Spices and Condiments – SS2 Horticulture and Crop Production Lesson Note (Third Term)

Spices and condiments are plants or plant parts used in small amounts to give flavour, aroma (scent) or colour to food.

• Use in Nigeria: soups, stews, pepper sauces and herbal drinks.
• Scope of this lesson: ginger, garlic, pepper and cloves.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define spices and condiments and give examples of each;
2. state the planting material used for ginger, garlic, pepper and cloves;
3. describe how ginger, garlic, pepper and cloves are planted and harvested;
4. state the part of each spice that is used and its main benefit;
5. explain how spices should be dried, stored and cared for.

What are spices and condiments?

A spice is an aromatic part of a plant, such as a root, seed, fruit or bud, used in small amounts to flavour food.

• Spice: usually dried and added during cooking, for example ginger, cloves and nutmeg.
• Condiment: a substance added to food during or after cooking, or at the table, to improve its taste, for example salt, vinegar, mustard and iru (fermented locust bean).
• Overlap: some items, such as pepper, can act as both a spice and a condiment.

Why are spices and condiments important?

Spices and condiments make food tasty and also have other uses.

• Flavour: they make plain foods such as rice, yam and beans more enjoyable.
• Aroma and colour: they make food smell and look attractive.
• Health: some are used in home remedies, for example ginger for sore throat and cloves for toothache.
• Income: farmers sell them fresh or dried in local markets.

How is ginger grown?

Ginger is a spice grown for its rhizome, an underground stem with a hot taste.

• Part used: the rhizome.
• Planting material: pieces of rhizome (called fingers or hands), each with at least one bud or “eye”.
• Conditions: rich, loamy soil, light shade and plenty of moisture.
• Uses: flavouring food, making drinks, and easing sore throat and nausea.

Steps in growing ginger

1. Choose planting material: select healthy rhizome pieces with at least one bud.
2. Prepare the land: make the soil loose and rich. Hard soil stops the fingers from swelling.
3. Plant: bury the pieces 5 cm to 10 cm deep.
4. Mulch: cover the soil with dry leaves to keep it cool and moist.
5. Weed: remove weeds regularly.
6. Harvest: dig up green ginger after about 5 months. For dried ginger, wait until the leaves turn yellow and die down (about 8 to 10 months).

How is garlic grown?

Garlic is a spice grown for its bulb, which has a strong smell and is used to flavour food.

• Part used: the bulb.
• Planting material: cloves, the small pieces inside a whole bulb.
• Relation: garlic belongs to the same group of plants as onion.
• Climate: cool weather, for example Jos or the harmattan season in the North.
• Benefit: helps fight germs in the body.
• Note: a garlic clove is not the same as the clove spice from the clove tree.

Steps in growing garlic

1. Separate the bulb: break it into single cloves.
2. Plant: push each clove into the soil with the pointed end up and the flat end down.
3. Weed: keep the bed clean, because small garlic plants are easily smothered.
4. Harvest: dig up the bulbs when the green leaves fall over and turn brown.
5. Cure: tie the bulbs in bunches and hang them in a cool, airy place for about two weeks.
6. Check the result: the outer skin should be dry and papery. This helps the bulbs last longer.

How is pepper grown?

Pepper is a spice grown for its fruit, which adds heat, flavour and vitamins to food.

• Part used: the fruit.
• Planting material: seeds.
• Examples: the large Ata Rodo and the small, very hot Ata Wewe.

Steps in growing pepper

1. Nursery: sow the tiny seeds in a nursery bed and water them every morning and evening.
2. Transplant: move the seedlings to the field after about 4 weeks.
3. Space: plant them 50 cm apart. Crowded plants compete for air and get diseases.
4. Control pests: leaf curl makes leaves look wrinkled and is linked to tiny insects. A neem-seed spray helps drive them away.
5. Harvest: pick green fruits if needed, but ripe red fruits have more flavour and vitamins.

How are cloves grown?

Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of the clove tree.

• Part used: the flower bud.
• Planting material: seeds.
• Time to bearing: the tree takes about 6 to 7 years to start giving flower buds.
• Climate: hot, humid weather near the sea, as in Zanzibar.
• Benefit: adds scent to food and is used to ease toothache.

Steps in producing cloves

1. Plant: raise the tree from seed and wait for it to mature.
2. Harvest: pick the buds while still green, just before they turn red and open.
3. Dry: spread the buds on a mat in the sun.
4. Check the result: the buds turn from green to dark brown, as seen in the market.

What are the differences between the four spices?

The table below compares the part used, planting material and main benefit of ginger, garlic, pepper and cloves.

How should spices be dried, stored and cared for?

Spices last longer when they are well dried, kept in tight containers and grown on clean land.

1. Dry well: most spices are used dry. Damp spices grow mould (white “hair”), which makes them unsafe to eat.
2. Store in tight containers: jars or tins stop the aroma from escaping into the air.
3. Keep cool and dry: store away from damp places and direct sunlight.
4. Weed the farm: big weeds can smother small plants such as ginger and garlic.

Which spice can ease toothache?

Cloves can ease toothache because they contain a natural chemical, eugenol, that numbs pain.

• Class question: if you have a toothache at night and there is no pharmacy, which of these spices can you chew?
• Answer: cloves.
• Remember: this only gives short relief, so the person should still see a dentist.

Evaluation

1. What are spices and condiments?
2. Name the planting material used for ginger and for garlic.
3. Why must ginger be mulched?
4. Which part of the clove tree is used, and how is it dried?
5. Why must spices be dried before storage?

Assignment

Describe how pepper is grown from the nursery to harvesting, then explain how garlic is harvested and cured.