Spices are defined as the dried part of a plant, for example, roots, leaves, bark, fruits, flowers and seeds. These are taken as food additives that add odor and flavor to food products, while spices, on the other hand, are also a part of a plant used for food additives, but are to be added only for flavor. The essential oils in spices and condiments allow the flavor and taste characteristics to penetrate into foods. They can be used whole, ground, paste or liquid form to flavor and season foods.
Characteristics of Spices
• They are usually dried and ground to be mixed with other ingredients. • They have carminative properties, thus stimulating digestion. • Provides flavour and cosmetic, olfactory and curative treatments to food, drink and other items • Dehydrating increases the life of food off a shelf • They have some antibiotic properties apart from inhibiting bacterial growth • Can also preserve a meat meal for a full year or two without using refrigeration • Texture is developed in some but acceptable colour and aroma are present in some while others have no nutritional content at all.Classification of Spices
There are about 35 spices and seasonings which can be broadly classified into 6 categories, based on the parts of the plants from which they are obtained:a. Rhizome and root spices: ginger, turmeric and garlic. b. Seed spices: nutmeg, coriander, fennel, cumin, fenugreek, dill, anise, celery and bishop-weed. c. Bark spices: cinnamon. d. Fruit spices: cardamom, black pepper, vanilla, allspice, cassia, tamarind, etc. e. Leaf Spices Bay Leaf, Curry Leaf, etc. f. Flower Spices: Cloves, Saffron, Hasgidar, etc. Generally, in the preparation of dishes, their main ingredients in most cases are on the spices and table condiments, as used to complement the taste of the dish. In short, spices are the main ingredients, which are used in preparing a food item that imparts flavor, aroma, and pungency to the food, while spices are secondary ingredients, which are used after preparing the food item and add flavor to the dish only, such as ketchup. Spices and spices are a main commercial crop of India and earn a major share of foreign exchange every year. They are the backbone of the agricultural industry. The importance of spices and spices in dietary, medicinal, and other uses and their commercial importance is immense.
Spices undergo the following processing before consumption: • Spice Cleaning, • Spice Reconditioning, • Spice Grinding and • Spice Grinding
Types of Spices
1. Turmeric: It is a rhizomatous herb plant of the ginger family. It is one of the major ingredients for many Indian, Persian and Thai dishes such as curries and many more.2. Cardamom: Cardamom is a variety of plants of the same genera Elettaria and family Amomum from which ginger belongs. Cardamom occurs naturally in India. Cardamom was considered both as a medicine as well as a food. Cardamom went into fashion among the Europeans during the 17th century along the sea from India. Cardamom flavoring is used for food purposes and also for beverage purposes.
3. Chilli: This spice originated in South and Central America. The Spanish and Portuguese cultivated the plant for thousands of years before bringing it to South Asia and Southern Europe in the 16th century. Chilli powder was highly fashionable in Britain during the 19th century.
4. Cinnamon: It is a spice, dried and processed from the bark of several trees belonging to the genus Cinnamon. It is used in sweet and savory foods. Cinnamon in the form of bark spice is quite readily available in the market. It is widely used as a seasoning in dishes and as an article of flavoring. Cinnamon is native to Sri Lanka. Like most spices, cinnamon was put to use as both a medicine and a spice for foods. It has been prescribed on many ailments as it was among the flu as well as some common colds.
5. Cloves: Cloves are the sweet-smelling flower buds of the plant that belongs to the Myrtaceae. They are obtained from the Indonesian Maluku Islands and are considered as a spice in many diverse cuisines. There are plenty of cloves collected in Indonesia, India, Madagascar, Zanzibar, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. It has a numbing effect on the tissues of the mouth. Cloves are from Indonesia, but the Romans knew it, the ancient Chinese too. Cloves were also used as medicine. They are now cultivated in East Africa and Brazil.
6. Coriander: Coriander is popularly known as Cilantro or Dhaniya. It is an annual herb of the family Apiaceae. It is native to southwestern Asia to southern Europe and northern Africa. The fresh leaves can be eaten raw. However, the dried seeds are mainly used as articles of commerce from the plant. It is widely adapted in South Asian and Middle Eastern, Central Asian Mediterranean, and Indian cuisines. Coriander was sown by the ancient Greeks and Romans. It was likewise extensively used medieval Europe. Coriander was used as a medicine for thousands of years and was considered an aphrodisiac.
7. Cumin: Cumin is one of the flowering plants of the family Apiaceae native from the eastern Mediterranean to India. Its seeds are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, both in whole and ground forms. Cumin is a spice well-loved everywhere around the world. It comes as a spice in whole prepared foods. There, in the Mediterranean, that the spice has started. Its culture was known centuries ago not only in Egypt, but also in Greece and Rome. It can be said to have been commonly used in Europe even in the Middle Ages, and it can be used, also medicinally.
8. Garlic: Garlic originated in Central Asia. Ancient Egypt, as well as India and China. Garlic was planted by the Greeks as well as the Romans. For so long it had served as medicine because it is a perfect disinfectant. Many used to call it an aphrodisiac. It is from the Yunnan province of South China.
9. Ginger: The rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale is a delicacy, medicine, or spice, from which it has derived the name for its genus and family (Zingiberaceae). Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a mild to indistinguishable flavor. The root origin of ginger is Southeast Asia. It was known from China and India since ancient times and was used in Europe from the Middle Ages. For many centuries however ginger was often more of a medicine than a food flavoring.
10. Mint: This is a very popular herb in Europe during the Middle Ages. Like many herbs mint was used both as a medicine and as a food. It was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans.
11. Mustard: This was grown throughout the ancient Middle East and is mentioned in the Bible. The Romans cultivated mustard and carried it to the countries of Europe they invaded.
12. Nutmegs: Nutmegs and mace are similar in general flavor, but nutmeg is slightly sweeter and mace is more delicate. Mace can be used in lighter dishes because it has a bright orange, saffron-like color that it imparts. Nutmeg is mainly used to flavor various cooked dishes. It is always ground or grated. It should be fresh in a nutmeg grater. It is a plant that occurs naturally in Indonesia. It has helped for various medicinal purposes and has proven to have a significant amount of medical use.
13. Soy Sauce: Soy sauce is a condiment obtained from soybeans and Aspergillus oryzae mold through the fermentation of both in the presence of water and salt. Soy sauce has been an essential ingredient in the preparation of traditional food products of East and Southeast Asia, not only in the cooking process but also used as a condiment. Recently, it has gained popularity in the West as a ready-to-cook food product.
