PEPPER, VANILLA, AND OTHER SPICES 195 about two-thirds of the world output. Most of the remainder is grown in Sarawak, Ceylon, Brazil, Cambodia, and the Malagasy Republic. Most of it is grown on small plots of land and gardens. It requires a well- Pepper y Vanilla^ and distributed rainfall of about 100 inches a year and rich soil. It flourishes best at lower elevations, usually under 1,500 feet. Other Spices Propagation is usually by cuttings. Some shade is desirable for the young vines, but little is required for the by ARTHUR G. KEVORKIAN mature plant. Hardwood posts or trees are used to provide support. The vine usually bears at 3 or 4 years and gives the most returns when it is 6 to 8 years old. The average yield is WE USE SPICES to make food taste 3 to 5 pounds of dry pepper per vine. better, preserve some foods, and make In harvest, the berries are broken off* perfumes and ointments. the vine before they are fully ripe. What we think of as true spices If white pepper is desired, the berries are aromatic substances that come are allowed to mature further—black mainly from tropical plants. They pepper and white pepper are obtained include allspice, cassia, cinnamon, from the same plant, depending on clove, ginger, mace, nutmeg, pepper, maturity and the method of processing. tumeric, and vanilla. The reddish peppercorns are spread Other seasonings include aromatic on mats to dry in the sun. They seeds, such as anise, celery, dill, and shrivel, and the hulls become black. poppyseed. Culinary herbs, another They are then cleaned and bagged group of seasonings, are derived for export. Grinding and packaging mostly from leaves of plants, such as usually are done by importers. bay, chervil, parsley, mints, and For white pepper, the more mature sage. Condiments usually are mixed berries are placed in bags or other seasonings, such as catsup, curry containers and soaked in running powder, and prepared mustard. water for several days to facilitate Here we consider only true spices, the removal of the outer coating. The which are important in our meat- ripened seeds are then dried, cleaned, packing, bakery, canning, and pickling and bagged. About 3.6 pounds of black industries and which come from the pepper are obtained from i o pounds of stems, fruits, and roots of plants peppercorns. If they are processed of a number of botanical families all into white pepper, the yield is about over the tropical world. 2.4 pounds. Ground black pepper contains both light and dark particles, PEPPER (Piper nigrum), the most im- as the entire berry is used in it. portant of all spices in terms of usage Indonesia once was the largest pro- and value in world trade, is the dried ducer, but India has become the main fruit of a climbing vine. It has in- grower. About 95 percent of the out- numerable uses in flavoring food and put in India is in the State of Kerala. preserving meat. It is native to Asia, Indonesia's output, less than one- notably the Malabar Coast of India half of prewar levels, is concentrated and the Malayan region. It is pro- in southern Sumatra and the nearby duced in only a few tropical countries. islands of Bangka and Belitung. India and Indonesia account for The United States, the largest con- 196 THE YEARBOOK OP AGRICULTURE 1964 sumer of pepper, imports all of its many small growers in the northern annual requirements of 35-40 million part of the Malagasy Republic. Tahiti pounds. and Mexico supply much of the Other major importing countries are remaining world supply. the Soviet Union, the United King- World trade usually amounts to dom, West Germany, and France. about 2 million pounds annually, of About one-third of India's crop is used which the United States consumes locally. Nearly all of Ceylon's output about two-thirds. goes for domestic consumption. Vanilla requires a tropical climate, Pepper is a highly speculative com- partial shade, ample rainfall, a dry modity. It can be stored or withheld season, and rich, well-drained soil. An from the market for several years with- altitude of about i thousand feet is out loss of quality. Because major pro- desirable. Propagation is from cut- ducing areas are localized and the tings. The plant usually comes into world output is relatively small (150- bearing in the third year and remains 175 million pounds), trade in pepper commercially valuable for 7 years. The is sensitive to cornering operations. vines are usually spaced 5 to 8 feet Singapore merchants handle about a apart in rows i o feet apart. The climb- third of the pepper entering commerce. ing plants, usually on trees, are kept Pepper has been subject to wide to a height of 4 to 6 feet. Yields average fluctuations in production and price. about one-fourth pound of cured beans When prices are high, growers in- per plant. Four pounds of green beans crease acreage and apply additional yield a pound of cured product. fertilizer to existing vines, thus causing Since less than i percent of the an oversupply and lower prices. When flowers produce beans under natural prices are low, growers neglect their conditions, hand pollination is neces- pepper gardens and may withhold sary in commercial operations. It must stocks from the market. The results are be done daily because each flower high prices and short supplies. Average remains open for only a day or so. annual prices were 10 cents a pound in Usually not more than three flowers on 1945, 169 cents in 1951, 36 cents in each raceme are pollinated. Overpol- 1962, and 33 cents in 1963. lination weakens the vine, makes it The consumer demand for pepper is highly susceptible to disease, and may relatively inelastic, as its price usually reduce the size of the beans. is a small item in the family budget. Most of the vanilla of commerce be^ The demand for pepper actually has longs to the species Vanilla planifolia^ declined since 1945, probably because but significant quantities of the V, of the greater use of precooked foods tahitensis and F. pompona arc grown. and new food processing methods. F. tahitensis, grown chiefly in Tahiti, brings a lower price because its strong VANILLA (Vanilla planifolia), the fruits heliotrope aroma makes it more suit- or beans of a climbing orchid, is native able for perfume than a flavoring ma- to southeastern Mexico and Central terial. F. pompona is cultivated mostly America. in the West Indies. F. planifolia is cul- About two-thirds of the world's tivated chiefly in the Malagasy Re- vanilla crop is grown on islands off the public and the other southeastern southeastern coast of Africa—the Mal- African islands and in Mexico. agasy Republic, Comores, Réunion, The vanilla of African origin is and the Seychelles. The Malagasy known commercially as Bourbon va- Republic accounts for more than one- nilla and usually brings a lower price half of output. That is less than 10 than the Mexican beans. Many species percent of the countries' total exports, of vanilla grow wild, but they lack the but (as is true of pepper) it is vitally desired aromatic properties. important as the only cash crop of The vanilla beans are harvested 4 or PEPPER, VANILLA, AND OTHER SPICES 197 6 months after hand pollination. The cream, chocolate, beverages, as well beans are picked just when the apex, as sweets and in the manufacture of or blossom end, begins to turn yellow, soap and perfume. in order to obtain the highest aroma Sharp fluctuations in prices of vanilla and quality during curing. If the pods beans have kept consumption down are allowed to become too ripe, a and have encouraged the use of syn- splitting occurs at the blossom end, thetic products. Vanillin, the most and the beans bring a lower market widely used synthetic, is produced price. If beans are harvested before the from waste sulfite liquor of papermills, blossom end yellow stage, the cured coal tar extracts, and from eugenol, beans are also inferior. obtained from clove oil. Its price has The traditional curing process has remained at or near 3 dollars a pound ; three steps: Heating or freezing the the prices of vanilla beans have fluctu- beans, the killing phase; sweating the ated between 5 and 16 dollars a pound. beans in the sun during the day and Vanillin lacks the oleoresins that im- rolling them in woolen blankets at part flavor to the vanilla extract. night; and conditioning, which is con- The Flavoring Extract Manufac- ducted in tin-lined boxes at room tem- turing Association of the United States perature until the characteristic vanilla has participated in a cooperative proj- fragrance is obtained. ect with the Department of Agricul- Research on the enzymic action in ture in Puerto Rico. The aim is to im- vanilla beans during the curing process prove cultural practices and to solve done at the Department of Agricul- problems of disease. ture's experiment station at Mayaguez in Puerto Rico led to the development THE CLOVE TREE {Caryophyllus aro- of a new curing process on a pilot- maticus) is native to the Molucca Is- plant basis. Curing can be done in- lands, or "Spice Islands," which now doors in thermostatically controlled are a part of Indonesia. Its name comes ovens, and the elimination of much from the French "clou," meaning nail, hand labor increases curing capacity which describes the unopened flower- and cuts costs and time. buds used as the spice. Zanzibar (in- The cured beans should be of a uni- cluding Pemba) is the largest producer form dark color and flexible. Beans of of cloves. Most of the remainder of a moisture content of 20 to 25 percent world production comes from the are less likely to become moldy during Malagasy Republic and Indonesia. storage and shipment. After curing, the We usually think of cloves only as a beans are graded according to length, spice to decorate and flavor foods, but color, and flexibility; tied in bundles as much as two-thirds of the world's of 50 to 70 beans; and packed in tins supply of cloves is ground and mixed or tin-lined boxes. with tobacco in cigarettes. Indonesia Vanilla is ordinarily used in the form consumes more cloves than the rest of of an extract; 13.35 ounces of beans the world combined, mainly in the with a moisture content of not more manufacture of cigarettes. Other major than 25 percent make a gallon of ex- consumers are the United States and tract. The extract is made by cutting India. the vanilla beans into small pieces, The clove tree requires a tropical which are placed in a solution of not climate, with a well-distributed annual less than 35 percent ethyl alcohol and rainfall of 90 to 100 inches and a well- heated in a percolator. Dextrose, su- drained soil. The clove tree usually crose, or glycerine may be added at the does not thrive far from the sea. An end of the extraction process to prevent altitude of a few hundred feet above precipitation and to preserve the sea level is desirable. flavor and aroma. The trees are usually planted about Vanilla is used for flavoring ice 30 feet apart. They begin to bear in the 198 THB YEARBOOK OF AGRICULTURE 1964 seventh or eighth year and may con- tion. Mexico, the United Kingdom, tinue in production for more than loo Japan, the United States, West Ger- years. They normally grow to 30 or 40 many, and the Netherlands are major feet and produce an average of 7 to 10 consumers. pounds of spice. Production varies The spice is used for flavoring bread, from year to year because the trees cakes and pastries, beverages, candy, have an off-year alternating with a drugs, and cosmetic products and for good bearing year. scenting soap and perfumery. Oil of The unopened or immature flower- cinnamon is used in medicines. buds are the spice of commerce. They The cinnamon tree requires a tropi- are handpicked from the trees and cal climate; a rich, sandy loam soil; spread on mats in the sun for about a and 85 to 100 inches of annual rain- week. Sometimes artificial heat is used fall. The tree is grown as a low, bushy in the curing. The greenish buds be- shrub, usually not over 8 to lo feet tall, come reddish-brown or black and lose although it may reach the height of 30 half of their original weight. to 40 feet in the wild state. Propagation Whole cloves are used in pickling is usually from seed. The first crop can and preserving, as a garnish for hams be expected in about 2 to 3 years. Max- and salads and in catsup. Ground imum returns are obtained when the cloves are used in baked goods, vege- trees are about 10 years old. Yields tables, desserts, and in some brands of average 150 to 200 pounds an acre. cigarettes. Harvesting of cinnamon consists of Glove oil, obtained in a distillation cutting the many-branched, bushy of buds and stems, is used in pharma- shoots twice a year. The bark is peeled ceutical preparations, as a flavoring in off* by hand, scraped, and dried in the candy and gum, and in the manufac- sun. Upon drying, the bark rolls into ture of perfume. Eugenol, a constituent quills. Scraps from peeling and scrap- of clove oil, is used as a basic material ing are called chips and featherings from which synthetic vanilla extract and are used to make cinnamon oil (vanillin) is manufactured. Other uses through a distillation process. The of eugenol are in the manufacture of leaves and roots are also a source of perfumes and soap. The use of clove an inferior oil of low value. oil or powdered cloves in moth repel- C. cassia, or Ghinese cinnamon, is lan ts has been studied. also the dried inner bark of an ever- green tree, which attains a greater GiNNAMON AND CASSIA wcre known in height than the true cinnamon. This commerce in Biblical times. Cinna- tree has been grown in southern Ghina monum zelanicum is the true cinnamon of for centuries. Mainland Ghina, Indo- commerce. C. cassia, a related species, nesia, and South Vietnam are major has characteristics and uses similar to producers. cinnamon. Gassia trees are allowed to grow for The aromatic oils in the bark of these several years before harvesting. Gassia tropical trees determine their com- can be grown in areas where cinnamon mercial importance. They are grown would not thrive. commercially in Asia from southern The harvesting of cassia includes cut- India and Geylon to mainland Ghina. ting the branches or the tree, loosening Gassia is considered to be inferior to the bark, and stripping and scraping cinnamon, but is often used as a sub- the grayish outer bark. The pieces are stitute. The United States processors then dried in the sun. The resultant prefer cassia because of its aromatic quills are tied in bundles and packaged qualities and perhaps because it is less for export. Yields may average about expensive than the true cinnamon. 1,500 pounds of quills an acre. Ceylon and the Seychelles Islands Gassia oil is obtained by the distilla- account for the bulk of world produc- tion of the bark and leaves and from PEPPER, VANILLA, AND OTHER SPICES 199 the dried, unripe fruits. The cassia Some of the nuts fall to the ground, buds, or fruit, contain the same es- but most remain on the tree. They are sential oil as the bark and resemble usually gathered by raising a long pole, cloves. to which a basket and prongs are at- tached. The average yield per acre is NUTMEG AND MAGE are derived from about 1,500 pounds of green or about one evergreen tree (Myristica fragrans). 720 pounds of processed nutmeg. A 30- Its seed is the nutmeg of commerce. A year-old tree may yield 3 thousand to thin membrane (the aril) around the 4 thousand nuts. The yield of green seed is known as mace. Mace and nut- mace per acre is about 150 pounds, meg taste somewhat the same. which yield 35 pounds of dried mace. Indonesia is the largest producer and The seeds are sun dried until the exporter. Most of the rest comes from kernel rattles freely in the shell. The the West Indies, mainly Grenada. shell is broken, and the nutmeg is re- Ceylon also exports some nutmeg and moved and ground. The fleshy aril is mace. removed before the drying. Grenada's nutmeg industry was crip- Nutmeg is used in flavoring foods, pled as a result of a hurricane in 1955. sauces, and beverages. Nutmeg oil is Nutmeg and mace prices doubled and used in pharmaceutical preparations, tripled as a result of the reduction in confections, condiments, and perfumes, supplies. The immediate effect of the cosmetics, and soaps. Mace oil has damage was eased somewhat as the similar chemical and therapeutic prop- Grenada Co-Operative Nutmeg As- erties as the oil of nutmeg. sociation had sizable stocks on hand. The nutmeg tree is grown from seed. GINGER (Zingiber officinale), the root or Male and female flowers are produced rhizome of a tuberous, perennial plant, on separate trees, and the sexes cannot is native to southeastern Asia. The pal- be identified until they flower 6 or 8 mate roots are commonly called hands. years after planting. To insure an India and Taiwan, the largest pro- ample number of female trees, which ducers, supply more than three-fourths are the only source of fruit, two seed- of the ginger in commerce. Nigeria, lings are planted a short distance Sierra Leone, and Jamaica account for apart. Later all male trees, except one most of the remainder. The United for the pollination of every 10 or 12 States and the United Kingdom are female trees, are cut down. Some the major importers. growers plant only one tree at the There are many varieties or types of proper spacing and bud or graft the ginger. Jamaican ginger, which is extra male trees with female scions. usually much larger than the Indian, The nutmeg tree requires a tropical or Cochin, is preferred for making climate. The trees begin to bear after ginger ale, fancy baking, and medic- 6 to 8 years and continue in produc- inal purposes. Sierra Leone ginger tion for more than 50 years. They may is used mainly in ginger cookies, attain the height of 30 to 40 feet. The gingerbread, and cakes. The Jamaican maximum yields of several thousand variety commands a premium price seeds are obtained when the tree is 15 on the world market, and Indian to 20 years old. ginger brings a price considerably Harvesting the nutmeg usually con- below that of the Jamaican variety. tinues throughout the year. The heav- Ratoon ginger consists of the old roots ily laden limbs usually are arched with that are left in the field and dug out at the fruit, which is about the size and a later time. This type is in great shape of an apricot. The ripe, fleshy demand in the United States market portion splits open, disclosing the scar- because of its low cost. let aril (mace) and the glossy, dark- Ginger is cultivated mostly in small brown seed. home gardens. It needs a hot, moist. 200 THE YEARBOOK OP AGRICULTURE 1964 tropical climate and partial shade. Since the plants are gross feeders, they require a rich, loamy soil or heavy fertilization. Ginger is grown from sea level to approximately 3 thousand feet. Propagation is by divisions of the rhizomes, which are usually planted in Cocoa and rows 12 to 18 inches apart. The plant reaches a height of about 3 feet. Yields average i thousand to 2 thou- sand pounds an acre. The rhizomes are Chocolate dug, washed, and dried in the sun. Peeled ginger is prepared by placing the roots in scalding water and then by ARTHUR G. KEVORKIAN and removing the skin with a knife. REX E. T. DULL Preserved ginger is peeled and boiled in a sugar solution. Ginger is usually exported in the form of dried rhizomes and made into extract or ground into powder in consuming countries. COCOA is a newcomer among foods and beverages, although Central Ameri- TODAY SPICES ARE OF comparatively cans enjoyed it long before the dis- minor importance in world agricul- covery of the New World. Commercial tural production and trade, but in production of cocoa beans was small the few exporting countries, mainly in until only a half century ago, but has the Far East and Africa, spices are a expanded from about 200 million major source of foreign exchange pounds in 1900 to more than 2.2 billion earnings. Cloves, for example, com- pounds, valued at 500 million dollars, prise about 80 percent of the total in 1963. value of Zanzibar's domestic exports, Cocoa beans are seeds of the cacao furnishing the government approxi- tree, Theo broma cacao. They grow in mately one-third of its revenue from pods along the trunk and the older all sources. branches. The cacao tree, a tropical Spices are of importance to import- plant, can be cultivated successfully ing countries because the entire popu- only in a narrow belt 20° north to 20° lation depends on one spice or another south of the Equator. to flavor food. The United States' The cacao tree is native to tropical imports of the eight spices in 1959- America. The Indians of Central 1963 had an average value of 31.5 America and South America grew million dollars. That is a small cacao for many years before the dis- fraction of the value of all our imports covery of America. The Aztecs, Tol- but a large factor in the production tecs, Mayans, and Incas had various of millions of dollars' worth of proc- uses for cocoa beans. A favorite was a essed products, in which spices are drink made from the beans, corn, essential ingredients. spices, and water. A similar beverage, pinolillo, is still popular in Nicaragua. ARTHUR G. KEVORKIAN, an economist Columbus saw cocoa beans but re- in the Foreign Agricultural Service, is garded them only as a curiosity. Chief of the Special Studies Branch of Cortez, another explorer, found the Sugar and Tropical Products Division, Aztec Indians of Mexico using them to He has degrees from the University of make a bitter but rather delightful Rhode Island and Harvard University. draught. The addition of sugar, vanil- He worked for the Department of Agriculture la, and cinnamon made this exotic in Latin America for many years. drink more pleasing to the European