Kate Humble presents THE SPICE TRAIL for BBC Two

The Spice Trail presented by Kate Humble is a three-part documentary tracing the history of spices and premieres on BBC2 at 9.00pm on Thursday 17 February 2011.

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 world’s 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. 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.

Tune in to BBC Two on three consecutive Thursday evenings and see Kate explore the history of the spice trade, along with its mythology and usage.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00yyd1n