Reasons Why You Should be Considering
GI Tagged Indian Spices
Spices are the main ingredient in Indian cooking. If you do not have the essential spices in your kitchen, almost every recipe you aim to cook looks scary and impossible. So, Spices play an essential role in Indian cooking and it is used extensively!
– Best Quality
– Natural Oils
– Genuine Taste
– Sourced From The Best Farms
– Fresher and Healthier
– Will Make Your Food Amazingly Tasty
etc.,
But, it just appears as though you are simply adding the colored powder to your food, which does not make your food tasty and which is not at all healthy. The adulterants are added in the spices which adversely affect the nature, substance, and quality of the food and are not healthy for human health.
The common adulterants which are added into these spices are sand, dirt, earth gritty matter, artificial color, starch, chalk powder, bark, stone, sawdust, lead chromate, etc.
There are many adulterants that might be a hazard to our health especially if consumed for a long period of time.
Here are most commonly used spices which may be adulterated by some common adulterants:
Turmeric Powder
Can be adulterated by corn flour (starch), yellow-colored talk or sawdust, lead chromate, or melanin yellow dye.
Black Pepper
Papaya seeds, blackberries are the common adulterant used in black pepper as they are almost similar in size but tasteless (sometimes bitter).
Red Chilli Powder
Can be adulterated by brick powder, salt powder or talc powder, and artificial colors like Sudan Red.
Here are two additives which are used to preserve flavor or enhance the taste, appearance, or other qualities of spices:
Silicon Dioxide: Silicon Dioxide is usually artificially produced and is added in spices to act as an anti-caking agent to absorb moisture and prevent clustering. There should be no need to add this in at all because, if the quality of spices is high and they are fresh and meet all health requirements, there will be no clustering.
Citric Acid: When you imagine citric acid you might think of lemon acting as a preservative, but no, this is far from a derivative of something so natural. Citric acid is actually produced artificially using ingredients such as sugar, beets, corn, etc. But, why is this needed if you are getting the freshest best spices?
So, here we discussed why you should avoid using these adulterated spices, likewise, you should aim to use the best spices and herbs possible.
Now, let me help you with this. Below I have explained, “Why You Should be Considering GI Tagged Indian Spices?” “What makes these GI Tagged Spices Stand Out?” and “How they are Healthier?”
What is GI Tag?
First of all, let me tell you “What is GI Tag?”.
GI (Geographical Indication) is a sign used on a product that has a specific geographical origin and possesses the qualities or reputation of that particular region. Since these products obtain the qualities from the geographical place of production, there is a clear connection between the product and its original place of production. It means the qualities, characteristics or reputation of the product should be essentially due to their place of origin only.
Geographical Indication Tag is generally used for Agricultural Products, Handlooms & Textiles, Foodstuffs, Wine and Spirit Drinks, Handicrafts, and Industrial Products.
If you want to know more about What is GI, Click here!
At present, 13 spices cultivated in India have the GI tag and the tag is given by the Registrar of Geographical Indications under the Department of Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, in a move that may help spice farmers get better prices for their produce.
GI is the ideal solution that differentiates a spice from others in the same species, which helps farmers to get a good price for their produce. Because these spices have unique flavor and attributes because they are grown in a specific geographical region of India. This geographical indication (GI) status will help to brand these spices as premium products that cannot be matched by similar crops grown in other parts of the world. These spices have a specific color flavor or other characteristics that distinguish them from other similar spices grown elsewhere. For instance, the Byadgi Chilli from Karnataka is known for its color while the Guntur Chilli from Andhra Pradesh is popular for its sharp pungency.
There are global customers who are looking for spices from a particular geographical region. In the international market, Malabar Pepper is one of the most popular brand names. But, several countries are importing pepper from India and re-exporting it as a Malabar Pepper said Philip Kuruvilla, MD of Indian Products a leading spices exporting firm. The practice is not limited to pepper. Alleppey Green Cardamom and Cochin Ginger are the two varieties that the competing countries Guatemala and Nigeria are trying to cash in on. The spices grown in a particular region will have special qualities which can be exploited for increasing the exports. This is why the GI tag is given to help in preserving the uniqueness of these products.
Most Commonly Used Indian Spices
“Malabar Black Pepper” is an indigenous spice of the Malabar region in the Indian State of Kerala. The pepper has a special quality based upon the unique agro-climatic condition of the said geographical indication. The said GI Tag (geographical indication) identifies and indicates the pepper produced in the Malabar region of Kerala State.
Geographical Area of Production:
The “Malabar Pepper” has its origin in the Malabar region in the Indian State of Kerala.
– It is a warming spice.
– Its aroma is sweet and spicy.
– Its flavor is rich and bold.
– Malabar Pepper is highly aromatic, with a distinctive, fruity bouquet.
– It is one of the oldest and most important spices in the world. So important that in ancient times it was used to pay taxes.
– India has always reigned supreme in the production of this most exotic and sought after spice.
– The Malabar Pepper of Kerala provides a quarter of the world’s supply of Pepper. Tellicherry Pepper from the Malabar region is considered the most complex, balanced, and elegant of the black peppers. It is actually a special type of pepper that has been allowed to ripen completely so that it develops more flavor, sugar, and size. Malabar has always been considered to produce the best pepper.
– Malabar Black Pepper has a perfect combination of flavor and aroma.
– Sanskrit authors describe black pepper as acrid, pungent, hot dry, carminative, and useful in intermittent fever, hemorrhoids, and dyspepsia.
– In modern Indian medicine, pepper is employed as an aromatic stimulant in cholera, weakness following fevers, vertigo, and as a stomachache in dyspepsia and flatulence.
– Used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate the digestive system.
– Used for treatment of nausea, lack of appetite, and other dyspeptic complaints.
– Helpful in improving memory and helping to fight cognitive malfunction.
– As a gargle, it is valued for relaxing uvula, paralysis of the tongue.
– It will correct flatulence and nausea.
– It has also been used in vertigo, paralytic, and arthritic disorders.
– It is sometimes added to quinine when the stomach will not respond to quinine alone.
– It has also been advised in diarrhea, cholera, scarlatina, and in a solution for a wash for tinea capitalize.
– It is good for constipation, also on the urinary organs.
Uniqueness
– Malabar Pepper has a sharp, hot, and biting taste.– It is a warming spice.
– Its aroma is sweet and spicy.
– Its flavor is rich and bold.
– Malabar Pepper is highly aromatic, with a distinctive, fruity bouquet.
– It is one of the oldest and most important spices in the world. So important that in ancient times it was used to pay taxes.
– India has always reigned supreme in the production of this most exotic and sought after spice.
– The Malabar Pepper of Kerala provides a quarter of the world’s supply of Pepper. Tellicherry Pepper from the Malabar region is considered the most complex, balanced, and elegant of the black peppers. It is actually a special type of pepper that has been allowed to ripen completely so that it develops more flavor, sugar, and size. Malabar has always been considered to produce the best pepper.
– Malabar Black Pepper has a perfect combination of flavor and aroma.
Uses and Medicinal Benefits:
– Pepper finds a place as medicine in Charaka Samhita.– Sanskrit authors describe black pepper as acrid, pungent, hot dry, carminative, and useful in intermittent fever, hemorrhoids, and dyspepsia.
– In modern Indian medicine, pepper is employed as an aromatic stimulant in cholera, weakness following fevers, vertigo, and as a stomachache in dyspepsia and flatulence.
– Used in Ayurvedic medicine to stimulate the digestive system.
– Used for treatment of nausea, lack of appetite, and other dyspeptic complaints.
– Helpful in improving memory and helping to fight cognitive malfunction.
– As a gargle, it is valued for relaxing uvula, paralysis of the tongue.
– It will correct flatulence and nausea.
– It has also been used in vertigo, paralytic, and arthritic disorders.
– It is sometimes added to quinine when the stomach will not respond to quinine alone.
– It has also been advised in diarrhea, cholera, scarlatina, and in a solution for a wash for tinea capitalize.
– It is good for constipation, also on the urinary organs.
2. Waigaon Turmeric
Waigaon Turmeric is a traditional crop in Samudrapur tehsil of the Wardha district. Use of this turmeric for wound healing, curing cough, cold, and in many other diseases are traditionally known in this area. This is a unique variety that matures in a short period and grown under rainfed conditions.
Approximately 80% of the farmers from Waigaon village cultivate turmeric for generations. The color of Waigaon turmeric is a dark mustard yellow as compared to other turmeric varieties.
Key Factors of Cultivation of the Waigaon Turmeric:
Turmeric farming is completely organic. In the overall cultivation period and processing of turmeric, no chemicals and pesticides are used. The total cultivation and processing period of turmeric is near about 8 months.
Cultivation of turmeric starts after ‘Akshaytrutiya’s festival. If irrigation facilities are available the planting of rhizomes is possible at the time of ‘Akshaytrutiya’. However, most of the farmers do planting at the monsoon to take advantage of the rainfall.
Seed material
Whole or split mother rhizomes are used for planting. Farmers generally select well-developed, healthy, and disease-free rhizomes from the previous production.
Water Management
‘Wardha’ river is flowing near to Waigaon. Canals are used for water supply in this turmeric belt. The yield of turmeric mainly depends upon rainfall from June to September. In the month of October and November plants can be irrigated by river water or by canal water with sprinkling irrigation if post-monsoon rains are not received.
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