CHAPTER THREE
Spices are parts of aromatic plants which usually obtained from the tropics, including seeds, flowers, leaves, bark or roots. They are often in whole or ground form, and used for imparting flavour aroma and piquancy for seasoning foods. Many spices such as Pepper, lemon grass, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, mace and others were used in large amount in the kitchens for flavouring and preserving food. Hundreds of herbs and spices were used for making drugs, medicines and cosmetics. They helped to preserved food, to make it digestible, and at the same time provided the basis of their medicines. Spices not only flavour and improve the taste of the food, but supply uswith many nitritional prophylatic substances. Spices have long been concerned in Thai cooking. A quantities of species are also being consumed within the country for flavouring foods and also needed in medicine, pharmaceutical, perfumery, cosmetics and other industries. The plants are planted both ornamental and agriculture. Spices played on important role both in thc religions and Thai cooking since Sukhothai period. Until Ayutthaya’s territory (1350-1767), spices came from India as dried materials which were used for religious purposes such as Kritsana (Aquilaria agallocha Roxb.), Kamyan (Styrax spp.) by preparing just sticks, for food by using dried leaves and mature seeds of Krawan (Amomum testaceum Ridl.), Krawan pa (A. uliginosum Koen.) and Krawan thet (A. cardamomum Moton.). They were pounded and mixed together to brownish powder and used for medicine, perfume and seasoning food. The seeds of Krawan (Cardamon) and Camphor
Cinnamomum zeylanicum Nees) were used as aromatic plants. By the end of Ayutthaya period, Thai food were cooked by adding more spices which came from Japanese and. Malaysian, e.g. the rhizome of Khamin Daeng (Curcuma longa L.) gave the yellow colour for the soup, the powder used to make desserts, the mixture with Indian spices used for curry. In Rattanakosin period, spices were used more for instance Yi ra (Cuminum cyminum L.), Horapha (Ocimum basilicum L.), Kra phroa (Ocimum tenuiflorum L.), Maeng lak [(Ocimum americanum L var. pilosum (Willd.)Paton] Sims., Saranae (Mentha cordifolia Opiz ex Fresem), Ta khrai (Cymbopogon citratus Stapf.) Prik Thai (Piper nigrurn L.), Prik (Capiscum annuum L.), Kra thiam (Allium sativum L.), Ma nao (Citrus aurantifolia (Christm) Swingle) Ma khuea ther (Cyphomandra betacea Cav.) etc. others. Nowadays spices are an accepted part of Thai dialy lives of cooking. Spices are used as a whole or grounded as powder to be the mixture in sources, curry paste etc. They are used from cooking to medicine.
Most Favourite Spices
Translated by Ms. Kongkanda Chayamarit
Pepper
Scientific name: Piper nigrum Linn.
Family: PIPERACEAE
Vernacular name: Prik Thai
Pepper is native to the monsoon forests of the Malabar coast in southwest India. The pepper vine is now grown in much of tropical Asia. Pepper is the most popular spice in most of the recipes in cookery, to aid digestion, to preserve food and to enchance its flavor. Pepper has a warm, woody smell that is fresh, pungent and agreeably aromatic. Pepper is neither sweet nor savoury, just pungent, and can therefore be used in both types of dish. It is so popular that it has given its name to a wide range of dishes.
Pepper is a perennial vine with stout stem, dark green leaves, white flowering spikes and green to dark red fruit. The vine takes
seven to eight years to reach full maturity, and continues to bear fruit for 15-20 years. It is trained up posts of the trees grown for shade in coffee plantations.
There are black, white and green peppercorns. The black pepper which are the whole berries picked unripe and sun dried until shrivelled, is the most widely used, while the white peppercorns are ripe berries with the red skins removed before being bleached white by drying in the sun. It is hotter and less subtle than the black. It is mostly used by sprinkling it in powdered form on many cooked dishes. Green peppercorns are the immature berries pickled in brine or freeze-dried while still fresh, is not as hot and has a clean, fresh taste.
Pepper is said to help relieve flatulence and to have diuretic properties. It is the main source of heat in tropical Asian food.
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