Nutmeg and Mace

This nutmeg plant is grown mainly for it's fruits; and two spices are derived from the fruits are, nutmeg and mace.

The nutmeg fruit is shape oval or pyriform about 2 inches long, colored mottled yellow, and consists of an outer fleshy husk with an inner seed. The husk splits when ripe, exposing the seed. Immediately surrounding the seed, a dried lacy membrane - a leathery in texture, the seed coat(aril of the fruit) is called as 'mace'. The seed kernel inside the fruit is called as 'nutmeg'.

Both nutmeg and mace are similar in taste. The nutmeg has a warm, spicy sweet flavor. The flavors of the nutmeg and mace is due to the volatile oils, present in both tissues. The oil of the nutmeg is obtained by crushing and pressing the seeds, and is called as nutmeg butter.

Nutmeg is usually associated with sweet and spicy dishes — pies, custards, puddings, spice cakes and cookies. It can be also added in soups such as tomatoes, slit pea, chicken or black beans. One whole nutmeg grated equals two to three teaspoons of grounded nutmeg.

The freshness and shelf storage life can be maintained longer if stored in an airtight container.

The first harvest will starts about 7-9 years after planting of the tree, but the trees takes up to 20 years to turn their full potential.

The nutmeg tree is native to the Moluccas and is now cultivated in the West Indies and especially in Grenada.

[image: nutmeg and mace]

Jatropha (a biofuel plant)

Jatropha plants are grown for it's seeds which yields oil. The seeds are poisonous and are yields about 27-40% jatropha oil. Jatropha oil is generally being used as vegetable oil and to make soap and candles.

Jatropha oil can be processed further to produce a high-quality biodiesel (bio-fuel), which can be used in a standard diesel car and can be burned in almost any diesel engine with no modification. The residue of the oil is used as biomass feedstock to power electricity plants or used as fertilizer. A hectare of jatropha can produce about 1,892 litres of fuel.

Countries all over the world are demanding soloutions like this, since the impact of global warming becoming ever more apparent now a days.

The Indian Railways has started to use the oil (blended with diesel fuel in various ratios) to power its diesel engines with great success.

The 'Air New Zealand' has successfully completed a test flight, by using the mix of jatropha oil and Jet A1 in 50-50 ratio. ref: New "Second-Generation" Biofuel Passes Airliner Test

see an article from BBC, Could jatropha be a biofuel panacea?

tamil name: kadalazhi

Sesame (Sesamum indicum) - Ellu in tamil

Sesame plants grows upto 1 to 2 feet high, grown for their small, obovate and flattened seeds. The harvesting season of sesame seeds are about 4 to 5 months. Sesame seeds are mainly used in baking, candy making and are also extracted for oil. Sesame oil is generally used as salad oil and in other foods.

Sesame seeds are rich in manganese, copper, calcium, vitamin B1 and vitamin E. They contain lignans, including unique content of sesamin, which are phytoestrogens with antioxidant and anti-cancer properties. Sesame seeds are also contain phytosterols associated with reduced levels of blood cholesterol. The nutrients of sesame seeds are better absorbed if they are ground or pulverized before consumption.

Since the sesame oil contains an antioxidant called sesamol, sesame oil itself and the foods fried in sesame oil will have a long shelf life. The ancient Babylon would eat a mixture of honey and sesame seeds (the mixture is called as halva) to prolong youth and beauty. Sesame oil can be used as a substitute for Olive oil in making the liniments, ointments and plasters.

Sesame oil is used for massage and health treatments of the body in the ayurvedic medicine system. Ayurveda views sesame oil as the most viscous of the plant oils.

Sesame meal, which is left after the oil is pressed from the seed, is an excellent high-protein feed for poultry and livestock.

[image: sesame seeds]

Olive

Olive trees are extremely long lived and tolerant of drought, salinity and almost neglect, and have been reliable producers of both food and oil for thousands of years. Olive fruits are size oblong, thinner-fleshed having smooth and waxy surfaces. They are colored green when immature and turn to yellow-green, and with red, purple, or black coloration when full maturity. For full maturation, olive fruits require about 6 to 8 months.


Olive leaf

Olive leaves are small and size about 1.5 inch long and 1/4 ot 1/2 inch wide, linear, with entire margins and acute tips, colored in silver-green, and thick. The leaves are live about two years.

Olive leaf and olive leaf extracts, are now being used as anti-aging, immunostimulators, and antibiotics. Clinical evidence has proven the blood pressure lowering effects from the carefully extracted Olive Leaf Extracts. A liquid extract made directly from fresh olive leaves has shown to have an antioxidant capacity almost double as green tea extract and which is 400% higher than Vitamin C.


Table olive fruit

Table olives are harvested when they change their color from green to yellowish-green. Green olives can be kept in refrigeration about 4 to 8 weeks if the sorrounding temperature of 40 to 50'F. The olive fruits are inedible when picked from the tree since the existance of glucoside in their flesh, which make the fruit taste extremely bitter. To remove this glucodise and render the olive edible, the fruit must be cured.

The olives can be tasted at any time as the bitter compounds are not poisonous, and oleuropein is a useful antioxidant in the human diet. The olives are edible within 2 weeks to a month, but the fruits will be left to cure for up to three months. Processed table olives can be stored for about 2 years like other pickled products.

[image: green olives on the tree]

Olive oil

Oil olives are harvested when they have turned their color black, fully matured and reach their maximum oil content (20-30%).

Olive oil can be stored many months, particularly if kept away from light and heat. Olive oil contains some natural acid called oleic acid. Oleic acid is a type of fat. Oleic acis is help prevents the clogged arteries and heart attacks often caused by bad animal derived fat. Even eating small amounts of olive oil is considered to be good for health.


Olive oil products

Virgin olive oil - This is minimally processed oil, and will be extracted by cold pressing. It has three subcategories: extra, fine, and ordinary, and these categories are based on acidity and flavor of the oil.

Refined olive oil - The virgin olive oil will be refined further to remove off flavors and odors by lye or other treatments, which do not alter the glyceridic structure of the oil is called refined olive oil.

Blended olive oil - The Virgin olive oil blended with refined olive oil with acidity <1% is produces the blended olive oil.

Olive-pomace oil or residue olive oil - Oil recovered from pressed olive paste by solvents falls into this category.


Nutritional composition
(per 100 gram edible portion)

	Olive oil	Green olives	Ripe olives
Water (%)	0	75.2	71.8
Calories	884	132	191
Protein (%)	0	1.5	1.8
Fat (%)	100	13.5	21
Carbohydrate (%)	0	4.0	2.6
Fiber (%)	0	1.2	1.5