Exquisite Spices - Buy on-line in our On-line Shop

Orlandosidee Spices | Online Shop for Spices and Spice Blends

Welcome to Orlandosidee - Spices of Star Chefs - Online spice shop since 2005 for private retail and wholesale.

At Orlandosidee, we offer the finest spices, spice mixtures, fleur de sel, vanilla pods, and more. Everything your heart desires to refine your food you can find in our online shop. Furthermore, we offer Europe-wide shipping, either with GLS or Hermes. Within Germany, you have the choice between DHL and Hermes.

Your order will be shipped within 24 hours of receiving payment.

After shipping, we will send you an email with the shipping details from the company which you have selected. This will allow you to know exactly where your package is.

The World of Spices

The world of spices is exciting and delicate. People used to eat what was grown in their area. Nowadays, thanks to globalization, we have a much wider selection of foods and spices. We can create a small culinary trip around the world every day in our kitchens. Spices contribute a great deal to the enjoyment of food. They give flavor, spice, and make your food more digestible and therefore healthier. Spices are not to be underestimated. Orlando has a large number of spices to offer and we look forward to browsing with you. Many spices will be familiar to you, but some will not. We give you an extensive reference work - our website - at hand. Here, you can inform yourself about individual spices before you try them in your culinary work. We always try to describe the taste of each product offered and make you a few application suggestions. On our other website at (www.orlandosidee.de) we have published a collection of recipes and encourage you to browse through them and try something new.

What are spices?

Spice is the fresh or dried parts of plants such as leaves, fruits, seeds, flowers, bark, juice or roots of plants. These spices and herbs are not only used as a seasoning, but also for the preservation of food and as a medicine.

Seasoning

Spices in general refine the taste, as well as the appearance of meals, by their ethereal oils and aromas. A well spiced dish can become a culinary delight and enhance the taste of a simple food.

Become the spice master

You can train your sense of taste and smell. Go slowly and patiently to explore the aromatic variety of spices. Try new spices with courage and get to know the differences. Each product is explained to you on our individual pages; where it comes from, how it tastes and what you can use it for. Try it out. Cooking food is great fun and when something new and good unexpectedly comes out of it, it makes twice as much fun!

The history of spices

There are countless writings that point out that spices have been used for centuries for seasoning food and drinks. Spices are mentioned not only in the Old Testament but also in the Gilgamesh Epic and in ancient Chinese texts.

In Egypt, archaeologists found spices during excavations in the tombs of pharaohs dating back to 3000 BC. The Egyptians use spices as perfume and for preservation. They use spices to embalm the dead, as well as to appease the gods.

During the time of the Roman Empire, the spice trade was firmly in the hands of Arab merchants. They were extraordinary salesmen, legendary merchants, and understood the art of acting. They were on guard not to reveal to their customers where their spice treasures came from. Thus, they kept the ways of procurement a secret and got a high price for their goods and spices.

Thanks to Marco Polo, who was very talkative, much became known about the spice plantations and their trading venues. Marco Polo wrote detailed travelogues on his voyages and for this reason grew the spice market in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.

What is the spice street?

In the fifteenth century, prices for spices rose to astronomical heights. The trade routes to India by land were firmly in Arab and Persian hands. For the Europeans, it was almost impossible to get overland to India, so they had no choice but to find a way across the sea.

At that time, Spain and Portugal were the most powerful maritime nations. Both wanted a spice route to India as their first discovery, so they sent their sailors on a journey. For Spain, it was Christophorus Columbus. For Portugal, it was Vasco da Gama. Columbus spotted America on his western route and brought chilli and Jamaican pepper to Spain. Vasco da Gama traveled south and managed to find the spice route to India. He arrived in Calicut, the southern tip of India, on May 20th, 1498 after a ten-month journey. He drove around the Cape of Good Hope, along the East African coast to Malindi, and then to Calicut.

He returned to Lisbon with many spice samples on board. His way home was much more exhausting than his trip to India. Because of heavy storms at the Cape of Good Hope and Famine, he needed 1.5 years for his trip back to Portugal. He arrived in Lisbon on September 9th.1994. Over the next 100 years, Portugal became the most powerful trading nation. Now, the Portuguese could affordably buy their spices in India and sell them in Europe. Shortly thereafter, many spice plantations were owned by the Portuguese.

In the 17th century, the Dutch challenged the Portuguese to dominate the spice trade in bloody battles. In the 18th century, the English and other colonial powers from other nations came to India. On August 15th 1947, the Indians regained their independence.

Spice variety at Orlandosidee

With us you will find not only spices from around the world, but also lovingly mixed spice blends and salts. Our spice blends have been created according to recipes of different country kitchens. They are highly aromatic, but can also be further refined by you. Spice blends make cooking easier, giving you the opportunity to simply cook dishes from many different countries. I love Curry, Ras el Hanout, etc. These spices make it easy for me to bring new, delicious dishes to my table every day.

Come along and let yourself be inspired to discover new ways of cooking for yourself, family, and friends. With a little patience and effort, you will be rewarded. New delicate aromas and fragrances will fill your kitchen. Food is the joy of life. Even if you have small children, it is possible to cook fresh. Even the very little ones love to help prepare and, of course, try new dishes!

Do you already know long pepper, bakumba berries or passion berries? Come in and take a look at our product variety.