Ternate and the Clove Islands: Food at History's Epicentre

Ternate and Tidore, small volcanic islands in the northern Moluccas, were the only places on earth where clove (*Syzygium aromaticum*) grew before the Dutch succeeded in transplanting it to Zanzibar and Pemba in the 18th century. The sultanates of Ternate and Tidore were among Southeast Asia's most powerful polities from the 13th to 17th centuries — not through military strength but through monopoly control of the world's most valuable spice. Portuguese, Spanish, Dutch, and British forces competed violently for control of these islands over 200 years. The current local food culture of Ternate uses clove as a background note — present in certain ceremonial preparations, more common in tobacco (kretek cigarettes) than in the kitchen — a dissonance between global historical significance and local culinary modesty.

Masakan Ternate — Cooking at the Origin of the Global Spice Trade

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