Spices to Prevent Bacteria

It's no coincidence that the most potent spices, such as chilies, curries and garlic, seem to have evolved in countries with hot climates. Two Cornell University researchers, Jennifer Billing and Paul Sherman, took a closer look at the connection between fiery spices and their ability to combat food spoilage. Their findings confirmed that spices do combat bacteria and other food pathogens, helping to safeguard the health of people in warmer climates.

Some Like It Hot ... for a Reason

• As reported by Jane Brody in a New York Times article, the Cornell researchers discovered that the spices most favored by those who live in warmer climes inhibited from 75 percent to 100 percent of all growth in the bacteria against which they were tested. Offering greater detail on their findings, Susheela Raghavan, author of "Handbook of Spices, Seasonings, and Flavorings," reports that Billing and Sherman discovered that allspice, garlic, onion and oregano killed all bacteria against which they were tested.
  Slightly less effective were cinnamon, cumin, tarragon and thyme, which managed to knock out roughly 80 percent of all bacteria. Surprisingly, chilies worked against only 75 percent of the bacteria in the testing process. Way down the scale of effectiveness, according to Raghavan, were anise, black pepper, celery seed, ginger and white pepper, which killed only 25 percent of the bacteria tested.

High Value Placed on Spices

• In an article from the online Health Library of Fort Hood's Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Lynn Tripp writes that in the 16th and 17th centuries, these exotic condiments "were so difficult to procure that the trading of spices drove the world's economy much as oil does today." In "Tastes of Paradise," his social history of spices, Wolfgang Schivelbusch reports that medieval European families of higher socioeconomic status used the variety of their spice holdings as an indicator of their rank in society.

Antimicrobial Properties

• Chronicling the study undertaken by Billing and Sherman, Tripp reports that the researchers scoured through the traditional cookbooks of 36 countries looking to identify the spices most widely used in meat-based recipes. They pinpointed 43 spices that fit the bill. Billing and Sherman then undertook further studies in an attempt to establish which, if any, of these spices had antimicrobial properties and thus could be used to fight spoilage in dishes that contained meat, poultry or fish.
  The Cornell researchers were able to confirm that 30 of the 43 spices studied were effective to some degree against bacteria associated with food spoilage. They also observed that some of the spices studied were more effective when used in combination with other spices. Tripp suggests that this may shed light on the evolution of such spice combinations as chili and curry powders, both of which are made up of multiple spices.