Ancient Indian Spices

Spices are one of the most important developments of the Classical Indians. Spices are an important part of India’s economy, history, and culture. The main use of spices is for culinary purposes. However, many people do not notice all of the other uses for spices. For example, spices can be used as a medicine or as a trading resource. Even though spices were first developed in ancient times, spices continue to be a very valuable resource in today’s modern world. India is most well known for its mass production of spices. While being the top spice producer in the world, India produced about 11.14 million metric tons of spices between the years 2022 and 2023. This statistic shows the enormous quantity of spices still being produced and used in India.

Culinary Uses

The primary use of spices is a flavoring device. Spices can be used to add or enhance flavor in food. Before the development of spices, the culinary field was much more limited and cooks could not be as creative with their food. Spices can be considered any ground up plant part other than leaves, as ground leaves are considered herbs. The most famous Indian spice is turmeric. Turmeric comes from the root of the curcuma longa plant. Turmeric is a part of nearly every traditional Indian dish such as curry, pilau, biryiani, and kedgeree. In 2023, India exported roughly 167,281,000 kilograms of turmeric, making it the world's largest turmeric exporter. Some of the other important Indian spices include cardamom, chili, and pepper.

Economic Purposes

Spices are a very valuable natural resource to India because they can easily be traded. During the years 2022 and 2023, India exported about $3.73 billion U.S. dollars worth of spices. The global exchange of spices is known as the global spice trade, however spice trade is not a new concept. The spice trade began in 1498 CE when Vasco da Gama traveled from Portugal to India. Over the course of about 300 years, the British took control of India and utilized India’s vast supply of resources. The spice trade is still a thriving exchange and is a large part of India’s economy today.

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