''Aframomum melegueta'' is a species in the ginger family,
Zingiberaceae
Zingiberaceae () or the ginger family is a family of flowering plants made up of about 50 genera with a total of about 1600 known species of aromatic perennial herbs with creeping horizontal or tuberous rhizomes distributed throughout tropical ...
, and closely related to
cardamom
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...
. Its seeds are used as a
spice
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
(ground or whole); it imparts a
pungent,
black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is commonly known as grains of paradise, melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ''ossame'', or ''fom wisa'', and is confused with
alligator pepper
Alligator pepper (also known as mbongo spice or hepper pepper) is a West African spice made from the seeds and seed pods of ''Aframomum danielli'', '' A. citratum'' or '' A. exscapum''. It is a close relative of grains of paradise, obtained from th ...
. The term Guinea pepper has also been used, but is most often applied to ''Xylopia aethiopica'' (
grains of Selim
Grains of Selim are the seeds of a shrubby tree, '' Xylopia aethiopica'', found in Africa. The seeds have a musky flavor and are used as a spice in a manner similar to black pepper, and as a flavouring agent that defines , the dominant style of c ...
).
It is native to
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Mau ...
, which is sometimes named the
Pepper Coast
The Pepper Coast or Grain Coast was a coastal area of western Africa, between Cape Mesurado and Cape Palmas. It encloses the present republic of Liberia. The name was given by European traders.
Origin of the name
The Pepper Coast got its name f ...
(or Grain Coast) because of this commodity. It is also an important
cash crop
A cash crop or profit crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate marketed crops from staple crop (or "subsistence crop") in subsiste ...
in the
Basketo district of southern
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the Er ...
.
Characteristics
''Aframomum melegueta'' is an
herbaceous
Herbaceous plants are vascular plants that have no persistent woody stems above ground. This broad category of plants includes many perennials, and nearly all annuals and biennials.
Definitions of "herb" and "herbaceous"
The fourth edition ...
perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...
native to
swampy habitats along the West African coast. Its trumpet-shaped, purple
flower
A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...
s develop into
pods long, containing numerous small, reddish-brown
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiosper ...
s.
The pungent, peppery taste of the seeds is caused by
aromatic
In chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property of cyclic (ring-shaped), ''typically'' planar (flat) molecular structures with pi bonds in resonance (those containing delocalized electrons) that gives increased stability compared to sat ...
ketone
In organic chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure R–C(=O)–R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group –C(=O)– (which contains a carbon-oxygen double bon ...
s, 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
Cardamom (), sometimes cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera ''Elettaria'' and ''Amomum'' in the family Zingiberaceae. Both genera are native to the Indian subcontinent and Indonesia. They are r ...
, 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.
Uses
Melegueta pepper is commonly used in the cuisines of
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...
and
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in t ...
, from where it has been traditionally transported by
camel caravan routes through the
Sahara
, photo = Sahara real color.jpg
, photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972
, map =
, map_image =
, location =
, country =
, country1 =
, ...
desert and distributed to Sicily and the rest of Italy. Mentioned by
Pliny as "African pepper" but subsequently forgotten in Europe, they were renamed "grains of paradise" and became a popular substitute for
black pepper
Black pepper (''Piper nigrum'') is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about in di ...
in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.
[Daniel F. Austin]
"Florida ethnobotany"
p. 170, CRC Press, 2004, The ''
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
Humorism, the humoral theory, or humoralism, was a system of medicine detailing a supposed makeup and workings of the human body, adopted by Ancient Greek and Roman physicians and philosophers.
Humorism began to fall out of favor in the 1850s ...
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".
In 1469, King
Afonso V of Portugal
Afonso V () (15 January 1432 – 28 August 1481), known by the sobriquet the African (), was King of Portugal from 1438 until his death in 1481, with a brief interruption in 1477. His sobriquet refers to his military conquests in Northern Afri ...
granted the monopoly of trade in the
Gulf of Guinea
The Gulf of Guinea is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. The intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude) is in the ...
to
Lisbon merchant
Fernão Gomes
Fernão Gomes (15th century) was a Portuguese merchant and explorer from Lisbon, possibly the son of Tristão Gomes de Brito.
In 1469, King Afonso V of Portugal granted him the monopoly of trade in the Gulf of Guinea. Besides the payment of an ann ...
.
This included the exclusivity in trade of ''Aframomum melegueta'', then called malagueta pepper. The grant came at the cost of 100,000 annually and agreement to explore of the coast of Africa per year for five years; this gives some indication of the European value of the spice.
After
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
* lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo
* es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón
* pt, Cristóvão Colombo
* ca, Cristòfor (or )
* la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...
reached the New World in 1492 and brought the first samples of the chili pepper (''
Capsicum frutescens
''Capsicum frutescens'' is a wild chili pepper having genetic proximity to the cultivated pepper ''Capsicum chinense'' native to Central and South America. Pepper cultivars of ''C. frutescens'' can be annual or short-lived perennial plants. Flo ...
'') back with him to Europe, the name , and Spanish and Portuguese spelling, was then applied to the new chili "pepper" because its
piquancy was reminiscent of grains of paradise.
Malagueta, thanks to its low price, remained popular in Europe even after the Portuguese opened the direct maritime route to the
Spice Islands
A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of plants used for flavoring or as a garnish. Spices a ...
around 1500. This namesake, the
malagueta chili, remains popular in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
, the
Caribbean, Portugal, and
Mozambique
Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...
.
The importance of the ''A. melegueta'' spice is shown by the designation of the area from the
St. John River (near present-day
Buchanan Buchanan may refer to:
People
* Buchanan (surname)
Places Africa
* Buchanan, Liberia, a large coastal town
Antarctica
* Buchanan Point, Laurie Island
Australia
* Buchanan, New South Wales
* Buchanan, Northern Territory, a locality
* Buchanan ...
) to
Harper in Liberia as the Grain Coast or Pepper Coast in honor of the availability of grains of paradise.
[''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] Later, the craze for the spice waned, and its uses were reduced to a flavoring for sausages and beer. In the 18th century, its importation to Great Britain collapsed after a parliamentary act of
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...
forbade its use in
alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
s. In 1855, England imported about per year legally (
duty
A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
paid).
By 1880, the 9th edition of the ''
Encyclopædia Britannica
The ( Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various ...
'' reported: "Grains of paradise are to some extent used in
veterinary practice
A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, v ...
, but for the most part illegally to give a fictitious strength to
malt liquors,
gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
, and
cordials".
The presence of the seeds in the diets of
lowland gorillas in the wild seems to have some sort of beneficial effect on their
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.
Today the condiment is sometimes used in gourmet cuisine as a replacement for pepper, and to give unique flavor in some
craft beers,
gin
Gin () is a distilled alcoholic drink that derives its flavour from juniper berries (''Juniperus communis'').
Gin originated as a medicinal liquor made by monks and alchemists across Europe, particularly in southern Italy, Flanders and the Ne ...
s, and Norwegian . 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
Okra or Okro (, ), ''Abelmoschus esculentus'', known in many English-speaking countries as ladies' fingers or ochro, is a flowering plant in the mallow family. It has edible green seed pods. The geographical origin of okra is disputed, with sup ...
stew and his apple-pie recipe on an episode of the TV cooking show ''
Good Eats''. 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
folk medicine
Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...
, grains of paradise are valued for their warming and digestive properties, and among the
Efik people
The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the ...
in Nigeria have been used for divination and ordeals determining guilt. ''A. melegueta'' has been introduced to the
Caribbean and Latin America, where it is used in religious (
voodoo) rites.
See also
* ''
Aframomum corrorima
''Aframomum corrorima'' is a species of flowering plant in the ginger family, Zingiberaceae. It's a herbaceous perennial that produces leafy stems 1–2 meters tall from rhizomatous roots. The alternately-arranged leaves are dark green, 10–30&n ...
''
*
List of culinary herbs and spices
This is a list of culinary herbs and spices. Specifically these are food or drink additives of mostly botanical origin used in nutritionally insignificant quantities for flavoring or coloring.
This list does not contain fictional plants such ...
*
Phytotherapy
Herbal medicine (also herbalism) is the study of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants, which are a basis of traditional medicine. With worldwide research into pharmacology, some herbal medicines have been translated into modern remedies ...
References
External links
Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1503476
Plants used in traditional African medicine
Crops originating from Africa
melegueta
Spices
Peppers
Taxa named by Karl Moritz Schumann