Grains of paradise (Aframomum melegueta) is a species in the ginger family,
Zingiberaceae, and closely related to
cardamom. Its seeds are used as a
spice (ground or whole); it imparts a
pungent,
black-pepper-like flavor with hints of citrus. It is also known as melegueta pepper, Guinea grains, ossame, or fom wisa, and is sometimes confused with
alligator pepper. The terms African pepper and Guinea pepper have also been used, but are ambiguous as they can apply to other spices such as
grains of Selim (Xylopia aethiopica).
Aframomum melegueta is an
herbaceousperennial plant native to
swampy habitats along the West African coast. Its trumpet-shaped, purple
flowers develop into
pods 5–7 cm (2–3 in) long, containing numerous small, reddish-brown
seeds.
The pungent, peppery taste of the seeds is caused by
aromaticketones, such as
(6)-paradol (systematic name: 1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-decan-3-one).
Essential oils, which are the dominating flavor components in the closely related
cardamom,[3] occur only in traces.
The stem at times can be short, and usually shows signs of scars and dropped leaves. The leaves are narrow and similar to those of bamboo, with a well-structured vascular system. The flowers of the herbaceous plant are aromatic, with an orange-colored lip and rich pinkish-orange upper part. The fruits contain numerous, small, golden red-brown seeds.
Uses
Melegueta pepper is commonly used in the cuisines of
West and
North Africa, from where it has been traditionally transported by
camel caravan routes through the
Sahara desert and distributed to Sicily and the rest of Italy. Mentioned by
Pliny as "African pepper" but subsequently forgotten in Europe, they were renamed "grains of paradise" and became a popular substitute for
black pepper in Europe in the 14th and 15th centuries.[4][5][6] The Ménagier de Paris recommends it for improving wine that "smells stale". Through the Middle Ages and into the early modern period, the theory of the
four humors governed theories about nourishment on the part of doctors, herbalists, and druggists. In this context, John Russell characterized grains of paradise in The Boke of Nurture as "hot and moist".[7]
In 1469, King
Afonso V of Portugal granted the monopoly of trade in the
Gulf of Guinea to
Lisbon merchant
Fernão Gomes.[8] This included the exclusivity in trade of Aframomum melegueta, then called malagueta pepper. The grant came at the cost of 100,000 real annually and agreement to explore 160 kilometres (100 mi) of the coast of Africa per year for five years; this gives some indication of the European value of the spice.[9] After
Christopher Columbus reached the New World in 1492 and brought the first samples of the chili pepper (Capsicum frutescens) back with him to Europe, the name malagueta, and Spanish and Portuguese spelling, was then applied to the new chili "pepper" because its
piquancy was reminiscent of grains of paradise.[5] Malagueta, thanks to its low price, remained popular in Europe even after the Portuguese opened the direct maritime route to the
Spice Islands around 1500.[10] This namesake, the
malagueta chili, remains popular in
Brazil, the
Caribbean, Portugal, and
Mozambique.
The importance of the A. melegueta spice is shown by the designation of the area from the
St. John River (near present-day
Buchanan) to
Harper in Liberia as the Grain Coast or Pepper Coast in honor of the availability of grains of paradise.[11] Later, the craze for the spice waned, and its uses were reduced to a flavoring for sausages and beer. In the 18th century, its importation to Great Britain collapsed after a parliamentary act of
George III forbade its use in
alcoholic beverages.[12][page needed] In 1855, England imported about 6,800 to 8,600 kilograms (15,000 to 19,000 lb) per year legally (
duty paid).[11] By 1880, the 9th edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica reported: "Grains of paradise are to some extent used in
veterinary practice, but for the most part illegally to give a fictitious strength to
malt liquors,
gin, and
cordials".[13]
The presence of the seeds in the diets of
lowland gorillas in the wild seems to have some sort of beneficial effect on their
cardiovascular health. They also eat the leaves, and use them for bedding material. The absence of the seeds in the diets of captive lowland gorillas may contribute to their occasionally poor cardiovascular health in zoos.[14][15]
Today the condiment is sometimes used in gourmet cuisine as a replacement for pepper, and to give unique flavor in some
craft beers,
gins, and Norwegian akvavit. Grains of paradise are starting to enjoy a slight resurgence in popularity in North America due to their use by some well-known chefs.
Alton Brown is a fan of the condiment, and he uses it in
okra stew and his apple-pie recipe on an episode of the TV cooking show Good Eats.[16] Grains of paradise are also used by people on certain diets, such as a
raw food diet, because they are considered less irritating to digestion than black pepper.
Folk medicine and ritual uses
In West African
folk medicine, grains of paradise are valued for their warming and digestive properties, and among the
Efik people in Nigeria have been used for divination and ordeals determining guilt.[17]A. melegueta has been introduced to the
Caribbean and Latin America, where it is used in
Voodoo religious rites.[18][19] It is also found widely among
Protestant Christian practitioners of
African-Americanhoodoo and rootwork, where the seeds are employed in luck-bringing and may be held in the mouth or chewed to prove sincerity.[20]
^Grains of paradise are listed among the varieties of caradmom in the 25th ed. of the Dispensatory of the United States of America (1955) p. 257, as Paul E. Beichner notes in "The Grain of Paradise", Speculum, vol. 36, no. 2 (April 1961), p. 303. Beichner suggests the miraculous "greyn" of
Chaucer's "
The Prioress's Tale" was grains of paradise.
^Several medieval recipes are republished in Two Fifteenth-century Cookery-Books, Thomas Austin (ed,) Early English Texts Society, vol. 91 (1888) (cited in passing by Beichner 1961), under the names graynys of parise, graynis of parys, graynys of Perys, and simply graynis.
^"Its popularity may have been due to the brilliant name thought up for it by some advertising genius born before his times" observes Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, Anthea Bell (tr.), The History of Food, revised ed., 2009, p. 446.
^Noted, with other examples of fiery and watery grains of paradise, by Beichner 1961, p. 304, note 8; cardamom, with which it was often confused, as Cardamomum maius and Cardamomum minus, was reported by
Dioscurides as hot and dry in its qualities, as recorded in the late 13th-century Herbal of Rufinus (Beichner, p. 305f).
^Guidi Bruscoli, Francesco (2014) [c. 1450–1530)]. Bartolomeo Marchionni, "Homem de grossa fazenda". Firenze: Leo S. Olschki editore. pp. 92–93.
ISBN9788822263001.
^
abLaurie's Sailing Directory for the Ethiopic or Southern Atlantic Ocean to the Rio de la Plata, Cape Horn, and the Cape of Good Hope etc., including the Islands between the two coasts; 4th ed., 1855
^Kup, Peter; A History of Sierra Leone, 1400–1787 (Cambridge University)
^Voeks, Robert (2013). "Ethnobotany of Brazil's African Diaspora: The Role of Floristic Homogenization". African Ethnobotany in the Americas. Springer. pp. 395–416.
doi:
10.1007/978-1-4614-0836-9_14.
ISBN978-1-4614-0835-2.
^Moret, Erica S. (2013). "Trans-Atlantic Diaspora Ethnobotany: Legacies of West African and Iberian Mediterranean Migration in Central Cuba". African Ethnobotany in the Americas. Springer. pp. 217–245.
doi:
10.1007/978-1-4614-0836-9_9.
ISBN978-1-4614-0835-2.
^Yronwode, Catherine (2002). Hoodoo Herb and Root Magic: A Materia Magica of African-American Conjure. Lucky Mojo. pp. 107–108.
ISBN978-0-9719612-1-0.