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| nutmeg |
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| lychee
For the last several years, I’ve been interested in where food comes from, and have found Boston to be a ripe (food pun. ha.) environment for local foods. That said, there are just some things you can only get in the tropics, and the last two weeks in Zanzibar have featured an orgy of mango, avocado, and a half-dozen kinds of bananas. I am fostering deep affections for fruits I know I will have to leave behind, but like finding love at summer camp, sometimes you just can’t help the way you feel. Don’t worry, custard apple, I’ll write to you.
On Monday we toured a community spice farm, and I was really taken with the real live, leaf and vine versions of the seasonings lining our collective cabinets. I was surprised to find that both vanilla beans and peppercorns grow on thick vines, and that nutmeg is a soft, chalky seed before drying. Spice production represents about 20% of the economy of Zanzibar, and has historical significance in the development of trade on the island.
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