Maharashtra Board Class 11 Food Science and Technology Chapter 11 Spices and Condiments PDF Download

Spices And Condiments

India is considered to be the 'Home of spices'. Traders and business persons from various parts of the world heard about a variety of spices available in India and so they visited India. Even today, spices are a valuable source of getting foreign exchange.

In Indian diet spices and condiments play an important role. A well cooked garnished and nutritionally balanced diet without spices may not be acceptable, because of its insipidity. Same diet, if it is improved by adding various flavouring agents and spices will be highly appreciated by majority of the people. It will become more acceptable and palatable.

Definition: Spices and Condiments are those substances such as natural plants or vegetable products (any part of plant) or their mixture in whole or ground form, which impart flavour, aroma and pungency to the food preparation.

11.1 Importance Of Spices And Condiments In Diet

Spices impart flavour and colour to the food and therefore increases the palatability.

Use of different spices in food preparation brings variety in the diet and avoids monotony e.g. cumin seeds in jeera fried rice, saffron in sweet coconut rice, biryani masala in biryani and others.

Some spices stimulate secretion of digestive enzymes and helps in digestion, eg ginger.

Some spices like garlic when consumed in diet reduce serum cholesterol levels and may decrease the risk of heart disease.

Some spices in diet act as antioxidants whereas others have antibacterial properties e.g. asafoetida, nutmeg, clove and turmeric.

Now a days, variety of readymade spice mixes are available in the market e.g. pulao masala, sambhar masala, and milk masala etc.

Teacher's Note

In India, we use many spices in our cooking like turmeric in dal and asafoetida in vegetables. These spices make our food tasty and also help our stomach to digest food better.

Exam Trick

Remember: Spices = Flavour + Health. Just like we add salt to make food tasty, spices make food tasty and keep us healthy too.

Points To Remember

Spices add flavour, colour and taste to food.
Spices help in digestion and make stomach strong.
Different spices bring variety in our meals.
Some spices like garlic help reduce heart disease.
Spices have antibacterial and medicinal properties.

11.2 Use Of Spices And Condiments In Cookery

i) Colour Improver

Pleasant, colourful, well arranged buffet table attracts people and stimulates them to eat food. Different colours improve the appearance of food and hence the food becomes more attractive and appealing. e.g. turmeric in savoury dishes, red chillies in pickle, saffron in sweets and coriander in green chutney.

ii) Decorating Agent

Indian cooks are artists in using spices and condiments as a decorating agent. A seasoning of mustard seeds on dhokla, cardamom seeds on burfi and shrikhand, clove on betal leaf or coriander leaves on raita, dal, vegetable are some of the examples where spices make the dishes more attractive.

iii) Flavouring Agent

The primary function of spices is to improve the flavour of food. Many spices such as cloves, coriander, cumin seeds, cinnamon etc, because of their volatile oil content impart various flavours to the food. These flavouring compounds are soluble in fat, therefore spices should be added to hot oil as a seasoning. Spices appeal to the sense of smell and food is not accepted unless it is adequately spiced e.g. cardamom, saffron, nutmeg is used in sweet preparations such as shrikhand and burfi, vanilla essence is used in cake mixes and asafoetida is used as seasoning in preparations such as kadhi, dal and vegetables.

Teacher's Note

When you smell your mother cooking with spices like cardamom and saffron in a dessert, that nice smell makes you hungry. This is because spices have a special taste and smell that makes our food delicious.

Exam Trick

Remember: Spices in hot oil taste better. Just like sugar dissolves better in hot water, spice flavours spread better in hot oil.

Points To Remember

Spices add beautiful colours to make food look nice.
Spices can decorate dishes like seeds on top.
Spices have oils inside that give flavour to food.
Spices must be added to hot oil for better taste.
Different spices give different smells and tastes.

iv) Appetizers

Some spices and condiments stimulate the digestive juices which work as an appetizer or produce the hunger pangs. An aroma of a simmering curry serves this purpose.

Spices like pepper, mint, cumin seeds, ginger are used in various appetizing beverages like soup and jaljira. These should be used in limited amounts. If they are used in excess, they may depress the hunger, instead of stimulating it due to the strong flavour.

v) Thickening Agent

Some spices and condiments contain carbohydrates especially starch, hence they give thickness to gravy. Onion, poppy seeds, coconut, garlic and ginger paste are used to thicken the gravies.

vi) Food Preservative

Apart from other functions, some spices and condiments are helpful for preserving the foods. They are used widely in commercial as well as home scale production of sauces, ketchups and chutneys.

vii) Digestibility Improver

Spices and condiments have physiological action beneficial to our digestive system. They act as stimulus to the digestive system and help digestion in many ways. e.g. use of ginger and asafoetida in buttermilk, omum (ajwain) in bhajiya or pepper in soup increases the digestibility.

viii) Medicinal Use

The therapeutic value of spices is well known. Spices and herbs play a very important role in some of the simple but effective home remedies. Almost every spice has medicinal properties. e.g. garlic is used in treatment of numerous diseases such as rheumatism, dermatitis, abdominal pain, cough, loss of appetite and hypertension.

Studies of clove oil have shown that it stimulates the flow of gastric juices. Dry ginger, nutmeg, saffron helps in treating colds. Turmeric powder is used as an antiseptic agent.

Teacher's Note

Our grandmother always gives us ginger when we have a cold because it helps us get better. Turmeric is like a natural medicine that we use on cuts and wounds.

Exam Trick

Remember: Each spice = One medicine. Ginger for cold, turmeric for cuts. Learn which spice treats which disease.

Points To Remember

Garlic helps treat many diseases like rheumatism and cough.
Ginger and saffron help cure common cold.
Turmeric works like a natural antiseptic for wounds.
Clove oil helps improve stomach digestion.
Almost every spice has some healing power.

What Is The Difference Between Spices And Herbs?

Spices are aromatic part of plant usually the dried buds, fruits, berries, roots or bark while Herbs are leaves of fresh and dried plants. Spices have stronger flavour than herbs. Since they are stronger they are used sparingly.

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