The Spice Trail - DaaVeeDee

The Spice Trail (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Language Selections:
English ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )
English ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Australia ( PAL/Region 0 )

Running Time:
156 min

Aspect Ratio:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Anamorphic Widescreen
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 2011 and produced in:
United Kingdom ( Great Britain, Ireland )

Directed By:
Paul Sapin

Written By:
Paul Sapin

Actors:
Kate Humble ..... Herself - Presenter (unknown episodes)

Synopsis:

The Spice Trail was a TV series looking at the discovery and history of spices presented by Kate Humble, who travels around the world to see how spices are made and investigating their history. As she goes, she tells stories and interviews the people from the areas of their origin. We get to see how local economies are built upon the income from the spices and the threats to these economies such as disease, globalisation and fakes.

Experience the fascinating story of how spices shaped our modern world. The Spice Trail is a story of epic voyages, bloody wars, the birth of multinational companies and contemporary cultures around the globe. In Medieval times spices were thought to have medicinal properties that could cure disease they were also unbelievably expensive and a symbol of wealth and power. A small sack of nutmeg could buy a London town house, pepper was traded as currency (hence the term peppercorn rent) and the worlds most expensive spice saffron was and still is known as red gold. With immense fortunes to be made explorers set forth in search of these tastes of paradise and Kate Humble will be retracing their footsteps as she journeys around the globe on the trail of some of the most coveted spices in the world. Kate will uncover the story of the most heavily traded spice in the world pepper in India before heading south to the cinnamon lands of Sri Lanka a place shrouded in mystery for Europeans until the Portugese accidentally landed on its shores. In Indonesia shell journey around the fabled spice islands an archipelago of tiny volcanic islands once known as paradise on earth that drew European explorers in search of nutmeg and clove. And from the Atlas mountains of Morocco shell follow the spice trail to Spain as she reveals the story of the worlds most expensive spice - saffron before heading across the Atlantic to Mexico in search of vanilla a spice discovered by the most famous Spanish Conquistador Hernan Cortes. The Spice Trail is a journey to find out how spices shaped our modern world during on of the greatest periods of discovery the world has known and an account of the role these spices still play in the communities of the exotic birthplaces. Episode one: Pepper and Cinnamon In the first half we visit India to look at Pepper and find out that Black pepper corns are traditionally sun dried. We are told that White pepper is soaked and de-husked to make it milder. Green pepper is mentioned but not explained and Red is not mentioned at all. We see how the corns are removed by being trodden on and massaged by bare feet. We see the devastation a Fungal disease has brought to what was once the primary area of production. We also see the silent and secret negotiation language of the buyers and sellers who use their hands under a cloth to negotiate without the need for a spoken language (a kind of Tactile signing). In the second half we see small Cinnamon trees being cut in Sri Lanka. The outer Bark is scraped by hand and the inner bark is then carefully removed with a knife. The best parts are used to create an outer sheaf and the other parts are placed within. These outer sheaves are joined to each other and overlap slightly to create a standard length stick or rod known as a quill. The sticks are then rolled daily as they dry and are tied into bundles for trading and transport. Episode two: Nutmeg and Cloves In this programme we visit the Spice Islands, the original home of these two spices. In the first half we look at nutmeg and discover it has many layers. There is the outer fruit which is used for jam. When ripe the fruit opens revealing a red nut and this is the best time to pick it we are told. However in the program we see examples of fruit being cut open when it has been picked early. We see the outer red skin of the nut being removed and dried to create mace. The inner skin or black shell of the nut is then removed and discarded and what is left is the hard brown nut we call nutmeg. We also find out that Almond trees are important for shade and a species of Dove is responsible for planting most of the almonds trees and nutmeg trees. The second half of the programme looks at Cloves. We are introduced to the pink flower buds on the tall trees and are told that the best cloves are pink and not yet opened. A mixture of long poles, rope pulling and tree climbing are used so the pickers can collect the clusters of buds from all over the trees.

Season 1
Pepper and Cinnamon
S1, Ep1 Feb. 17, 2011
Kate Humble retraces the steps of 15th-century explorers as she sets out on a spice trail that takes her to India and Sri Lanka, the birthplaces of pepper and cinnamon. She begins her travels on India's 'Spice Coast', where she uncovers the story of pepper, once known as black gold and now the most consumed spice in the world. She does the pepper dance to shake the berries from their stalk, meets farmers fighting back against a disease that is devastating pepper crops, and is taught the centuries-old secret language still used by the traders who wheel and deal in the ...

Nutmeg and Cloves
S1, Ep2 Feb. 24, 2011
Kate Humble embarks on a journey around the fabled spice islands of eastern Indonesia in search of two spices that launched epic voyages of discovery, caused bloody wars and shaped empires - nutmeg and cloves. These two spices, grown on an archipelago of tiny volcanic islands, drew European explorers in search of unbelievable wealth, but also led to massacres of local people and the decimation of their culture. Kate meets the people who have rebuilt their lives and communities around the cultivation and trade of nutmeg and cloves, takes her place on one of the fastest...

Vanilla and Saffron
S1, Ep3 Mar. 3, 2011
Kate Humble's journey takes her from the Atlas Mountains of Morocco to the plains of Spain as she uncovers the story of the world's most expensive spice, saffron, before crossing the Atlantic to Mexico in search of vanilla, a spice discovered by the famous Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes. In the Atlas Mountains, October is saffron harvest month for the Berber people. Kate joins local saffron farmer Ahmed and his family to harvest their crop and visits a stunning store house carved into the mountainside. Worth 4,000 pounds a kilo, saffron is also known as red gold ...

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 11 July, 2012.