simple survival of the fittest. Few of the whinning morons of whom would survive by any stretch.
They need to form a collective. And if they don't get their price, they don't get it ANYWHERE.
There are collectives and cooperatives that are working to ensure a fair price to those that put in the back breaking work of providing those of us more privileged with things like coffee, chocolate, bananas, avocados...make informed choices about what you buy. Put your money where your mouth is so to speak. Often these products are a bit more costly but many still choose to turn a blind eye and buy what is cheaper
well india is not poor. we are the 3rd largest eeconomy in the world right now.
Just a few more commercials and it be perfect.
Adblock takes care of it. I haven't seen an ad in years.
@@ShannaCarlson525 in a browser or in the app please?
uBlock Origins. Free extension for Chrome and Firefox, and blocks more than just ads, and doesn't let companies buy their way into being unblocked.
Scroll to end and replay vid.. no ads
Commercials pay for shows like this so stop complaining and be thankful you can watch and learn something.
Pepper is one of my favorite spices. It just makes everything taste good 😎🧉
Why the yerba mate emoji though?
pepper with a touch of the foot is very good 🤭
❤❤❤
Srilankan Cinnamon was never marketed like Ceylon tea using the country of origin. It was covered up for millannias so does today.
Beautifully done and I used this video for a educational class for teenage students. Thank you! They want to buy cinnamon from the farmers and pay a better price. Why 2000 percent increase and the farmers are not benefited from that money. I hope the pepper vines are coming back strong now.
that head wobble around 30:40 is a way to call someone an idiot or crazy.... ijs.
As a half-indian myself, I have to disagree. It's mostly a gesture meaning "ok", or "yeah" basically. Kinda like how we nod in the west.
ElMikeoMysterio, by that head wobble she means Yes. She did that because she cannot speak English. Indians are good people with heart❤️✌🏻
The head wobble is very common amongst people over there and whilst it could be used to express disdain, it is more common to just signify affirmation. Which is probably the case here.
I used to have a Sri Lankan friend who, kidding around, would solemnly rotate his head around a rigidly vertical neck, saying "if you see this, it means 'no' but if you see THIS " ... and he would relax and rotate his head in a complex figure 8 pattern "... then it means " and he'd never finish because we all burst out laughing!
His greatest regret was to be away in exile whilst his country men and women tore themselves to pieces during the civil strife of the 1990's.
Of all the kinds of cinnamon I like Sri Lanken the best, it has a deeper and fruitier flavour than Asian or Mexican. It's usually the most expensive here in the USA but I don't mind a bit, it's the only one that makes my cinnamon chicken curry taste right.
the srilankan one is also actually the “true” cinnamon the other variety is cassia cinnamon which is not that healthy too!
@@nimeshmendes4752 Cassia is Chinese
The Romans imported pepper from India. Peppercorns have been found in the ruins of Pompeii in large numbers.
Wow wonderful illustration of Spices mix with Art of Documentary
I liked the Tuvan throat singing at about 9:30. (near Mongolia) Very interesting on the pepper. Thank you.
In Cambodia and other South East Asian countries, they even use ripe pepper, known as red pepper. Red pepper is rare as producers have to wait much longer time. Price of red pepper is almost double that of black pepper.
How cool. Glad to learn.
Now this is how a spice documentary should be told ... subscribed..and notification hit ....lol won me me at the attempt to haggle ...as a American vet I had to learn to haggle at shops ....and had to learn not to haggle at WalMart when I got back ...I miss haggling...good show this how documentaries should be ...I wish tv was like this that
I love Kate Humble.
Wonderful video and Kate Humble is such a sweet gentle person. I loved watching this!
How spoiled we are in the West, though. With disease ravaging pepper plantations and the rolling of cinnamon a potentially dying art, we have no idea how fragile the sources of our "simple pleasures" actually are.
not sure she's right about the peppercorn rent originating when currency (in India) was scarce, that implies high value, but 'peppercorn rent' means an insignificant amount. the phrase is English, was used in england when pepper was cheap, say when a lease was granted where the lessee paid a premium for the lease, akin to a purchase price, but for the contract to be legal a rent still had to be paid so it was set at a worthless level, one peppercorn, sometimes one rose, so that at any time the whole rent could be paid by anyone, no matter how many years were outstanding.
up until the late eighties Midland Bank didn't take a "mortgage" over land when they provide a customer with a mortgage to buy, they took a 3,000 year lease instead, which included them paying a peppercorn rent.
As a fan of etymology myself, I find your comment very informative. I also note that it doesn’t take away from the point being made here that pepper was nevertheless extremely valuable and exclusive to the really well off, for a long time in history.
The mummy of Ramses II was found with black peppercorns stuffed in the nostrils, Malabar cost was trading hub ancient times, jews, Arabs , Dutch , even ancient Christians were there before the European colonisation
I must've found the same page on Google when I looked this up lol
but i still think it's appropriate to say, peppercorn rent means low value, bit the peppercorn was once a currency so its a low currency, which is why the peppercorn was chosen, a single peppercorn at the time mughtve been technically worth something but very little, otherwise it would be called something else, but since peppercorns were once currency, a peppercorn rent would imply the use of a currency that was very low.
So sad about so many suicides...
Kerala human development index is at the one of the best in the world
What is next? Clove? Tobacco? Nutmeg? Chili? Can't wait.
They did clove and nutmeg now
Love this video you have even featured my dad in this video who tells you that the demand of the pepper is more but the crops both in India and international places like Indonesia are less
PLEASE DO NOT RIDE THE ELEPHANTS. -THE MANAGEMENT
I don't exactly know why but I just chuckled immediately after reading your comment! 😅
Cheers & mabuhay from tropical Philippines!
Oh, you had been to my place? Glad to see the video from my birth place. Glad to see had taste of feast on a traditional banana leaf.You covered the spices route well. It was my taste of interest to do one day which I hope no one else did. Very much interesting. Through the silk route they also traded pepper, cinnamon, elephant tusk, sandal wood, redwood etc. and the merchants MEP the source as top secret to the rest of the world
So interesting to know how pepper and cinnamon are grown, harvested nd processed. Is the foot method the common way of processing, or is it doen otherwise, commercially, much like Italian wines, which are no longer mashed by feet, except for special demonstrations?
Labour charges are the highest in Kerala, so manual methods happen only in small farms where it would be impractical to automate everything.
Italian wine? that's as arbitrary as saying french wines, israeli wines etc where the feet where used back in the day and not anymore or to the origins of wine of Georgia and Armenia where they still produce wines not with feet anymore but only for demonstration
These countries have a feet fetish. When they cook their feet has to always be in the food.
Just as a point of interest, a place in Switzerland called Appenzellern where cheese is still made by hand in huge vats. I saw the procedure on a tour the factory gave. As they woman who was rolling cinnamon, there is no machine that can produce the cinnamon sticks as we buy them (although I buy it ground).
Mechanization in India usually means popping up and down the street and rounding up 10 more guys to help.
Terrific video! Always wondered about the history of spice
the spice must flow
@Leto Alexander you are doomed Duke Leto.
Completely fascinating I didn't know cinnamon was the inner bark
This is a wonderful series. Enjoyed it very much.
Fresh ground peppercorns are sharper in taste than the stuff in the bottles preground. So I can see how fresh dried could be very much stronger than what makes it here.
Thanks!
Thanks ... a lot of knowledge 💯 👌
She has a sincere interest in and shows respect for all she meets, all save the middleman. The role of the middleman is among the most difficult to understand, most don't even try.
Without spice, a spicey meatta ball would just be, well, a meat ball.
Joe Sigl thank you for reminding me that show exists! I haven’t seen season 3 yet, so I know what I’m watching after this 😂
It depends if it's a hot spice or not. We Northern Italians HATE hot spice.
Such disparity and wars waged over another's seasonings and spices- yet a great disparity unequal to food with extra flavor or without exists. The humble crops deserve more appreciation and respect can easily be agreed on. But what of the people, in this modern age. If only America or some professional documentary group with skilled journalists could go to places like those.
Awesome documentary...Thank yas!!❤🌍🙏
lovely woman, god bless her soul.
you look crazy kate while chanting with your boys 😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣
The pepper dance makes it "sole" food 😋 😉
long pepper in java called (cabe puyang) was abundance specially on my grandparent's village, my aunty told me when she was a child they never buy pepper because that long pepper just grow everywhere. but now it was rare and only used in traditional medicine, because it was beaten in market by white and black pepper, and it original habitant was destroyed by limestone mining, and it is very hard to cultivated because it only grow on very rich limestone soil
Proud to be Sri Lankan! 😍🥰🇱🇰
Proud to be from Kerala 😛
Sri Lankans and Malayalees are people of the same origin. Genetically identical and culturally tied people.
That was freakin fascinating. I've been visiting my local indian markets and making decent replicas of indian food like tikka masala, raita, and I'm truly in love with the origins of these cuisines.
I used to think pepper had only two places: eggs and potatoes. But lately I can't get enough of it, put on just about ev-er-y-thing. And sometimes I want so much of it I know I'll be shaking the shaker for days so I just unscrew the cap and pour it on!
She looks kind of like Elizabeth Shue. Word is that Cameroon in Africa is growing the best black pepper in the world now.
I like how she was so friendly with them.
Thank you for sharing ❤
My heart goes out to those pepper farmers. What can they do to stop this, scourge the lands by fire? IDK.
There are disease resistant crops being developed regularly in places like the Agricultural Univerity in a small town called Mannuthy in Kerala, which is close to my hometown. All over Kerala, farmers often say a statement that translates to something like “I got the crop from Mannuthy” to mean they’ve got the latest bio-engineered version of some crop.
The Spice! The Spice melange! Lol seriously though this was good I learned some things as always. And I swore she called that area they grow pepper a dookie? Lol a pepper dookie, that is definitely a new one.
That family from Vynad was so lovely.
Iam from wayanad
That Hand bargaining (14.11) still use also where I come from, west Sumatra Indonesia, at traditional cattle market.