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It was easy for
us to become fascinated with Grenada, the friendly people, the gentle
climate, the beautiful water and the land of spices. For most of us
spices signify the small sprinkle on our food, the compact little
jars on the well-arranged shelves of the supermarket and the delightful
odors that waft from a kitchen when something aromatic is simmering.
Little thought is given to where the spices come from, how they actually
look growing and what type of processing they go through before they
are bottled to be sold at sometimes rather high prices from supermarket
shelves. When you think about it, spices define cuisine, they are
for food, what laughter is to life; not totally necessary, but existence
would surely be dull without both.
We visited places where chocolate was processed from the cocoa pods.
Cinnamon, bay and cloves were also processed, but by far we saw more
nutmeg than anything else. We also learned there are so many delicious
items to be made from nutmeg like: jelly, jam, syrup and a liniment
for sore muscles and joints. I don't know if there is any medicinal
value to the liniment, but it smells great and a back rub always helps.
We saw nutmeg
growing on the beautiful fluffy trees. We went to two nutmeg processing
plants. One was a private farm and the other, by far the larger, was
the nutmeg farmer's co-op processing plant. Farmers bring their nutmeg
in where it is purchased by weight.
Besides being
a very active farm co-op they also offer tours to the tourists who
will gladly pay to be taken through the faci lity.
The outer coating of
the nutmeg is another spice called mace, and separating the mace and
grading it is another step in processing this
product. They
even let the tourists have a hand in grading and sizing the nutmeg.
Nothing
is wasted in nutmeg production for even the shells are used as mulch,
driveway material
or as a charcoal
flavoring additive. Grenada supplies about a third of the world's
supply of nutmeg with the remainder coming from Indonesia where the
spice originated. This one crop accounts for about 14% of Grenada
export revenues according to local information.
We found a nutmeg syrup, which we think is outstanding, Morne Delice,
Nutmeg Syrup, produced by de la Grenade Industries. It is very delicate,
not so much a nutmeg flavor as a very fresh delicate and different
flavor.
We visited
a rum distillery
complete with a naturally powered water wheel grinding
the cane. This is a small distillery and most of the rum is sold locally
geared for the serious rum drinkers, for it is 150 proof (75% alcohol).
After you think they have exhausted all uses for the spices you are
pressed by local vendors to buy what I thought was a necklace but
actually is a potpourri to hang in your home. How many do we have?
Enough to remind us that we would like to return
to the island of the spices - Grenada. From Sea Gem still touring
Grenada
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