The Spice Route: Cloves, Nutmeg and the Indonesian Kitchen
Cloves and nutmeg from Maluku once brought the world to Indonesia. The story of the spice route and the traces it left in the regional dishes we cook today.
Centuries ago, cloves and nutmeg grew only on a few small islands in Maluku. They were so sought after that traders from Asia, the Middle East and Europe sailed great distances to buy them. These sea lanes and trade networks are what we now call the spice route.
Cloves from North Maluku, nutmeg from Banda
Cloves come from the islands of North Maluku, such as Ternate and Tidore. Nutmeg and mace (the red lacy covering of the nutmeg seed) come from the Banda Islands. Long before Europeans arrived, these spices were traded by Indonesian, Chinese, Indian and Arab merchants.
In the early 16th century, Portuguese sailors reached Maluku, followed by the Spanish and then the Dutch. The Dutch trading company, the VOC, later tried to control the clove and nutmeg trade by force. The story shows how valuable Indonesian spices were, and it is also a reminder of a painful time for the people of Maluku.
Traces of the spice trade in our kitchens
Spices were not only shipped abroad. They also shaped the flavour of the regional dishes we still cook today.
- Cloves go into semur, gulai, biscuits and warm drinks. In Maluku, cloves and cinnamon scent bagea kenari, a hard sago biscuit.
- Nutmeg goes into soups, semur, bistik and meat fillings. A little gives a warm aroma.
- Cinnamon, coriander, cumin and pepper appear in the gulai and curries of Sumatra and Kalimantan, a result of contact with traders from India and the Middle East.
- Ginger, turmeric, galangal and kencur are rhizomes native to Southeast Asia and form the base of many pastes, such as base genep and yellow paste.
Maluku's food today
In Ternate, a popular breakfast is yellow rice with cakalang fufu (smoked skipjack). There is also gohu ikan, fresh tuna cured in citrus juice and finished with hot coconut oil. These dishes show that Maluku cooking is not only about spices but also about the sea and sago.
Storing dried spices
- Buy whole spices and grind or pound them just before use. The aroma is much stronger.
- Toast coriander, cumin and pepper briefly before grinding.
- Keep them in airtight jars away from the stove and direct sun.
Spices are a heritage that links our kitchens to world history. Every time we cook rendang or semur, we help keep that heritage alive.
