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The Book of Book of Spices

Handcrafted Bamboo Box in the form of a book, holding a collection of the best of organic Indian spices.

Spices --the powerful, pleasurable, sensual ingredients used in , drinks, scented oils, , cosmetics, and drugs--have long been some of the most sought-after substances in the of human history. In various forms, spices have served as appetizers, digestives, antiseptics, therapeutics, tonics, and aphrodisiacs. Spices have been the inspiration for , exploration, war and poetry since the beginning of civilization.

The covers of the 'book' are made from strips of giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus giganteus) pasted together. The spine is made from reed bamboo (Ochlandra travancorica). They are joined using jute fabric. The inner frame is made of wood and the partitions are made of bamboo. The number of partitions can be changed and can even be taken out to produce a single larger box.

The front cover depicts images associated with spices cultivation or trade, drawn by artists in Uravu. Pepper Pepper, ( nigrum) the “ of Spices”, is the most important traded internationally, accounting for one-third of the total volume and value. Pepper was one the earliest commodities traded between the Orient and Europe. In medieval times, pepper was the preferred currency, prized by the wealthy. The cities of Alexandria, Genoa and Venice carried on brisk trade in pepper during the and owed their prosperity to this priceless commodity. Today the pepper trade encompasses the world with Western Europe, United States, Japan and Korea being the biggest consumers. The main pepper producing countries are Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia, China and Sri Lanka

Black pepper is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its , which is usually dried and used as a spice and . Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound.

Black Pepper was believed to cure illness such as constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, , and toothaches. Black pepper either powdered or its decoction is widely used in traditional Indian and as a home remedy for relief from sore throat, throat congestion, cough etc.

Cloves (Syzygium aromaticum) are the aromatic dried flower buds of a tree in the family Myrtaceae. are native to Indonesia and used as a spice in all over the world. The English name derives from clavus 'nail' as the buds vaguely resemble small irregular nails in shape. Cloves can be used in either whole or in a ground form, but as they are extremely strong, they are used sparingly.

In North Indian , it is used in almost all rich or spicy dishes as an ingredient of a mix named garam masala. Dried cloves are also a key ingredient in Indian masala chai, spiced .

Cloves are used in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, Chinese medicine, and western herbalism and dentistry, where the essential oil is used as an anodyne (painkiller) for dental emergencies.

Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several trees from the genus Cinnamomum that is used in both sweet and savoury foods. Cinnamon trees are native to South East , and its origin was mysterious in Europe until the sixteenth century. Cinnamon has been known from remote antiquity. It was imported to Egypt as early as 2000 BCE. The Hebrew makes mention of the spice when Moses is commanded to use sweet cinnamon in the holy anointing oil. It was so highly prized among ancient nations that it was regarded as a gift fit for monarchs and even for gods.

Cinnamon bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a and flavoring material. It is used in the preparation of chocolate, especially in Mexico, which is the main importer of true cinnamon. It is also used in many recipes, such as pie, donuts, and cinnamon buns as well as spicy candies, tea, hot cocoa, and liqueurs. In the , it is often used in savory dishes of and lamb. In the United States, cinnamon and are often used to flavor , -based dishes, and , especially .

Cardamom is a native plant of parts of India, Sri Lanka and parts of south-east Asia, where it occurs in the wild. It has been introduced to other parts of Asia and is widely grown for its aromatic seeds.

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance. Black and brown are used in the same way as true cardamom but come from different species.

Green cardamom is broadly used in South Asia to treat infections in teeth and gums, to prevent and treat throat troubles, congestion of the lungs and pulmonary tuberculosis, inflammation of eyelids and also digestive disorders. It also is used to break up kidney stones and gall stones, and was reportedly used as an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom.

Ginger, the name, comes from the Middle English gingivere, but ginger dates back over 3,000 years to the Sanskrit srngaveram meaning "horn root" with reference to its appearance. In Greek it was ziggiberis, and in Latin, zinziberi.

Although it was well-known to the ancient Romans, ginger nearly disappeared in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Thanks to Marco Polo's trip to the Far East, ginger came back into favor in Europe, becoming not only a much-coveted spice, but also a very expensive one.

Ginger is the rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice.

Ginger has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine to treat upset, nausea and diarrhea. Indian Ayurvedic medicine utilizes it for the treatment of arthritis. Other traditional uses of ginger include treatment of colic, colds, fever and menstrual cramps and as appetite stimulant. Young ginger rhizomes are juicy and fleshy with a very mild taste. They are often pickled in or as a or just cooked as an ingredient in many dishes. They can also be steeped in to make ginger tea, to which is often added; sliced orange or fruit may also be added. Ginger can also be made into candy.

Turmeric grows wild in the forests of South and Southeast Asia. It has become the key ingredient for many Indian, Persian and Thai dishes such as in and many more.

It is native to tropical South Asia and needs temperatures between 20 °C and 30 °C and a considerable amount of annual rainfall to thrive. In medieval Europe, turmeric became known as Indian , since it was widely used as an alternative to the far more expensive saffron spice.

Turmeric (Curcuma longa) is a rhizomatous herbaceous perennial plant of the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. In recipes outside South Asia, turmeric is sometimes used as an agent to impart a rich, - like yellow color. It is used in canned beverages and baked products, products, , , yellow cakes, orange , , popcorn color, sweets, cake icings, cereals, , gelatins, etc. It is a significant ingredient in most commercial curry powders. Turmeric is mostly used in savory dishes, as well as some sweet dishes.

Although usually used in its dried, powdered form, turmeric is also used fresh, much like ginger. It has numerous uses in Far Eastern recipes, such as fresh turmeric pickle. & Mace

Nutmeg was a prized and costly spice in European as a flavouring, medicinal, and preservative agent. Saint Theodore the Studite (ca. 758 – ca. 826) allowed his monks to sprinkle nutmeg on their when required to eat it. In Elizabethan times, it was believed nutmeg could ward off the plague, making it very popular. Nutmeg was traded by during the Middle Ages and sold to the Venetians for very high prices. No European was able to deduce their location until Afonso de Albuquerque conquered Malacca, on behalf of the king of Portugal. The common or fragrant nutmeg, Myristica fragrans, native to the Banda Islands of Indonesia, is also grown in Penang Island in Malaysia and the Caribbean, especially in Grenada. It also grows in Kerala, a state in southern India. Nutmeg tree is important for two spices derived from the fruit, nutmeg and mace. Nutmeg and mace have similar sensory qualities, with nutmeg having a slightly sweeter and mace a more delicate flavour. Mace is often preferred in light dishes for the bright orange, saffron-like hue it imparts. Nutmeg is usually used in ground or grated form, and is best grated fresh. Nutmeg is known to be a psychoactive substance.

Vanilla, according to Totonac mythology of the people who inhabit the Mazatlan Valley on the Gulf Coast of Mexico in the present-day state of Veracruz, was born when Princess Xanat, forbidden by her father from marrying a mortal, fled to the forest with her lover. The lovers were captured and beheaded. Where their touched the ground, the vine of the tropical orchid grew. Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican peoples cultivated vanilla and Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés is credited with introducing both vanilla and chocolate to Europe in the 1520s. Attempts to cultivate the vanilla plant outside Mexico and Central America proved futile because of the symbiotic relationship between the tlilxochitl vine that produced the vanilla orchid and the local species of Melipona bee; it was not until 1837 that Belgian botanist Charles François Antoine Morren discovered this fact and pioneered a method of artificially pollinating the plant. The method proved financially unworkable and was not deployed commercially.In 1841, Edmond Albius, a 12-year-old slave who lived on the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean, discovered that the plant could be hand pollinated. Hand pollination allowed global cultivation of the plant. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron, because growing the vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. Good quality vanilla has a strong aromatic flavor, but with small amounts of low quality vanilla or artificial vanilla- like flavorings are far more common, since true vanilla is much more expensive.

Allspice, also called Jamaica pepper or newspice, is the dried unripe fruit of Pimenta dioica , a tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico and Central America. It is now cultivated in many warm parts of the world including India.The name "allspice" was coined as early as 1621 by the English, who thought it combined the flavour of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Allspice was encountered by Christopher Columbus on the island of Jamaica during his second voyage to the . Allspice is one of the most important ingredients of . it is also an ingredient in commercial preparations and curry powders. Allspice is also indispensable in , particularly in the , where it is used to flavor a variety of and dishes. In , for example, many main dishes call for allspice as the sole spice added for flavoring. In America, it is used mostly in desserts, but it is also responsible for giving Cincinnati-style chili its distinctive aroma and flavor. Allspice is commonly used in Great Britain, and appears in many dishes, including cakes. In the West Indies, an allspice liqueur called "pimento dram" is produced. Allspice has also been used as a deodorant. an product Made by Women's Micro Enterprises in Kalpetta Bamboo Cluster

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Indigenous Science & Technology Study Centre Thrikkaipetta P.O., Wayanad District, Kerala, India E-mail: [email protected] Wesbsite: www.uravu.net Mobile: +91 9605 770702/ +91 9447 538711