The story behind spices: Is So Famous, But Why?

During the Roman Empire, spices were used as a source of trade. Generally trade comes from Arabia. Merchants supply cassia, cinnamon and other spices. Merchants deliberately kept the origin of their products secret. There is an intention to achieve a monopoly on the spice business

Spices

improbable earlier times when monopolies dominated the spice trade,commerce in spices is now relatively decentralized. Throughout the world, spices and herbs are used frequently in cuisine.

Today, people are increasingly attention in enjoying spices and herbs for health benefits. As research is progressing, more evidence is supporting some of the anecdotal information supplied by out ancestors.

The term Spice applies a substance made from the root,stem,steed,fruit or flower of a plant. Used to give a special flavor to food. Spices are a major commercial crop in India, and earn a major part of foreign exchange annually.

The Classification of Spices is based on Degree of Taste. the taxonomic of spices are as follows.

Hot spices

Mild spices

Aromatic spices

Herbs and aromatic vegetables

Conventional classification of spices

Classes	Spices
Hot spices	Capsicum (chillies), Cayenne pepper, black and white peppers, ginger, mustard
Mild spices	Paprika, coriander
Aromatic spices	Allspice (pimento), cardamom, cassia, cinnamon, clove, cumin, dill, fennel, fenugreek, mace and nutmeg
Herbs	Basil, bay, dill leaves, marjoram, tarragon, thyme
Aromatic vegetables	Onion, garlic, shallot, celery

 

Bell Pepper Flakes

Plant organs as spices

Plant organs	Spice crops
Aril	Mace of nutmeg
Barks	Cassia, cinnamon
Berries	Allspice, black pepper, chilli
Buds	Clove
Bulbs	Onion, garlic, leek
Pistil	Saffron
Kernel	Nutmeg
Leaf	Basil, bay leaf, mint, marjoram, sage, curry leaf
Rhizome	Ginger, turmeric
Latex from Rhizome	Asafoetida
Roots	Angelica, horse-radish
Seeds	Ajwain, aniseed, caraway, celery, coriander, dill, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, poppy seed

 

 

India is known as the land of spices. The spices are a major group of agricultural goods. There are different steps for processing of Spice includes, spice cleaning, spice reconditioning and spice grinding.

 

They have been the backbone of agricultural industry. The importance of spices in dietary, medicinal and other uses, and their commercial importance are immense.

Some spices were used for preservation purpose, like pickles & some special dishes for a year or more without refrigeration. Some spices are have some bacterial chemicals, like Clove contain a chemical called as eugenol that inhibits the growth of bacteria.

It is a natural antibiotic. Likewise later mustard and ground mustard were also found to have preservative qualities. India alone contributes 25 % of the total world trade in spices.

In Global Spice market, some spices like pepper ginger clove cinnamon cassia, mace, nutmeg, pimento and cardamom, contributes 90 % of Share.

 

Spicy flavors

Flavors are enhanced with a mixture of herbs and spices, these are

Eugenol (all spices, cinnamon, cassia, cloves)
Piperine (black pepper)
Gingerol (Ginger)
Myristicin (nutmeg)
Yellow (yellow)
Vanillin (vanilla).

Some of the Spices their Origin , Family & Usages.

 

Turmeric

Turmeric

 

Another great spice in the spice kingdom is turmeric, which has long been used as a yellow spice and as a great medicinal herb. It helps a lot in boosting our immunity. Turmeric is known as the queen of spices. It is the masala that comes from the origin of the Kurkuma Langa family It is traditionally called Indian Saffron.

 

Cardamom

Cardmom

 

Cardamom is a one of the costly and special spice ingredient, basically used for flavouring in various dishes and desserts.  This is the spice made from seeds in the Amomum of family of Elitaria and Jingleberasi.

 

 

Cinnamon

Cinnamon

It comes from the bark of the Cinnamomum tree. Cinnamons is the great spice, and have more medicinal values. It is native to Caribbean, South' America, and South East Asia.

 

 

Anise

Anise

Anise is an annual important spice and medicinal plant belonging to the family of Apiaceae and native to the Mediterranean region and southwest Asia. Today, anise seeds are an important natural raw material used in pharmaceutics, perfumery, food and cosmetic industries.

 

Clove

Clove

Clove is very aromatic spice with fine flavour imparting warming properties. It belongs to the plant family named myrtacea. It is native to the Maluku Island in Indonesia. It is culinary spice in both sweet and savoury dishes and clove oil is used in confectionary, pickles and sausages.

 

Cumin

Cumin

Cumin is the seed of a small umbelliforous plant. Cumin Garlic has been used as both an important dietary is native to Egypt and has been cultivated in the Middle East, constituent and a medicine in different culture around the India, China, and Mediterranean countries. Cumin has· world.

 

Black Pepper

Black Pepper

Black pepper is the fruit of the plant from the Piperaceae family, and black pepper is used as both a spice and medicine. It is native to Kerala the Southern State of India. Since ancient times black pepper is one of the most widely traded spices in the world. It is a rich source of Manganese, Iron, Calcium, Potassium, Vitamin A, C, K, Zinc, Chromium and other nutrients.

 

Peppermint

Peppermint

Peppermint is also known as M.BalsameaWilld. It is a hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmint. Peppermint is native to Europe and the Middle East, now widespread in cultivation in many regions of the world.

 

 

 

INDIA SPICE EXPORT SNAPSHOT

India Spice Export as on date 21/06/2020 by ASSOCHAM Report , Published by IBEF ( INDIA BRAND EQUITY FOUNDATION )
 

Indian spices' exports up by 23 percent to US$ 359 million in June, 

In the month of June 2020, India's spices exports increased by 23 per cent to Rs 2,690 crore (US$ 359 million) from Rs 2,190 crore (US$ 292 million) in the same month last year, as per the data by Assocham. A study done by the chamber also pointed out that the demand for spices is increasing in domestic market leading to a sharp increase in their prices by almost 12 per cent in June whereas the headline CPI inflation was half that level.

On the back of forex advantages, spices exporters raked in even better in domestic currency, with an increase by 34 per cent to Rs 2,721 crore (US$ 386.01 million) in June 2020 from Rs 2,030 crore (US$ 288 million) in the comparative month a year ago, the industry chamber said quoting official data.

In June 2020, the country's exports stood at US$ 21.91 billion, as compared to US$ 25.01 billion in June 2019, exhibiting a contraction of 12.41 per cent, as per the data released by the Commerce Ministry showed.

India mainly export pepper, cardamom, ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin, celery, fennel, fenugreek, nutmeg, spice oils and mint products. The main importers include the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Canada, Australia, UAE, Iran, Singapore, China, and Bangladesh, among others.

"The Prime Minister noticed how demand for spices of which India is among the main producers, is increasing as more and more people rush to strengthen immunity. Thanks to the efforts of the Aayush Ministry and traditional knowledge about spices being a strong immunity builder, an increasing number of Indians are taking to higher consumption of spices. But the rising exports trend does show how the world is benefiting from these items," said Assocham Secretary General Mr Deepak Sood.