Besides getting bitten by a dog, I had the pleasure of visiting spice and tea plantations while I was up in Kumily and the surrounding mountainside. Most of Kerala's agricultural profit come from the spice trade - and have for a while - so I thought it would be interesting to step a bit out of my element and see how spices are grown. My guide was a kindly fellow named Mr. Sebastian. He and his wife have been farming (and I use the term loosely) a two acre plot of land for spices for the past thirty years. His garden looks much less like agricultural land and much more like a well maintained forest. He farms organically largely because the trees and bushes he collects spices from take so little input anyhow at the low pressure he is working at. Out in the actual forest I was amazed to see most of the plants which he was cultivating growing wild. As a cook, I am accustomed to seeing most of my spices in their processed form so it was exciting to see where they came from and just how they are processed.
Here's pepper. Out of the same berry you get red, white, black, and green pepper. It all depends on how long you let the berry dry and whether you soak it. Black, being the easiest to produce is the cheapest and most common of the peppers.
Turmeric grows as a root, a bit like ginger. To make turmeric powder you just dry it and then grind it up.
Coffee grows in a cute little berry like this, which when opened contains two little coffee beans. The beans need to be dried and roasted before they are ready to be consumed.
Beautiful vanilla has this wacky system of processing involving sun drying, shade drying, wrapping it in burlap, and then some more sun. The whole song and dance takes a number of days and a number of changes. The vanilla plants also has to be manually fertilized because the sex organs have been bred in such a way to not be able to do the task themselves. Hence the high price of real vanilla.
Nutmeg grows in a little fruit which looks a bit like a green plumb and can be used to make toddy (country liquour). Inside the seed you will find a bright red wrapper for the nut which can be dried to make mace. The nut itself is dried and can be ground to become nutmeg.
Sadly, I didn't get to see the innards of the cocoa beans, but I have been told that they contain a dark, bunch of jelly-like fruits. They are somehow in turn made into chocolate. Erm... didn't get the clearest explanation on this one, I will admit. But amazed to see it was so big. Like an oblong grapefruit.
Singing pepper is so named because it is hot and makes those who eat it sing out with pain. It's cute and grows pointing upwards. Dry it for better flavor, it is fresh for a quick pick-me-up.
Tulsi, also known as holy basil, is used to make tea and has a million different ayuvedic properties which will fix your stomach and save your life.
Ash gourd is a gourd which is real good for diabetics. And it's apparently real tasty.
Goats are animals which are incredibly cute and everywhere in South India. They can be slaughtered to make goat meat, sometimes called mutton.
Okra is called lady's finger in this part of the world, and for some reason it grows pointing upwards here. A creepy name and a strange difference, but a tasty, tasty plant.
Eggplants are rarely large round these parts, instead they are little cute balls of joy.
Green tea grows in plantations on adorable little bushes that look like they have been cut to be round topiary placed about in a simple maze pattern flowing over hills. The tea factories make your eyes burn with the intense smell of drying tea.
Oh, France. I had forgotten how much I adore France. The flights were fine and aptly boring and full of bad movies. The first 24 hours here have been delightful. A quick run down of the ups and downs of being here thus far:
