About Ceylon Spices
Home | About Ceylon Spices
Home | About Ceylon Spices
Sri Lanka is a tropical country with various agro-climatic zones. It also offers a variety of spices, unique to its growth, reproductive, and climate requirements, which are ideally suited to these zones.
The country is well known across the world for its spice diversity and is hence a popular tourist destination. Spices in Sri Lanka are having fantastic uses for personal well-being apart from being added to diverse food products.
Black pepper is known as the "King of spices," and it accounts for the majority of the international spice trade. According to historical records, it originated in South India. The value has increased, and it was previously referred to as "black gold" and employed as a type of commodities money. Now the main producers of pepper can be identified as Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Brazil.
Botanically, the peppercorn belongs to the family of Piperaceae of the genus of piper; and is known scientifically as Piper nigrum. It is a perennial vine and climber that requires a supporting tree or pole to grow in height; thus it has similar growth characteristics to that of a beetle leaf plant. The pepper plant starts producing small round berries after about three to four years of plantation. Technically, the pepper berry is a drupe, measuring about 5 mm in diameter, containing a single large seed at its center.
Peppercorns include a plethora of plant-derived chemical compounds with disease-preventing and health-promoting qualities. Peppers have been in use for centuries for their anti-inflammatory, carminative, and anti-flatulent properties. Peppercorns are composed of health-benefiting essential oils such as piperine, an amine alkaloid, which gives a strong spicy pungent character to the pepper. Black peppercorns are high in minerals such as potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, iron, and magnesium. Peppercorns are high in anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin C and vitamin A.
Pepper is grown in an area of 42,989 acres in Sri Lanka's low and mid country wet and moderate ago-climate zones. Major farming districts include Matale, Kandy, Kegalle, Badulla, Ratnapura, Monaragala, and Kurunegala.
Existence varieties such as "Panniyur- 1" from India and "Kuchin" from Malaysia are high yielding and of outstanding quality. There are also novel hybrids of Dingi Rala, Kohukumbure Rala, and Bootawe Rala.
Drought-affected areas should be avoided unless extra irrigation is available. A clean dry spell and adequate water are required for flower induction and pollination. Plants can withstand temperatures ranging from 15o C to 35o C. Pepper grows best at temperatures ranging from 20oC to 30oC. In humid tropics, growth and yield performance are better. Strong winds are dangerous. As a result, mid and upper-country locations with wind barriers are most suited for pepper growing.
This spice tree originated in Indonesia's Maluku Islands, was spread by the Arabs in the Middle Ages, and is today controlled by Portugal. Later, the Dutch took over French Guiana, Zanzibar, the West Indies, and much of Brazil. Sri Lanka therefore was invited by Arab traders or Colonial rulers, and it was the spice center at the time.
Clove oil is extracted by distilling flower buds, inflorescence branches left after the buds have been removed, and the leaves are the other commercially valuable component. It is a colorless or slightly yellowish liquid that darkens with age and sun exposure. The clove tree is a symmetrically structured medium-sized tree with smooth grey bark. Trees are typically 15 to 20 meters tall when fully mature.
The spice includes essential oils that are beneficial to health, like as eugenol. It is a phenylpropanoid chemical component that provides the clove bud with pleasant, sweet fragrant smells.
The spice is also high in minerals like as potassium, manganese, iron, selenium, and magnesium. Potassium is an electrolyte found in cells and body fluids that helps regulate heart rate and blood pressure. The body uses manganese as a cofactor for the antioxidant enzyme superoxide dismutase.
Furthermore, the spice buds have high levels of vitamin A and beta-carotene. Antioxidant properties are known for these substances. In addition to being necessary for eyesight, the body requires vitamin A to maintain healthy mucous membranes and skin. Natural foods high in flavonoids aid to protect the body from lung and oral cavity cancers. This spice is also high in vitamin K, vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), thiamin (vitamin B-1), vitamin C, and riboflavin. Vitamin C-rich meals help the body establish tolerance to pathogenic agents and scavenge damaging oxygen-free radicals.
Clove is mostly grown in Sri Lanka's mid-country we zone, covering an area of 7618ha in the districts of Kandy, Kegalle, and Matale.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of the Lauraceae tree C. zeylanicum, which was cultivated in Sri Lanka in 1766 while King Sri Keerthi Rajasinghe was governing the country.
The Ceylon cinnamon or true cinnamon is the dried bark of Cinnamomum zealanicum, and belongs to the family Lauraceae. It is indigenous to Sri Lanka. Cinnamomum zealanicum is an evergreen perennial plant with spirally arranged, broad laminated dark green leaves having palmate venation.
Cinnamon bark is used in cooking as a spice. It is mostly used in cooking as a condiment and flavoring agent. It is used in the production of chocolate, particularly in Mexico, which is the world's largest importer of cinnamon. It's also found in apple pie, doughnuts, and cinnamon buns, as well as spicy candies, coffee, tea, hot cocoa, and liqueurs.
Cinnamon is frequently used in savory chicken and lamb recipes in the Middle East. Cinnamon and sugar are frequently used in the United States to flavor cereals, bread-based items such as toast, and fruits, particularly apples; a cinnamon-sugar mixture is also offered separately for such purposes. It is also utilized in both sweet and savory dishes in Turkish cuisine. Pickling can also benefit from the addition of cinnamon. Cinnamon powder has long been used to enhance the flavor of Persian food, appearing in a range of thick soups, drinks, and sweets.
Evidence-Based Health Benefits of Cinnamon
Cinnamon is a highly delicious spice. For thousands of years, it has been treasured for its therapeutic powers.
Cinnamon is a spice derived from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree. The oily component of cinnamon has a high concentration of a chemical called cinnamaldehyde, which gives it its characteristic scent and flavor. This chemical is responsible for the majority of cinnamon's beneficial benefits on health and metabulism.
Antioxidants protect the body from free radical oxidative damage. Cinnamon contains several antioxidants, including pulyphenuls. Cinnamon was the overwhelming victor in a study that assessed the antioxidant activity of 26 spices, even outranking "superfoods" like garlic and oregano. Cinnamon is so potent that it can be used as a natural food preservative.
Inflammation in the body is incredibly important. It aids the body's ability to fight infections and repair tissue damage. However, chronic (long-term) inflammation directed against the body's tissues might become a concern. Cinnamon may be effective in this area because certain research reveal that its antioxidants have strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Cinnamon has been associated to a lower risk of heart disease, the world's leading cause of premature death.
Cinnamon is well known for its ability to reduce blood sugar levels. Cinnamon can reduce blood sugar through a variety of ways other than insulin resistance.
Cancer is a serious disease, characterized by uncontrulled growth of cells. Cinnamon has been widely studied for its potential use in cancer prevention and treatment.
Cinnamaldehyde, the main active component of cinnamon, may help fight various kinds of infection. Cinnamon oil has been shown to effectively treat respiratory tract infections caused by fungi. It can also inhibit the growth of certain bacteria, including Listeria and Salmonella. The antimicrobial effects of cinnamon may also help prevent tooth decay and reduce bad breath.
Kandy, Matale, Belihull Oya, Haputale, Horton planes, and the Sinharaja forest range are among the growing places. Currently, farming is concentrated along the coastal belt from Negambo to Matara, with inroads into Kalutara and Ratnapura as well.
Depending on the taste of the bark the spice categorized as “Pani-Miris Kurundu” was the best with a sweet-pungent taste and “Miris Kurundu”, “Sevel Kurundu” and “Thiththa Kurundu” are the others.
This originated in East Indonesia and has been used as a medieval cuisine as flavorings, medicines, and preserving agents due to the high demand in the European market. To Sri Lanka, it is reported at the 19th century.
Nutmeg is one of two spices obtained from various species of tree of the genus Myristica, the other being mace. Myristica scent, an evergreen tree native to the hill country, is the most important commercial species.
Nutmeg is the tree's seed, generally egg-shaped and around 20 to 30 mm (0.8 to 1.2 in) long and 15 to 18 mm (0.6 to 0.7 in) wide, weighing between 5 and 10 g (0.2 and 0.4 oz) dry, whereas mace is the seed's dried "lacy" reddish covering or aril of the seed.
Nutmeg tree yields up to three times in a season. he outer covering or husk of the tree is removed and thrown once it has been harvested. Just beneath the thick husk is the golden-brown aril known as "mace," which tightly encircles the nutmeg kernel. Mace is delicately peeled from the surface of its kernel, flattened into strips, dried, and sold whole (blades) or finely powdered powder. The nutmeg kernel is then sun-dried for several days to weeks. This technique is carried out more quickly in larger commercial setups using a hot drier machine until the entire nutmeg rattles inside the shell. Its shell is then split open, revealing a single shriveled nutmeg kernel. Finally, the nuts are dipped in lime water to prevent insect infestation and seed germination.
Many plant-derived chemical components in nutmeg and mace spice are recognized to have anti-oxidant, disease-preventing, and health-promoting qualities. The spicy nut includes the fixed oil trimyristin as well as various essential volatile oils that give nutmegs their sweet fragrant flavor, such as myristicin, elemicin, eugenol, and safrole.
This spice contains minerals such as copper, potassium, calcium, manganese, iron, zinc, and magnesium.
It is also high in many key B-complex vitamins, including as vitamin C, folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, and vitamin A, as well as flavonoid anti-oxidants such as beta-carotene and cryptoxanthin.
The main growing areas are the districts of Kegalle and Matale, which occupy a total area of 2788 acres and cover 80% of the area covered by Kandy.
Mace is the outer covering of the nutmeg seed and is available as a spice or entire mace. Although it includes the same aromatic oil, the taste is distinct. The addition of two nutmegs and mace increases the perfect quality blend's flavor. There is a method for extracting the complete mace from the lacy aril, which must be separated from the outer seed of nutmeg and dried at a controlled temperature. When the aril dries, it turns a faint yellow-orange or tan tint. This is typically found in bakery items, flavored drinks, and meat preservers.