Publisher Description

The first authentic record of spice and herb usage is on clay tablets from the Sumarian Kingdom about 3000BC and many spices were used or imported into Egypt for embalming, as incense, ointments, perfumes, poison antidotes, cosmetics and medicines. Plants that are the source of spices became important cash crops over the centuries, and since their introduction, their uses have multiplied. This has resulted in a rise in consumer demand following the popularity for natural flavourings which has in turn increased interest in their production in temparate and tropical countries. This book is concerned with the profitable production of spice crops at all levels of management, more efficient processing and greater utilization.

Table of Contents

1: World production and trade 2: Cruciferae - Mustards 3: Lauraceae - Cassia, Cinnamon, Laurel 4: Leguminosae - Fenugreek 5: Myristicaceae - Nutmeg, Mace 6: Myrtaceae - Clove, Pimento, Myrtle 7: Orchidaceae - Vanilla 8: Piperaceae - Black pepper, Cubeb pepper, Indian long pepper, Java long pepper, Betel pepper, Melegueta pepper 9: Solanaceae - Capsicum and Chilli 10: Umbelliferae - Anise, Star anise, Caraway, Coriander, Cumin, Dill, Fennel 11: Zingiberaceae - Cardamom, Ginger, Turmeric 12: Minor crops - Capers, Nigella, Saffron

Review Text

"Spice Crops offers a fine overview of many of the major world spice crops and will be valuable reading for horticulturalists, agronomists and botanists". Agroforestry News, 2003 "Spice Crops is a magnificent reference work and the culmination of an enormous amount of painstaking assembly of information from a wide range of sources. It is one of those books that give the reader enormous pleasure just to browse throught its information-packed pages." Biological Agriculture and Horticulture, 2003 "I recommend the book to food scientists, pharmacognosists and institutional libraries." K Husnu Can Baser, Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 84, 2004

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