History and comments on the spice Grains of Paradise.
NOTE: See also the files: spices-msg, herbs-msg, merch-spices-msg, spice-mixes-msg, p-herbals-msg, saffron-art, garlic-msg.
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From: jtn at newsserver.uconn.edu (Terry Nutter)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: Cubeb
Date: 19 Aug 1995 00:51:57 GMT
Organization: University of Connecticut
Greetings, all, from Angharad ver' Rhuawn.
Caroline Richenda writes:
: i have heard that grains of paradise is another name for
: cardamon(sp?),which is commercially available,
No. I have both. They're different. You can get grains of paradise
from a number of SCA merchants, several of whom deal by mail order;
failing that, if you can get a lot of people together, you can special
order it yourself from just about any health food store that carries
bulk spice -- but you have to be ready to order a pound of it.
: and that galingale is
: available at Thai shops. I plan to check that out, since a company in
: London that was advertised as having galingale DOESN'T.
_Some_ Thai shops, and some other oriental markets, carry it, often
under the name "galinga" or "galingas". You can also special order
it (if you're willing to buy a pound of it, which will last one person
forever, or keep a kingdom well supplied for a while).
Cheers,
-- Angharad/Terry
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: medieval spice names wanted
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 07:11:07 GMT
Organization: Tele Denmark
Jean-Baptiste joule <jb-joule at worldnet.fr> wrote:
>Some spices are hard to find,
>like "poivre long "long pepper"
>Graine de paradis "paradise seed"
According to Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler who edited "Curye
on Inglysch" (which is a book containing five 14th century English
culinary manuscripts), greyns de paradis is cardamon and longe peper
is a good quality black pepper.
Hope this helps
Michael Bradford
From: DDFr at Best.com (David Friedman)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: medieval spice names wanted
Date: Wed, 27 Nov 1996 22:02:38 -0800
Organization: School of Law, Santa Clara University
mjbr at tdk.dk (Michael Bradford) wrote:
> According to Constance B. Hieatt and Sharon Butler who edited "Curye
> on Inglysch" (which is a book containing five 14th century English
> culinary manuscripts), greyns de paradis is cardamon and longe peper
> is a good quality black pepper.
That is not correct. What they write (in _Curye on Englysche_) is:
greyns de parys: spice seed of the genus amomum melequetta, closely related
to cardamom and sometimes called cardamom (Fr. graine de paradis)
The fact that one plant is closely related to another does not mean that it
tastes the same, and in fact grains of paradise not only are not the same
thing as cardamom, they taste entirely different. Nor does the fact that
the same name is used for two things mean they are similar--consider
"artichoke" and "jerusalem artichoke," one a thistle and one a sunflower.
longe peper: variety of pepper considered superior to black pepper.
Or in other words, it is a different variety (piper longa, as I remember),
considered better than black pepper, not a good quality of black pepper.
Both are available from specialty spice shops such as Aphrodisia in NY.
David/Cariadoc
From: jfideli at newshost.li.net (Fideli)
Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
Subject: Re: medieval spice names wanted
Date: 6 Dec 1996 15:49:35 GMT
Organization: LI Net (Long Island Network)
Jean-Baptiste joule (jb-joule at worldnet.fr) wrote
: Some spices are hard to find,
: like "poivre long "long pepper"
: Graine de paradis "paradise seed"
: I think I might be able to find them if only I had the name in chinise
: Jean-Baptiste de Foy
: Kingdom of Drachenwald
Greetings: I must say I am sorry to say that the other
gentlemen who posted information on this topic is sorely
misinformed...Graine de paradis,,, is now known as Grains of Paradise or
Melegueta pepper (Aframomum melegueta and is releated to cardamom
(Elettaria cardamomun ) and ginger (Zingiber officinale), they are all
members of the genus Zingiberaceae.
Long pepper is just that...known as Indian long pepper, Jaborandi
pepper or Roman long pepper (Piper longum) I have been looking for a
source for it and as of yet have not recieved any. though I continue to
look.. You might want to try Cubebs....or tailed pepper...(Piper cubeba)
also known and used in period...they ahve a unique taste that is hard to
describe , but wonderful.
In the East, we have the peppers guild, who has all of the period
spices you might need. Though here in NYC we have a mutitude of spice
stores where they may be purchased...If you have trouble finding them or
have more questions....feel free to contact me.....at
<jfideli at suffolk.lib.ny.us> I have been working on a book of period
spices for approx 5 years...slow going....
Lord Xaviar the Eccentric
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Gules, on a chevron between in chevron a cleaver and a cleaver
reversed and in base a satyr Rampant Or, six cauldrons sable!
Date: Wed, 3 Jun 1998 08:16:07 -0700 (PDT)
From: Allyson Tripp <atripp at sfu.ca>
Subject: SC - Re: grains of paradise
>From the OED, grain, definition 4a:
(in full frains of Paradise: in early use also sing.): The capsules
of Amomum Meleguetta of Western Africa (cf. Cardamom b), used as a spice
and in medicine; called also Guinea grains (see Guinea).
Numerous literary references, the first being Chaucer in 1366.
Cardamom b: Also occas. applied to the capsules of A. Meleguetta
of Western Africa, usually called Grains of Paradise.
Allyson
Date: Thu, 9 Jul 1998 09:28:20 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - A curious inquiry...
> An earlier note referred to "some grains of paradise" as a spice to add to
> a strawberry cordial
>
> Can someone tell me what this is? This is the second reference to it I've
> seen this week, the first being as an additive to a new beer...for a
> Renaissance flavor.
>
> Thanks in advance - Sister Mary Endoline
The seeds of Aframomum melegueta.
The seeds of Elettaria cardamomum (cardamom) are of a related genus, are
sometimes referred to as "grains of paradise," and have been used as a
substitute when the real thing was unavailable. "Grains of paradise" have
also been substituted for cardamom when it was unavailable.
Currently, "grains of paradise" are used to flavor Samuel Adam's Summer Ale.
Bear
Date: Mon, 31 Aug 1998 21:52:55 -0400
From: mermayde at juno.com (Christine A Seelye-King)
Subject: SC - Grains of Paradise
This came over the Tavern Yard from a friend who's a cook. I thought
there might be some who would like to have this definition.
Christianna
- --------- Begin forwarded message ----------
From: "Keith A. Bradley" <kbrad at gte.net>
I fowarded the question to a professional chemist/SCA friend of mine. I
thought I would share his answer.
Arland
Grains of Paradise
Grains of Paradise, Guinea Grains, Melegueta or Mallaguetta Pepper, from
Ampelopsis Grana Paradisi, or Habzeli of Ethiopia (Kanang of Ethiopia).
Two kinds of these grains are known in the English markets, one plumper
than the other. One may be that imported into America from West Africa,
and into England from plants introduced into Demerara, where they are
thought to be a product of A. Melegueta. They resemble Pepper in their
effects, but are seldom used except in veterinary practice and to give
strength to spirits, wine, beer, and vinegar. The seeds have a rich
reddish-brown colour.
Used plant part
Seed. The seeds have approximately the size and the shape of cardamom
seeds (3 mm), but are reddish-brown in colour. In powdered form, they
become pale grey. A good photo of the seeds is shown by Norman.
Plant family
Zingiberaceae (ginger family).
Sensoric quality
Spicy, hot and warm, a little bitter.
Main constituents
In the acetone extract of Ghanese grains or paradise, the following
hydroxyphenylalkanones were found:
1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-decan-3-one(called (6)-paradole),
1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendecan-3-one(called(7)-paradole) and
1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-3-hendeca-4-ene-3-one (called
(6)-shoagole) in approximately equal parts. (Phytochemistry, 14, 853,
1975).Other work reports (6)-paradole and (6)-gingerole
(5-hydroxy-(6)-paradole).
Origin
West Africa (Nigeria to Ghana). Most imports stem from Ghana. In the
countries of origin, the seeds are used not only to flavour food, but
they are also chewed on cold days to warm the body.
Etymology
In the Middle Ages, the spice was termed graines of paradise because of
its high value. Guinea and Malagetta refer to the region of origin. About
the elements -amomum in the genus name see cardamom.
The grains of paradise have been an important spice in 15.th century
Europe, when spices were high in demand, but the sea route to India has
not yet been discovered. In these times, grains of paradise were a common
substitute for black pepper. The West African coast got its name "pepper
coast" because the grains of paradise were traded there. Since then, the
importance of this spice has vanished to quite zero in our days; outside
its production area (Central Africa), it is only known in Northern Africa
and may appear in Moroccan spice mixtures (see cubeb pepper). See also
sichuan pepper for a comparision of several pungent spices.
Apart from Morocco, grains of paradise are also popular in neighbouring
Tunisia. Tunisian stews are frequently flavoured with an aromatic mixture
called glat dagga, which contains grains of paradise besides black pepper
and several sweet spices: cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Combining peppery
pungency and rich aroma, this mixture is a good example of Arab cooking
tradition.
In the West, grains of paradise are now hard to obtain, but still
valuable for people following old recipes (e.g., for sausages or
aromatized wine).
But this spice are a worthy addition to many other everyday dishes. Its
pungency is not as strong as pepper, but more subtle and goes well with
vegetables (potatoes, aubergines, pumpkin). To obtain best results,
grains of paradise must be ground before use and should be added shortly
before serving. Despite their rather pungent taste when tried alone, they
must be used liberally to obtain satisfactory results.
see:
http://bkfug.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/Afra_mel.html
Date: Sun, 20 Jun 1999 17:29:12 -0700
From: "J. Kriss White" <jkrissw at earthling.net>
To: sca-arts at raven.cc.ukans.edu
Subject: Dat's a speecy/spicy meat-a-ball....
Grains of Paradise are the size of peppercorns, but brown on the outside
and white inside, tasting like a "sweet" pepper. (The substitute I've
heard suggested is 2/3 black pepper and 1/3 allspice.) I just ground some
up and used it as a rub on some beef I was barbecuing recently, and
OOOOHHHH was it good! :-) From what the gentleman at "All Spice" said, it
came very close to displacing black pepper as the European standard in the
15th/16th centuries due to economic reasons. (It came right from the west
coast of Africa, whereas black pepper came from "the Indies", through a
good half-dozen middlemen on the way.) It's a more complex flavor than
black pepper, which would make it excellent for certain uses (like my
barbecued beef), but not as versatile as black pepper because of that same
complexity.
Lord Daveed of Granada, mka J. Kriss White,
Barony of Calafia, Kingdom of Caid
Date: Wed, 3 May 2000 22:32:49 -0000
From: "=?iso-8859-1?Q?Nanna_R=F6gnvaldard=F3ttir?=" <nannar at isholf.is>
Subject: Re: SC - grains of paradise article
Caitlin of Enniskillen wrote:
>I have noted as I poke into various food Encyclopedias in the bookstores,
>that none list "grains of paradise" as a spice (even Larousse's
>Gastronomique, which has othher errors, too. I think it is an interesting
>phenomenon, especially as other medieval or renaissance "cooking practices"
>are often mentioned in passing...
Some of them might list the spice under another name. Larousse, for example,
has Guinea pepper (only three or four lines of text, though). The Oxford
Companion to Food uses the name Melegueta pepper. Malagueta pepper is
another variation.
Nanna
Date: Tue, 20 Jun 2000 13:11:38 -0500
From: "Decker, Terry D." <TerryD at Health.State.OK.US>
Subject: RE: SC - Columbus' chilies
> >I apologize for being imprecise. Rather than "grains of paradise," I should
> >have used Aframomum melegueta. "Grains of paradise" has been used to
> >describe cardamom seeds as well as the melegueta pepper.
>
> What's the evidence for that? I've seen the assertion, but never the
> basis for it. The tastes are entirely unrelated, which makes me
> skeptical.
>
> Or did you mean "'Grains of paradise' has been used to describe
> cardamom seeds by the authors of bad modern secondary sources on
> medieval cooking?"
According to the OED, cardamom has been used to refer to A. melegueta.
Grains of paradise also refers to A. melegueta. While the OED doesn't show
cardamom and grains of paradise as being synonyms, the fact that they are
both used to refer to the same spice makes it probable they were used
interchangeably at times.
The earliest references to malagueta pepper seem to tie it to the East
Indies. Since the use of the terms grains of paradise and malagueta pepper
pre-date the major trade in A. melegueta from West Africa, it is probable
that malagueta pepper and grains of paradise were a member or members of
Amomum imported from Asia and were supplanted by by A. melegueta as part of
a marketing ploy by the Portuguese.
Guinea pepper has been used to mean A. melegueta and cayenne pepper.
According to Trager (questionable source), the Portuguese were trading
chilies into India in 1525, which could mean that a 16th Century recipe
calling for guinea pepper might be talking about chili pepper. Guinea
grains I would expect to be malagueta pepper.
The OED provides the following:
Grain
4. Specialized applications of the plural. a. (in full Grains of paradise:
in early use also sing.); the capsules of Amomum meleguetta of Western
Africa (cf. cardamom b.), used as a spice and in medicine; called also
Guinea grains (see GUINEA).
?a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1369 Clowe-gelofre, and licoryce, Gingere, and
greyn de Parys [orig. Grains de paradis], c 1386 Miller's T. 504, But first
he cheweth greyn and lycryce, To smellen swete. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862)
38 Take..of maces, cloves and graynys also. c. 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture
126 Graynes of paradise, hoote and moyst they be. 1542 Borde Dyetary (1870)
286 Graynes be good for the stomake and the head. 1614 B. Johnson Barth.
Fair iv.iv, I'ld cure him now.. with.. garlike, long pepper and graines.
1669 Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 225 Steep the Regulus of Antimony in Ale,
with a little of the spice called Grains. 1705 Bosman Guinea 305 Malagueta,
otherwise called Paradise Grains or Guinea Pepper. 1743 Lond. & Country
Brew. IV, 288 When I found it [Two Penny Drink] left a hot Tang behind it,
it gave me just Reason to believe they had used Grains of Paradise, or long
Pepper, both which will save Malt. 1812 J Smyth Prac. of Customs (1821) 96
Guinea Grains and Grains of Paradise are considered by the Trade, as one and
the same article. 1850 Kingsley Alt. Locke viii, 'Beer poisoned wi' grains
o' Paradise and cocculus indicus.'
Cardamom
...
A spice consisting of the seed capsules of various species of Amomum and
Elettaria...
b. Also occas. applied to the capsules of A. meleguetta of Western Africa,
usually called Grains of Paradise.
Guinea Pepper
a. An early name for Cayenne pepper.
b. (see quot. 1839)
1839 Penny Cycl. XI, 480/2 Guinea pepper, the seeds of two species of
Amomum, found on the West Coast of Africa, within the tropics; the one
Amomum grana Paradisi, the other, Amomum grandiflorum. They are powerfully
aromatic, stimulant and cordial.
From Allen, Gary, "The Pantry in the Tower of Babel," European Cooking From
Rome to the Renaissance, Conference Proceedings, pg 7-11; Colorado Springs,
2000.
More puzzling is the sudden appearance of several variants on "Malaguetta."
It doesn't appear to be a place name. The Oxford English Dictionary
provides a rather confused etymology:
[Of obscure origin: App. identical with med.L.melageta, the name of a spice
mentioned c1214 in connection with cloves and cardamoms, and said a1331 to
be among the productions of Java ... in 1486 Simon a Cordo (Clavis
Sanationis) explains the word as a diminutive of It. melica millet remarking
that the grains resemble those of millet. This seems probable; but if the
word be of European origin it has either been adopted in a corrupt form into
some West African langs., or confused with a native word, the source of the
earliest Eng. form and of the F. maniguette. In 1599 Townsend (Hakl. Voy
II. ii 27) in a list of phrases from the language of Guinea gives 'manegete
afoye, graines ynough.' Miss M. Kingsley West Afr. Studies (1899) ii. 57
says that in the native lang. at Cape Palmas the name is emanequetta, but
that as the name is very local (the more usual word is waiauzag) a European
origin is possible.]
If the 1214 date is accurate, our Meleguetta Pepper got its name from yet
another spice (a not-unheard-