About Spices
About Spices
Indian spices include a variety of spices grown across the Indian subcontinent (a sub-region of South Asia). With different climates in different parts of the country, India produces a variety of spices, many of which are native to the Subcontinent, while others were imported from similar climates and have since been cultivated locally for centuries.
Spices are used in different forms - whole, chopped, ground, roasted, sauteed, fried and as topping. They blend food to extract the nutrients and bind them in a palatable form. Some spices are added at the end as a flavouring and are typically heated in a pan with ghee or cooking oil before being added to a dish. Lighter spices are added last, and spices with strong flavour should be added first. Curry is not a spice, but a term used by western people and refers to any dish in Indian cuisine that contains several spices blended together and could be with a gravy base or a dry item. Early modern period.
The control of trade routes and the spice-producing regions were the main reasons that Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama sailed toIndia in 1499. Spain and Portugal were not happy to pay the high price that Venice demanded for spices. At around the same time,Christopher Columbus returned from the New World, he described to investors new spices available there.
India contributes 70% of global spice production.
| Rank | Country | 2010 | 2011 |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | World | 1,995,523 | 2,063,472 |
| 1 | India | 1,474,900 | 1,525,000 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 128,517 | 139,775 |
| 3 | Turkey | 107,000 | 113,783 |
| 4 | China | 90,000 | 95,890 |
| 5 | Pakistan | 53,647 | 53,620 |
| 6 | Iran | 18,028 | 21,307 |
| 7 | Nepal | 20,360 | 20,905 |
| 8 | Colombia | 16,998 | 19,378 |
| 9 | Ethiopia | 27,122 | 17,905 |
| 10 | Sri Lanka | 8,293 | 8,437 |
