Here I'd like to delight you with an array of spices and crops they grew on the Mundackal Estate property. It may help you understand why so many cultures have been so keen to trade with Kerala for several millenia.
We saw (in sequence we saw them):
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| Peppercorn vines |
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| Vanilla pods (man, they smell divine!) |
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| Okra, aka lady's fingers |
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| Elephant foot yams |
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| Yellow (fully ripe) eggplants |
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| Cinnamon leaves (smell like cinnamon bark - mmmm) |
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| Curry leaves |
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| Tapioca plants (the root, aka cassava, is harvested) |
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| Banana bunch, with flower |
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| Very immature (and somewhat out of focus) cocoa pod (whence chocolate) |
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| Tulsi, aka Holy Basil (a sacred plant for Hindus with many healing properties) |
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| Betel nuts (aka areca nuts) |
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| Fresh turmeric |
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| Fresh ginger |
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| Our host didn't know the English name for this, he said someone had described it as "the scent of India". However, it was neither patchouli nor cow dung, so we don't know. You got any idea? |
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| Baby pineapples |
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| Nutmeg (unripe) |
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| Inside the nutmeg, showing the mace (hot pink, dark red when ripe), and the nutmeg kernel (inside its shell). |
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| Cashew nuts (unripe). When ripe, the top bit (cashew apple) is much bigger, and red or yellow. The bottom bit, the true fruit contains the nut (seed). The shell/flesh surrounding the seed has some very nasty chemicals |
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