Spice Catalogue
India produces a wide range of spices and holds a prominent position in world spice production. Because of the varying climates - from tropical to sub-tropical to temperate-almost all spices grow splendidly in India.In reality almost all the states and union territories of India grow one or the other spices.
Allspice
Allspice trees are evergreen medium sized, grow up to a height of 8 to 10 meters and with a slender upright trunk and smooth greyish bark. The mail trees produce only few fruits. The male and female trees are similar in appearance and cannot be identified till flowering commences.
Aniseed
Aniseed is an annual plant with an average height of 30 to 50 cm. The plant is completely covered with fine hairs. Aniseed is ground-grey to greyish brown in colour,3 to 5mm in length, oval in shape with short stalk attached. Five longitudinal ridges are visible on each pericarp. Vittae (oil ducts) are almost always present embedded in the fruit wall beneath the ridges.
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Bay Leaf
Bay Leaf or Laurel Leaf are dried leaves or an evergreen shrub or more rarely a tree attaining a height of 15 to 20 mtrs. The upper surface of the leaf is glabrous and shiny, olive green, and lower surface is dull olive to brown with a prominent rib and veins. The aroma of the crushed leaves is delicate & fragrant and taste is aromatic and bitter.
Cardamom (large)
Large Cardamom is a perennial herb with subterranean rhizomes and 50-140 aerial leafy shoots. Each shoot has height of 1.7 to 2.6 mtr and possess 9 to 13 leaves in each tiller. Leaves are glabrous on both sides with a prominent mid-rib. Inflorescence is a condensed spike with yellowish perianth. Each spike has 10-15 fruits. Fruit is round or oval shape, capsule with reddish brown colour. Each capsule is trilocular with many seeds.
Cassia
Cinnamomum Cassia (Chinese Cinnamon) is the dried bark of cassia which is a small, bushy, ever green tree, 18-20 mtr high and 40-60 cm diameter with a straight and cylindrical trunk and grey brown bark, 13-15mm thick when mature.
Cinnamon
The "True Cinnamon" or Sri Lankan Cinnamon is the dried inner stem bark of Cinnamomum Verum. Cinnamon plants are grown as bushes. When the plants are of two years age, they typically measure at about 2 meter in high and 8-12 cm at the base. It is at this stage they are ready for harvesting.
Clove
The clove of commerce is the air-dried unopened flower bud obtained from evergreen medium sized tree. The tree grows to a height of 10-12 mtrs and start flowering in about 7 years. It continues to produce flower buds for 80 or more years. It is a valuable spice of the orient. Clove clusters are plucked by hand when the buds are fully developed with a pronounced pink flush and then dried over several days in the sun.
Coriander
Coriander is an important spice crop having a prime position in flavouring food. The plant is a thin stemmed, small, bushy herb, 25 to 50 cm in height with many branches and umbels. Leaves are alternate, compound. The whole plant has a pleasant aroma. Inflorescence is a compound umbel comprises 5 smaller umbels.
Fenugreek
enugreek seed is the ripe fruit of an annual herb. This robust herb has light green leaves, is 30-60 cm tall and produces slender, beaked pods, 10-15 cm long, each pod contains 10-20 small hard yellowish brown seeds, which are smooth and oblong, about 3mm long, each grooved across one corner, giving them a hooked appearance.
Garlic
Garlic is a hardy, bulbous, rooted, perennial plant with narrow flat leaves and bears small white flowers and bulbils. The compound bulb consists of 6 to 34 bulblets called ‘cloves’ which are surrounded by a common, thin, white or pinkish papery sheet. Garlic has a strong flavour and taste.
Star Anise
Star anise is the dried, star shaped fruit of Illicium verum. It is an evergreen tree attaining a height of 8-15 meters and a diameter of 25 cm. The leaves are entire, 10-15 cm long, 2.5 – 5 cm broad, elliptic, flowers are solitary, white to red in colour. Fruits are star shaped, reddish brown consisting of 6-8 carpels arranged in a whorl.
Ginger
Ginger of commerce is the dried underground stem of the herbaceous tropical plant grown as an annual. The whole plant is refreshingly aromatic and the underground rhizome, raw or processed, is valued as spice. Ginger is a slender perennial herb, 30-50 cm tall with palmately branched rhizome bearing leafy shoots.
Turmeric
Turmeric is the boiled, dried, cleaned and polished rhizomes of Curcuma longa. The plant is a herbaceous perennial, 60-90 cm high, with a short stem and tufted leaf. There are 7 to 12 leaves, the leaf sheaths forms the pseudo stem. The lamina is green above and pale green below and has a length of 30-40 cm and width 8-12 cm. Inflorescence is a central spike of 10-15 cm length.
Pepper
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).
Dry Red Chilli
Chilli is the dried fruit of an annual sub-herb. It is also called as capsicum, paprika, sweet pepper, red pepper, pimento, cayenne pepper etc depending upon the manner in which it is prepared and used. Chilli comes in a wide range of shapes, sizes, color and degrees of pungency. Some varieties of chilli are highly pungent, medium pungent, others flavorsome but not pungent. Chilli is grown in several parts of the world as a 'round - the- year crop'. India is the foremost producer and exporter of chilli.