tradicionalmenteinovador - Brazil Buyers & Sellers

Worth its weight in gold
>> Spices are an indispensable ingredient in global
culinary concepts, and they even changed the
course of history and still enjoy great popularity
Nowadays, there is no way imagining the preparation
of a delicious dish without using spices or condiments, substances
that impart peculiar flavor and aroma to recipes.
Cooking is a real alchemy and spices are an integral part of
the magic ritual and come in as indispensable ingredients,
which had to go a long way until they reached popularity.
The search for these products literally changed the history
of humanity.
Up to the Middle-Ages, spices were found only in the
East. In the European Empires, salt was the only ingredient
available for preserving food. Monarchs used to organize
expeditions in search of these spices, which used to arrive
in western countries worth their weight in gold. Some cities,
like Genoa and Venice in Italy, made a lot of money from this
trade, which was carried out through land routes which required
many traveling days.
Years later, one small country entered into history as the
protagonist of the biggest deed on record in search of these
eastern spices. In 1497, King D. Manuel I, of Portugal, entrusted
navigator Vasco da Gama with an important mission. With
just three vessels, he left Lisbon and ended up discovering the
maritime route to India, surrounding the African Coast. This
adventure made Portugal consolidate its maritime presence
and the domain over the commercial routes. From then onwards,
the meals in Europe turned more aromatic.
>> VALUE Although being indispensable, spices are
not consumed in great amounts. The fact is, a tiny portion is
enough to impart flavor and taste to all kinds of food. Agro-
nomic engineer Célio Kursel do Sacramento, professor at the
State University of Santa Cruz (Uesc), in Ilhéus (BA), keeps a
collection of studies on these products. He explains that, as
spices are popular all over the world, the market is vast but
stabilized. In Brazil, he says, almost all spices are produced.
“The clove is cultivated only in Bahia, which is also the only
area in the West that grows commercial crops of this spice”, he
observes. All other spices are grown throughout the Country.
Black pepper is produced in huge areas in Pará, Espírito Santo
and Bahia. Garden pepper producers include the states of
São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Bahia, Rio de Janeiro, Espírito Santo
and Ceará. Allspices, cardamom and nutmegs are common
in Bahia, while vanilla is produced in Bahia and Pará. Ginger
is found in Santa Catarina, Paraná, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro,
Espírito Santo and some states in the Northeast.
According to Sacramento, spices are cultivated in small
areas, which range from 0.5 to 100 hectares. Some spices
are highly valued. He recalls that vanilla fetches up to US$
300 per kilo in processed capsules and cardamom, in the
national market, could fetch R$ 600 per kilo. “Brazil suffers
huge competition from other countries, like Indonesia, India
and Malaysia. Cheap labor in these countries result into imports
at very low prices”, he observes.
>> MENU . Menu
As principais especiarias são:
The main spices are:
*Pimenta-do-reino . Black Pepper
*Cravo-da-índia . Clove
*Canela . Cinnamon
*Cardamomo . Cardamom
*Pimenta-da-jamaica . Allspices
*Noz-moscada . Nutmeg
*Baunilha . Vanilla
*Pimenta hortícula . Garden pepper
*Gengibre . Ginger
*Açafrão . Saffron
Fonte: Engenheiro agrônomo Célio Kersul do Sacramento (Uesc)
Source: Agronomic Engineer Célio Kersul do Sacramento (Uesc)
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