Garlic, chili peppers, onions, olives, a list which can go on and on. What flavours these delightful natural treasures add to so many dishes all over the world! The markets of France, Spain and Italy display many kinds of vegetables, herbs, fruits and spices to satisfy the most discriminating taste.
Garlic, Allium sativum, is a most useful member of the onion family. The entire plant is edible, although the 'bulb' is the most popular. The bulb breaks down into smaller sections called 'cloves' and is used to flavour many dishes.
Garlic has a very distinctive odor, a spicy taste and is easy to grow. For centuries it has been lauded as a medicine that prevents heart problems, high blood pressure and even cancer. Connoisseurs of...
... vampire stories and movies will know that garlic is indispensable to ward off evil.
Chili peppers probably did not arrive in Europe until Christopher Columbus brought them to Spain from the West Indies in the late 15th century. Archeologists have found evidence of chili pepper cultivation over 6000 years old in Ecuador.
Chili is known as chile or chilli, but however it is spelled the fruit or pepper is hot, hot, hot! Belonging to the Capsicum family, it can be considered a vegetable or a spice, and like garlic has some medicinal uses.
Olive trees have been mentioned in Homer's Odyssey and often in the Bible, which is understandable, because the tree, fruit and oil is native to the Mediterranean area. Any dish,in this region, whether cooked meat or a raw salad will somehow be associated with olive oil and have a special Mediterranean flair.
While visiting Florence, Italy, be sure to stop by the Central Markets as a wide selection of garlic and chili peppers can be found.
Dried chillies, garlic and other produce at the Mercato Centrale (Central Markets) in the City of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Province of Florence, Region of Tuscany, Italy, Europe.
Garlic and chili peppers can be found at the Mercato Centrale in Florence, Italy and in similar markets all over Europe.
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