Which sentence best states the authors' claim?
even though one book after another repeats this myth,
the popularity of spices had nothing to do with disguising
the taste of meat or fish that had gone bad. any lord who
could afford spices (which were expensive) could easily
get fresh meat or fish (which were readily available); and
when a cook happened to be stuck with rancid food, the
spices he had available could not hide the awful smell or
taste. whenever they could, people used the spices that
were so popular, they became an expensive necessity:
pepper, ginger, sugar, sometimes saffron. only the very
rich could afford the luxuries-such as ambergris (which
is coughed up by whales and offers a strange, perfumy
taste of the sea).
-sugar changed the world,
marc aronson and marina budhos
spices could not mask the smell and taste of rotten
meat
only the very wealthy were able to buy most
available spices.
some spices were important enough that everyone
used them.
the popularity of spices was not related to masking
spoiled food