Sapaan Pendek (A Short Hello)
I'm preparing a wholesome article!
Sorry for not writing to you in almost 2 weeks. I’m catching up with work, while developing recipes in the kitchen, and writing this newsletter since a month ago. December is the month to catch-up with life - before we start anew. Just like this theme, I’ve been reading a bunch of articles and research to write for this new article.
This article is pretty simple, but since I want to highlight the history of spice, then it will not be that simple. Here are some stuffs I’ve been reading about!
Doekoen Jawa by Njonya Van Blokland
Dukun in the simplest translation is health practitioner. Although in other purpose, dukun is also a shaman that does indigineous-belief practice. This book is written by a Dutch lady - based in Surabaya, named Njonya Van Blokland who published this book in 1885. This book is one of the earliest book written about Jamu (Javanese elixir) from a white perspective.
Sejarah Rempah: Dari Erotisme Hingga Imperialisme
Written by Jack Turner, the English version is called Spice: The History of Temptation. This book explores how Indonesian spice was hunted by the Europeans, traded, and referred to as the dangerous and erotic ingredients.
Historia is a meticulous website with compact article on history of Indonesia. This is the article that I’ve read this week from them.
Brief and dense at the same time, this article on South China Morning Post gives a slight view of the Spice Trade.
That’s my recommendation for this week! See you before January with some spice-infused reading.
Rahayu,
Prinka from Dapur Saraswati