S p i c e s

 

P e p p e r

 

Pepper is the dried berry of Piper nigrum. This vine which can grow up to ten feet tall is indigenous to India and Asia. Pepper is actually berries that are picked about nine months after flowering. (This is true pepper, and should not be confused with paprika, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, red pepper, and bell pepper, which are fruits from the capiscum family.) Black Pepper, the spiciest, is berries that are picked unripe. The berries used for White Pepper are ripened on the vine and soaked so that their outer hulls are easily removed. Green Peppercorns are immature berries which are freeze-dried or packed in brine for preservation.

 

C i n n a m o n

 

Cinnamon is the dried bark of various laurel trees in the cinnamomun family. One of the more common trees from which Cinnamon is derived is the cassia. Ground cinnamon is perhaps the most common baking spice. Cinnamon sticks are made from long pieces of bark that are rolled, pressed, and dried.

 

N u m e g

 

Nutmeg is the seed of Myristica fragrans, an evergreen tree native to the Molucca Islands. Interestingly, the tree produces both Nutmeg and mace, and grows up to 60 feet tall. Although the tree takes seven years to bear fruit, it may produce until the 90th year. Both spices come from the tree’s fruit, which splits into a scarlet outer membrane, mace, and an inner brown seed, Nutmeg.

 

V a n i l l a

 

The plant (Vanilla planifolia) is a tropical orchid which grows as a vine and needs the support of trees or poles. The flowers have a narrow bell surrounded by thin petals which develop slowly over several months into long narow pods about 12-15 cm long. Vanilla needs a process of curing similar to cacao to develop its characteristic aroma, for example the pods may be picked green then sun dried, oven heated or cured in hot water.During the curing process the flavour
precursors, which are glucosides, are broken down into vanillin and glucose and some other minor aromatic substances.
Vanilla extract is made by cutting the beans into small pieces and soaking in successive quantities of hot 65-70% alcohol.

 

 

C l o v e s

 

Cloves are the rich, brown, dried, unopened flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum, an evergreen tree in the myrtle family. The name comes from the French "clou" meaning nail.
Cloves have been used for thousands of years. One of the earliest references to them says that the Chinese, in order to approach the emperor, had to have a few Cloves in their mouths to sweeten the breath. Cloves were once very costly and played an important part in world history.
The essence of clove is used in dentistry as disinfectant.

 

C a c a o

 

The seeds are encased in a llarge colorful pod which grows close to the tree after a flower.The large pod is green while maturing and and turns yellow, orange, red or purple when ripe. Fruits are produced throughout the year, simultaneous with more flowering.It takes 4 to 5 months to achieve the pod size, and then yet another month to ripen! Cacao seeds are prepared for commerce either by simple drying, in which case they retain their bitterness and astringency; or they are cured by a sweating process by which their bitter and astringent properties are much modified, and the color of the seed changed. The seeds are placed into closed boxes for a certain length of time, or buried in the ground for a few days;Applications of cacao: food uses of chocolate made from the oil - rich seed, are well known (cacoa and cocoa butter).The sugar in chocolate releases serotonin (a brain chemical).
Cacao contains the alkaloids: theobromine, a phyto-chemical related to caffeine.
It also contains theophylline.