Oxygen Trading

Kalady, Ernakulam, Kerala

Black Pepper is the dried mature berry of Piper nigrum, a climbing, perennial shrub mostly found in hot, moist region of Southern India. Under cultivation pepper vines are trailed over support as columns, 5-6 mtr tall, 1-2 meter diameter. The climbing woody stems have swollen nods with clinging roots at each node, which helps in anchoring the vine to the support trees (standards). It has straight upward growing main stem and have lateral shoots from the axils of the leaves having shorter inter nodes without adventitious roots. In such branches the terminal buds get modified into an inflorescence (spike) and the auxiliary buds continue further growth.

The root system confined to 75-100 cm radius and depth. The inflorescence is a pendent spike, 3-15 cm long with 50-150 flowers. Flowers are minute, white pale yellow, arranged spirally on fleshy pedantries. The specie is naturally self-pollinated and pollen dispersal is aided by the presence of water droplets. Fruit is a single seeded drupe often called berry. It is spherical in shape, green in colour, changing to red on ripping.    

USES

Pepper is largely used by meat packers and in canning, pickling, baking, considering for its preservative value. It has the ability to correct the seasoning of dishes, therefore used as a final dash at the end of cooking to effectively adjust the flavour. It is an important component of culinary seasoning of universal use and is an essential ingredient of numerous commercial foodstuffs. It is also used as an ingredient in spice mixes. White pepper is used in products like mayonnaise where, black specks of black pepper is not liked. Other products in use are pepper oil, oleoresin, micro encapsulated pepper, green pepper in brine, dehydrated green pepper, frozen pepper etc. Black pepper is an essential ingredient in Indian system of medicine. Piperine, the pungent principle in pepper oleoresin helps to enhance bio-availability and therefore used in pharmaceuticals. The major functional properties of pepper are analgesic, anti-pyretic, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial.

INDIAN NAME OF SPICES

Hindi Kali mirch Bengali Kala morich, golmorich Gujarati Kalamari, kalomirich Kannada Kare menasu Kashmiri Marutis Malayalam Kurumulaku, nallamulaku Marathi Mira, kali mirch Oriya Gol maricha Punjabi Kali mirch Sanskrit Marich ushna, hapusha Tamil Milagu Telugu Miriyala tige Urdu Kali mirch, Siah mirch

FOREIGN NAME OF SPICES

Spanish : Pimienta French : Poivre German : Pfeffer Swedish : Peppar Arabic : Filfil Aswad Dutch : Peper Italian : Pepe Portuguese : Pimenta Russian : Pyerets Japanese : Kosha Chinese : Hu-Chiao

Nutmeg & Mace are two distinctly different spices produced from a fruit of an evergreen tree usually 9-12 mtr high. Mace is the dried reticulated ‘aril’ of the fruit and nutmeg is the dried seed kernel of the fruit. The trees are normally unisexual, bearing either male or female flowers. The male flowers are born in clusters, whereas female flowers are often solitary. Fruit is a fleshy drupe, spherical in shape, pale yellow in colour with a longitudinal groove in the centre. When the fruit mature it burst open along the groove exposing the bright attractive mace, covering the hard black, shiny shell of the seed called nutmeg. 

Both nutmeg and mace are used as condiment particularly in sweet foods. The spice in the ground form is mainly used in the food processing industry especially as a standard seasoning in many Dutch dishes. Nutmeg oleoresin is used in the preparation of meat products, soups, sauces, baked foods, confectionaries, puddings, seasoning of meat and vegetable etc. The fleshy outer cover of the fruit is crystallized or pickled or made into jellies. Mace is used in savoury dishes. It is used as a drug in Eastern countries because of its stimulant, carminative, astringent and aphrodisiac properties. Excessive doses have a narcotic effect. Nutmeg oil is used in cosmetics and toiletries.

INDIAN NAME OF SPICES

Hindi : Jaiphal Bengali : Jaiphal Gujarati : Jaiphal Kannada : Jayikai Kashmiri : Zaaphal Malayalam : Jathikka Marathi : Jaiphal Oriya : Jaiphala Punjabi : Jaiphal Sanskrit : Jatiphala Tamil : Jathikai Telugu : Jajikai Urdu : Jaiphal

FOREIGN NAME OF SPICES

Arabic : Jouza at-Teeb Chinese : Dou kou shu Dutch : Nootmuskaat French : Muscade German : Muskatnu Greek : Moschokarido Indonesia : Pala Italian : Noce moscata Spanish : Moscada