ANN ARBOR—The selection of spices and flavorings that Americans take for granted in any grocery store would have been a fantasy in most pre-industrial societies. David C. Michener, assistant curator at the University of Michigan’s Matthaei Botanical Gardens, will explore the natural and social history of spices and related plant commodities in a series of three workshops Oct. 23, 30 and Nov. 6.

Each session runs 7:30-9 p.m. Registration is required, and there is a fee of $58.50 for members of the Gardens and $65 for non-members. Registration can be made by phone at (734) 998-7061, or by fax via (734) 998-76205. Visit the Gardens’ Web site at www.lsa.umich.edu/mbg for more information.

Participants will be able to sample (or at least smell) “botanical confections” and learn early misconceptions about the properties and use (abuse) of these treasured plant products.

Some of the topics Michener will cover are chocolate—its use in a corn meal and hot pepper fluid base, as a beverage in milk, and attempts to solidify it as a confection. His section on coffee will cover finding out who takes credit for its discovery, the social issues involved in coffee drinking and the politics of coffee, including the current coffee glut. When it comes to tea, Michener will discuss its mythology of domestication, the social issues of tea drinking, and the politics and economics of tea and its linkage to opium.

One session will investigate the spices that drove the European exploration of the world, concentrating on the “classic” quest for pepper, nutmegs, clove, and cinnamon—the spices known in medieval/pre-1500s Europe that created the desire to explore.

Another session will cover spices as medicines and magic, discussing and investigating several Chinese groups of spices, as well as Schnapps, balsams, and other alcoholic preparations.

Matthaei Botanical Gardens is located at 1800 Dixboro Rd. in Ann Arbor, east of U.S. 23 between Plymouth Road to the north and Geddes Road to the south. Parking is free.

Matthaei Botanical Gardenswww.lsa.umich.edu/mbglocated at 1800 Dixboro Rd.