Let’s start with pepper. Pepper is also known as the King Of Spices and rightly so, because of its excellent medicinal value and popularity. It was the demand of pepper that finally led to colonial conquests, war and eventually suppression.
Europeans came to know about pepper through Arab traders and when they discovered Kerala’s huge potential in pepper they started their trade here. Varieties of pepper include Panniyur-1, Karimunda, Arakkulam Munda, Kuthiravally, Balankotta and Kalluvally.
Kerala cuisine is incomplete with cinnamon, the mild flavoring agent. Cinnamon has medicinal properties as well as it cures nausea and vomiting. Additionally, the spice is noted for its stimulant and carminative properties. The bark oil of cinnamon is used for making perfumes and other cosmetic goods. The inner bark of the mature cinnamon shoots is dried in the sun and then later in the shade. It has a delicate fragrance with an agreeable taste, hence used for pharmaceutical requirements, liquors and even for coating sweets.
