The Forgotten Spices

Some spices disappear from our kitchens. Others disappear from memory.

The Forgotten Spices explores multiple plants that once held an important place in food, medicine, trade and ritual, but are now rarely known outside their regions or historical contexts. Silphium, costus, zedoary, mastic, grains of Selim… each has its own story.

Through illustrated profiles, the book looks at where these plants came from, how they travelled, and the ways different societies used them in everyday life. It brings together botanical history, ethnobotany and traditional plant knowledge without turning the subject into a recipe book.

A book for anyone curious about the plants we once knew well, and what gets lost when knowledge is no longer passed on.

Book Details

Format: Paperback
Language: English
Pages: 105
Size: 6 × 9 in / 152 × 229 mm
Thickness: 0.24 in / approx. 6.1 mm
Weight: 7.5 oz / approx. 213 g