|
CARDAMOM
Elletteria Cardamomum
Cardamom is called the "Queen of the spices". India
and Guatemala are the chief producers of cardamom in the world.
India is known as the 'House of Cardamom'. It grows only under
shades of Western Ghats of South India. Yield starts in the
3rd year after planting, and it continues up to 10-12 years.
The life span of cardamom is 15-20 years. Mysore, Vazhukka
and Malabar are the three types of cardamom. Njallani is a
popular variety grows in this region. Unlike other plants
flowers are formed at the bottom. Flowering starts in April-June
and with Peak flowering during July/August. Cool humid weather
is necessary during the flowering season for forming the fruits.
It takes 90-120 days for fruit maturity. Harvesting is done
once in 30-45 days. September to March is the main picking
season. Matured capsules are collected by women labourers.
A labourer can pluck five thousand to ten thousand capsules
per day. 1000-1500 freshly harvested green capsules make one
k.g. The curing percentage is 20.
|
|
|
Drying is very important, done in a specially designed curing
chamber called Cardamom Store. 24-36 hours of drying is required
at a temperature of 50° - 60° C. to retain the green
colour. After drying the cardamom, Polishing is done by rubbing
against hard surface or using polishing machine. Later the
dried cardamom is stored in clean gunny bags.
Cardamom produced here is the best in the world market.
|
PEPPER
Piper nigram
Pepper is called the king of the spices. It is a climber.
For its cultivation supporting trees are necessary. The common
supporting tree is called coral tree (dadap tree). Harvesting
is done once in a year in the months of February and March.
The berries are separated from the spike by threshing. After
drying in the sun for three days they turn into black, hence
it is called black pepper.
The green and white pepper is also made from the same plant.
But the processing is different.
WHITE PEPPER
For making the white pepper the ripe pepper
berries, i.e., the red ones are harvested and immersed in
running water for 8-12 days. Then by a thorough wash the outer
skin is removed and dried in the sun. After a few hours, turn
in to white and thus we have white pepper.
GREEN PEPPER
The Pepper berriers are collected before
they are ripe and taken to the factory. By means of dehydration
methods the green color and fragrance can be retained.
Pepper grown here is the best in the world market. |
NUTMEG
Myristica fragrance
Nutmeg yields two Products of Commercial value, Nutmeg (Seed
kernel) and mace (The aril over the Seed). It is Cultivated
throughout Kerala. It belongs to the family Myristicaceae.
|
|
The nutmeg tree bears fruits throughout the year. December
to May is the Peak season. The nut splits open when the fruits
are fully ripe. The mace is separated after dehusking from
the nut and dried in the sun for 2-3 days. The nuts are dried
separately for 24 weeks till the kernels rattle with in the
shells.
|
CLOVE
Eugenia caryophyllus
The clove of commerce is the dried unopened flower buds of
the clove tree. Clove tree starts flowering after 6-8 years
of planting. Flowering Period is August-September in low elevations
and later in the high ranges. It takes about six months to
become matured. Harvesting Period extends from February to
March. Unopened matured flower buds are carefully collected
by hand and dried in the sun for 3-5 days till they become
crisp and dark brown in colour. Average yield varies from
500 g.to 2 kg.ltree/year.
|
|
|
CINNAMON
Cinnamon verum
Cinnamon is indigenous to Srilanka and Southeastern India.
There fore, true cinnamon is also known as Ceylon Cinnamon.
Harvesting Commences from the fourth year of Planting. Harvesting
is done twice a year in May and November. The shoots are cut
with a sharp knife. The leaves and green Portion are removed
and the bark Peeled off (after Scraping the outer skin) using
a special knife designed for the Purpose. The peels are kept
over night to soften the bark (due to fermentation) and dried
in the sun for 2-5 days. Average yield is 200-300 Kg. bark/ha
|
|
|
ALLSPICE
Pimento dioica
The Allspice of commerce is dried unripe fruits of the tree.
It is also called Jamaican Pepper or Pimento. This Spice has
a combined flavor of Nutmeg, Clove and Cinnamon.
The plant is indigenous to the West Indies and Central America.
Jamaica is the major producer of Allspice. It is cultivated
through out Kerala in a limited scale.
|
VANILLA
Vanilla planifolia
Vanilla is called the Prince of Spices. It is a climbing orchid.
It is Cultivated mainly because it has a pleasant flavor.
It is a native of Central America. Madagascar is the chief
producer of vanilla in the world.
For its cultivation supporting trees are necessary. It requires
shade. It can be cultivated as an intercrop in coconut, areca
nut and Pepper farms. Vanilla is propagated mainly by stem
cutting. The ideal time for planting vanilla is when the weather
is neither too rainy nor too dry. August or September is the
planting season.
|
Flowering
Commences in the third year after planting. Depending upon
the place of cultivation flowering is from December to March.
It requires artificial Pollination. The rostellum of the flower
is pushed back with a pointed bamboo splinter and the over
hanging anther is pressed against the stigma with the thumb,
thus smearing pollen over it. The ideal time for pollination
is 6 a.m to 12 noon. After pollination the beans take 9-11
months for their maturity. For its processing different methods
are adopted in vanilla growing countries. In India bourbon
method is practiced for processing vanilla beans. |
|
TURMERIC
Curcuma longa
Turmeric is a Tropical herb. It is a shade tolerant crop.
The planting season is April/May with the arrival of Pre-monsoon
showers. Whole or Split mother rhizomes are used for planting.
The Chilly, Maize, Colocasia can be grown as inter crops.
The time of harvesting depends upon the particular variety
and is usually from January to March. The peeled rhizomes
are washed and dried in the sun for one week. It is used in
cooking and it has antiseptic value.
|
|
Apart from the above mentioned spices, various varieties of
Chillies, Basil, Black Mustard, Garlic, Curry Leaf etc. .
.. are also grown in this region.
|
GINGER
Zingiber officinale
Ginger of commerce is the dried rhizome. It is a very important
ingredient in Ayurvedic medicines. Dry ginger is inevitable
for every Ayurvedic Concoction.
The Planting season is April/May with the arrival of Pre-monsoon
showers. Whole or split mother rhizomes are used for planting.
It is harvested eight months after planting when the leaves
turn yellow, and start drying up gradually. The peeled rhizomes
are washed and dried in the sun for one week. The average
yield of fresh ginger per hectare varies with different varieties
ranging from 15 to 25 tonnes.
|
TEA
Tea belongs to the family Camelliacease. The Cultivated tea
belongs to the species, Camellia Sinensis. A few decades ago
for planting tea, seedling propagation was adopted. The present
Practice of planting tea is vegetative Propagation through
single nodule stem cuttings. 13200 Plants can be planted in
one hectare.
Harvesting commences from the third year of Planting. Plucking
is done every 7-15 days interval depending on the rate of
growth of shoots. Fresh shoots with two expanded leaves and
a bud is harvested.
|
|
There are two types of black tea manufacturing. CTC (Crushing
Tearing and Curling) and Orthodox Processes. Black Tea manufacture
can be divided in to 5 stages: Withering, leaf maceration
or rolling, fermentation (oxidation of Polyp he no Is) drying
and grading. Excepting the method of leaf maceration /rolling
and fermentation all other stages are more or less the same
in both the type of manufacture. Orthodox tea gives more flavors.
On an average, about 250 cups of liquid tea can be made from
the orthodox tea, while about 400 cups of tea can be prepared
from l kg of CTC tea.
|
COFFEE
Coffee belongs to the family Rubiaceae. Robesta and Arabica
are the two main varieties of coffee, commercially cultivated
in Periyar region. Tree coffee is also cultivated.
Coffee Arabica is a shrub or bush. The flowers are selffertile.
It takes 8-9 months to mature in to fruits after fertilization.
Generally each fruit produces two seeds.
|
|
Robesta Coffee (Coffee Canephora) is a bigger shrub than Arabica.
The fragrant white flowers are self-sterile necessitating crosspollination.
The fruits mature in 10-11 months.
Ethiopian is the home of Arabica while Africa
is the home of Robusta.Harvesting is done once in a year in
November - February. The ripe seeds rattle within the hush.
Then it is taken to the coffee mill andthe hush is removed.
After roasting while the colour changes to
brown and aroma is produced.
|
