MATURITY INDICES OF SPICES

INTRODUCTION

Those plants ,the product of which are used as food adjuncts to add

flavour and aroma are called spices.

Spices which are used as food adjuncts to add taste only are called

condiments.

Spices provide flavour and taste due to presence of essentialoils.

Spices are used as whole,grind ,paste or liquid forms to improve

flavour,texture,colour and to increase shelflife.

India is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of spices in the

world.

MAJOR SPICES: CARDAMOM(Elettaria cardamomom Maton)-

Zingiberacea

Cardamom yields from the third year onwards,but

good yields are expected from the fifth year.

Peak harvesting time is October-November.

Harvestng is continued at intervals of 30-40 days and

completed in 5-6 months.

While harvesting,each panicle is carefully searched for the fruits in the correct stage of ripeness for picking.

At the time of harvest,capsules are at different stages of

maturity and distinguished as,bud stage,tender

stage(gathered for making pickles),brown seed

stage(shrink on drying giving a shriveled appearance),

and dark seed stage (right stage for curing) .

The capsules are picked with the stalk end intact and the

fully ripe stage picked for seed purpose only.

If they are to ripen further ,the fruits split during drying.If

picked under ripe,the fruits will shrink while drying .

PEPPER (Piper nigrum L.)-Piperaceae

Harvesting of pepper is carried out according to

need of the kind of pepper. ie white or black .

For preparation of white pepper, the berries are

harvested at a slightly advanced stage of

ripeness,that is when berries turn red.Then they

are heaped for a day or two until berries turn

yellow.

To get black pepper the berries are gathered at

younger stages,heaped for a day or two and then

dried in sun.

GINGER(Zingiber officinaleRose)-Zingiberaceae

Ratoon ginger matures early.The rhizome will

be ready for harvest when the stalks begin to

wither and dry.

While harvesting care is necessary not to injure

the rhizome

TREE SPICES:CLOVE(Syzygium aromaticum)-Myrtaceae

The spice is the unopened flower bud produced on the terminal shoots of the twigs.

The buds are collected when they are dull red in colour.

It is necessary to collect the buds before they open as otherwise the value of the spice will be lost.

NUTMEG(Myristica fragrans Houtt) Myristicaceae

Seedlings starts bearing in 7-8 years,reaching full bearing

in when they are about 25 years old and continue to yield well

upto sixty years.

A ten years old tree may be expected to yield 500-800 fruits.

Peak harvest are during two seasons-March april and August-September.

Raw nutmeg kernel at maturity stage is firmly attached to outer shell and cannot be separated without injuring.

Individual fruit weighs on an average 60g of which the seed weighs 6-7g,mace 3-4g and rest pericarp.

CINNAMON(Cinnamomumverum P.resl.)Lauraceae

Barks of cinnamon are used as spice.

There are two seasons one in May and other in November

to cut the shoots for the extraction of bark.

The cutting of shoots always depends upon the receipt of

rains.

As soon as rain ceases,cutting of shoots for peeling of

bark is commenced.

When the growth of bushes of leaves stop and the trees

have mature leaves is the indication of free flow of sap

between the bark and the wood.this is the proper stage at

which the best quality of bark can be obtained in the

cutting.

ALLSPICE (Pimenta dioica(L)Morr.)-Myrtaceae Seedling start flowering from the seventh to tenth

year but the peak harvest is obtained between 15

to 20 yrs.

When the berries become fully developed fully

well,usually during july-august they appear

greenish and become glossy and dark later.

To preserve the spicy conditions,berries are

harvested before they change to the dark and

glossy appearance .

SEED SPICES(MINORSPICES):FENUGREEK(Trigonella foenum graceum L)-Leguminosae The crop matures in two and a half to three months after sowing.

Fenugreek is ready for cutting 3-4 weeks after sowing when the plants attain a height of 15-20cm.

Delay in harvest makes the leaves bitter.

Seed crops of common methi matures in 150-160 days and kasurimethi in 160-170 days after sowing.

The crops is harvested when the pods turn green to yellowish colour.Crop should be harvested at this stage otherwise delay in harvesting leads to shattering of the seeds.

FENNEL(Foeniculum vulgare Mill)-Apiaceae

Fennel matures in about 170-180 days.In this crop

all the umbels do not mature at the same time

hence,harvesting should be done in 3-4 pickings.

Crops is harvested 40 days after pollination for the

production of chewing type lucknavi fennel while

for production of general type fennel the umbels

are harvested when the seeds are fully developed

and colour turn to yellow.

CUMIN(Cuminum cyminum L)-Apiaceae

Cumin crop matures in about 130-150 days after

sowing.

The crop should be harvested when the stems

become yellow and leaves fall.

Harvesting can be done by uprooting the plants.

CORIANDER(Coriandrum sativum L)-Apiaceae

Coriander matures in about 90-145 days

depending upon the variety and growing

conditions.

Change from green to yellow colour of grains is

an indication of maturity.

Harvesting should be done at a stage when 50%

grains turn yellow to obtain good luster of the

grains.

Delaying of harvest should be avoided because

there is shattering and splitting of grains in

subsequent processing operations

ANISE(Pimpinella anisum L)-Apiacea

The crop becomes mature and ready for

harvesting in nine or ten months after

planting depending on variety

The indication of the crop maturity is the

yellowing and drying of the leaves.

While harvesting the leaves and stems are

cut close to the ground.

OTHER SPICES:GARLIC(Allium sativumL.)Alliaceae

Garlic is a crop of four and a half to five months

duration.

When the leaves start turning yellowish or brownish

and show signs of drying up(usually about a month or

so for the emergence of seed stalks),the crop is ready

for harvest

VANILLA(Vanilla planifoliaAndrews)-Orchidaceae

When immature ,the beans turn dark green in colour,but when ripe yellowing commences fron its distal end.This is the optimum time for harvesting the bean.

If left on vine the beans turn yellow on the remaining portion and start splitiing.

SAFFRON(Crocus sativus L.)-Iridaceae

Costliest spice

The red fibres at the top of the flower

,mongra,provide the colour and flavor and is the

superior quality of saffron while style of the flowers

the yellowish lachha provides inferior variety of

saffron.

The crop once planted will remain in the field for

10-12 years.

Saffron commences flowering by middle of October

and may extent to December.

Each plant will be in bloom for 15 days and

produces an average of five flowers.

All flowers bloomed during the morning have to be

picked on the same day.

The stigmas and tips of the styles of the flowers are

used for extraction of saffron