spices from "Le Comptoir"

SAFFRON CROCUS SATIVUS

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	The origins of saffron are not precise, coming from somewhere between Iran and Greece, and then travelling around the Arabian world before arriving in Europe in the Middle Ages.Today saffron is cultivated in India, Morocco, Greece, Spain, and Iran, the last being the main producer in the world today. Production in France, which began at the end of the eighties based in the "Gatinais" region, is of the finest quality remains prohibitively exclusive.

	Saffron is the pistil of the crocus flower, harvested by hand and then carefully dried. During the drying process, which is very delicate and in fact determines the quality of the spice, saffron will reduce in weight by 4/5ths. We need between 100,000 or 150,000 flowers to make just 1 kilo of dried pistils, which means about 2 kilos harvest from 1 hectare !! The aromatic qualities of saffron are exceptionally sophisticated ... in olfactory tests we can discern the fragrances of cedar, tobacco, hay, citrus, pepper and mint as well as floral notes with a light bitter touch.

VANILLA VANILLA FRAGANS SATIVUS

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	Vanilla is an orchid of Mexican origin. It is a liana with at least 30 recognised related species. Vanilla from Mexico, (Vanilla Fragrans), and vanilla Bourbon, (Vanilla Fragrans), from the Mascareigne Isles and of Madagascan origin are the most interesting, and are richly perfumed. Vanilla from Tahiti, (Vanilla Tahitensis), vanilla from Java and vanillon from the West Indies are much less sophisticated and are mainly used in perfumery.
	Numerous procedures of nurturing, harvesting and drying are needed to produce a vanilla pod. From pollination, which is done by hand, it can take up two years to obtain a product of great quality. 4 kilos of fresh pods are necessary to make 1 kilo of dried pods.
	A tip: Only buy vanilla pods, which should be highly fragrant, supple and gleaming. To preserve your pods keep them wrapped in oiled paper away from the light and heat.

CARDAMOM ELETTARIA CARDAMOMUN

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	"The Queen of Spices" according to Indians, originated in the Cardamom Hills which dominate the plane of Kerala and the Malabar Coast in the south-west of India. It is of the family Zingiberacees and therefore a close relation to ginger, turmeric and maniguette.
	Today cardamom is cultivated in Cambodia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka and of course (India). The small cardamom pods grow on the aerial roots of the plant and are carefully gathered by the women and then dried in the sun. There are two types of cardamom, green and black. Black Cardamom comes from Nepal and with its dominant camphor aroma is of less gastronomic interest. White Cardamom pods are green cardamom with added starch or which have been soaked in milky quick-lime.
	The tiny black seeds encapsulated in the green pod are highly aromatic with floral notes dans fresh tones of lemon and menthol, evoking eucalyptus. It takes about 40,000 of these seeds to make a kilo. They are traditionally used in India in confectionary and patisseries. They are vital to many of the mixtures of spice and indispensable to tea. In the Middle East cardamom is added to coffee.

NUTMEG and MACE MYRISTICA FRAGANS

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	Nutmeg originally came from the archipelago (Moluques) in the Islands of Banda. It was introduced to the islands of Celebes, Java, Sumatra and Malaysia, to the Isle of Penang, into Bengal, the West Indies, Brazil ... Pierre Poivre planted it in the Isle of Maurice and Reunion Island.
	The nut is at the centre of a fruit as big as an apricot, and its yellow or red envelope is called Mace. Grated nutmeg and mace are used in a similar way. Mace is less aromatic but subtler in flavour.

CLOVES EUGENIA CAROPHYLLUS

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	The clove is the aromatic dried flower-bud of the tropical Myrtle tree. (Myrtacées family). Originating in the Isles of Bat Jan, a micro archipel in the center of the Moluques, (Indonesia) this spice has travelled far. Now you can find it in numerous countries. (Amboine ... Madagascar ).
	Cloves have a warm, sweet spicy flavour. They are used in the pharmaceutical industry for their disinfecting, healing and anaesthetic powers. Oil of cloves evokes the dentists chair for many of us ... It is also used by the perfumeries. You can create your own delightful home fragrance by covering a fresh orange with cloves pressed into the peel. This is called a "pomme d'ambre" in French from which we derived the name "pomander".