Tomatoes belong to the nightshade family; they were cultivated in Peru and introduced to Europe by Spanish explorers. Tomatoes were introduced to Italy from Morocco, so the Italian name for the fruit was pomi de Mori, (meaning “apples of the Moors”). The French called the tomato pommes d’amore, (meaning “apples of love”). This latter name may have referred to the fact that tomatoes were thought to have aphrodisiac powers, or it may have been a corruption of the Italian name. When tomato plants were first introduced to Europe, many people viewed them with suspicion, since poisonous members of the nightshade family were commonly known. Although the tomato is neither poisonous nor an aphrodisiac, it took centuries for it to fully overcome its undeserved reputation.

The world’s most expensive spice is saffron, from the Arabic word za’faran, meaning “yellow.” It comes from the stigmas of plants called autumn crocus (Crocus sativus) and is native to eastern Mediterranean countries and Asia Minor. The spice is not only expensive today, but was highly sought after by the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Assyria, Phoenicia, Persia, Crete, Greece, and Rome.

The blooming period for the crocus is approximately two weeks, and the flowers must be picked while they are in full bloom, before any signs of wilting are visible. Once picked, the three-part stigmas are removed from the petals before the petals wilt; this is a time-consuming process that can only be done by hand as the stigmas are very fragile. Then the stigmas are roasted and sold either as whole threads (whole stigmas) or powder. In order to harvest 1 pound (0.45 kilogram) of the spice, between 70,000 flowers must be picked to yield 210,000 stigmas. The price of saffron varies—depending on the type, such as Persian or Italian saffron—but can, to date, run about $15 for 0.035 ounces (1 gram); in another place, $2,700 per pound (454 grams); and still another place, it could run up to $10,000 per pound.