Grains of paradise

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Aframomum melegueta
)
For the album by Erik Friedlander, see Grains of Paradise (album).
"Guinea grains" redirects here. For Guinea pepper, see
Ashanti pepper
.
"Melegueta pepper" redirects here. For the similarly named chili pepper, see Malagueta pepper.

Grains of paradise
Aframomum melegueta
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Zingiberaceae
Genus: Aframomum
Species:
A. melegueta
Binomial name
Aframomum melegueta
K. Schum.
Synonyms
  • Amomum melegueta

Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) is a species in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae, and closely related to cardamom. Its seeds are used as a spice (ground or whole); it imparts a pungent, black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ossame, or fom wisa, and is sometimes confused with alligator pepper. The terms African pepper and Guinea pepper have also been used, but are ambiguous as they can apply to other spices such as grains of Selim (Xylopia aethiopica).

It is native to

Basketo district of southern Ethiopia.[1][2]

Characteristics

Aframomum melegueta is an

pods 5–7 cm (2–3 in) long, containing numerous small, reddish-brown seeds
.

The pungent, peppery taste of the seeds is caused by aromatic ketones, such as (6)-paradol (systematic name: 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-decan-3-one). Essential oils, which are the dominating flavor components in the closely related cardamom,[3] occur only in traces.

The stem at times can be short, and usually shows signs of scars and dropped leaves. The leaves are narrow and similar to those of bamboo, with a well-structured vascular system. The flowers of the herbaceous plant are aromatic, with an orange-colored lip and rich pinkish-orange upper part. The fruits contain numerous, small, golden red-brown seeds.

The seeds of Aframomum melegueta

Uses

A. melegueta pods at a market in São João dos Angolares, São Tomé Island.

Melegueta pepper is commonly used in the cuisines of

Ménagier de Paris recommends it for improving wine that "smells stale". Through the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, the theory of the four humors governed theories about nourishment on the part of doctors, herbalists, and druggists. In this context, John Russell characterized grains of paradise in The Boke of Nurture as "hot and moist".[7]

In 1469, King

malagueta chili, remains popular in Brazil, the Caribbean, Portugal, and Mozambique
.

The importance of the A. melegueta spice is shown by the designation of the area from the

veterinary practice, but for the most part illegally to give a fictitious strength to malt liquors, gin, and cordials".[13]

The presence of the seeds in the diets of

cardiovascular health. They also eat the leaves, and use them for bedding material. The absence of the seeds in the diets of captive lowland gorillas may contribute to their occasionally poor cardiovascular health in zoos.[14][15]

Today the condiment is sometimes used in gourmet cuisine as a replacement for pepper, and to give unique flavor in some

craft beers, gins, and Norwegian akvavit. Grains of paradise are starting to enjoy a slight resurgence in popularity in North America due to their use by some well-known chefs. Alton Brown is a fan of the condiment, and he uses it in okra stew and his apple-pie recipe on an episode of the TV cooking show Good Eats.[16] Grains of paradise are also used by people on certain diets, such as a raw food diet
, because they are considered less irritating to digestion than black pepper.

Folk medicine and ritual uses

In West African

hoodoo and rootwork, where the seeds are employed in luck-bringing and may be held in the mouth or chewed to prove sincerity.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Southern Nations Nationalities and People’s Region (SNNPR) Livelihood Profiles: Regional Overview" Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine, FEWS Net (January 2005), p. 27 (accessed 18 May 2009)
  2. ISBN 978-0-12-809286-6
    , retrieved 2 March 2021
  3. Chaucer's "The Prioress's Tale
    " was grains of paradise.
  4. ^ Several medieval recipes are republished in Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-Books, Thomas Austin (ed,) Early English Texts Society, vol. 91 (1888) (cited in passing by Beichner 1961), under the names graynys of parise, graynis of parys, graynys of Perys, and simply graynis.
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-8493-2332-0
  6. ^ "Its popularity may have been due to the brilliant name thought up for it by some advertising genius born before his times" observes Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, Anthea Bell (tr.), The History of Food, revised ed., 2009, p. 446.
  7. Dioscurides
    as hot and dry in its qualities, as recorded in the late 13th-century Herbal of Rufinus (Beichner, p. 305f).
  8. ^ "O Contrato de Fernão Gomes" (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
  9. ^ Thorn, Rob. "Discoveries After Prince Henry". Archived from the original on 11 February 2007. Retrieved 24 December 2006.
  10. ISBN 9788822263001
    .
  11. ^ a b Laurie's Sailing Directory for the Ethiopic or Southern Atlantic Ocean to the Rio de la Plata, Cape Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope etc., including the Islands between the two coasts; 4th ed., 1855
  12. ^ Kup, Peter; A History of Sierra Leone, 1400–1787 (Cambridge University)
  13. ^ Baynes, T. S.; Smith, W. R., eds. (1880). "Grains of Paradise" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (9th ed.). New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.
  14. ^ "Gorilla diet protects heart: Grains of paradise". AskNature.org. Biomimicry Institute. 20 February 2012. Retrieved 18 April 2012.
  15. ^ Dybas, Cheryl Lyn; Raskin, Ilya (photographer), "Out of Africa: A Tale of Gorillas, Heart Disease ... and a Swamp Plant" Archived 1 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine, BioScience, vol. 57 (May 2007) pp. 392–397.
  16. ^ Brown, Alton, "Apple of My Pie", Good Eats, season 11, episode 15.
  17. S2CID 163651830
    .
  18. ISBN 978-1-4614-0835-2
    .
  19. ISBN 978-1-4614-0835-2
    .
  20. ISBN 978-0-9719612-1-0
    .

External links

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