A Compendium of Unique and Rare Spices (eBook)

This book is a compendium of rare and unique spices, which have been least researched but hold immense economic potential on a global scale. They are Aniseed, Shallot, Saffron, Caraway or Siah Zira, European or Indian Dill, Poppy, Star Anise and Japanese Star Anise, Sage, Savory, Tarragon, Thyme, Calamus or Sweet Flag, Horse Radish, Galangal, and Long Pepper or Pipli.  Some of these are seed spices and others, like Saffron, are grown in the hills of Jammu and Srinagar, India and have varied uses, ranging from being very popular food flavorants to being used for religious purposes.

 

Even within India, the country of the origin for most of the spices listed, many Indians are simply unaware of their immense economic potential.  This is also the case with other countries, like Iran, where some spices, like Saffron, is widely used as a food flavorant.

 

The book aims to be a unique compendium of these rare and unique spices to primarily enable researchers to tap into their great economic potential and, on a wider scale, help developmental agencies to tap into their immense potential in global spice trade. The book provides a cross-sectoral multi-scale assessment of developmental possibilities, globally, for rare and unique spices of immense economic importance. 

 

Kodoth Prabhakaran Nair is an Eminent International Agricultural Scientist who has worked in Europe, Africa, and Asia for more than three decades, during which time he has held a number of prominent academic positions, including National Chair of the Science Foundation, The Royal Society, Belgium; Professor and Head of the Departments of Agriculture, Soil Sciences, and Basic Sciences at The University Center, The Republic of Cameroon; and Senior Professor at the University of Fort Hare, Alice, Republic of South Africa-the alma mater of the late Nelson Mandela, and from where he began the struggle against apartheid. Professor Nair is best known, globally, for developing 'The Nutrient Buffer Power Concept', a revolutionary soil management technique that is changing the face of modern farming in the developing world. Recipient of several national and international awards for developing this concept and currently nominated for the 2022 Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, he has authored fifteen books, published by prestigious publishers such as Springer Nature, Elsevier etc.,  including 'Issues in National and International Agriculture', which was launched by India's great President, the late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam in Raj Bhavan, Chennai, India. He has received seven invitations to contribute invitational chapters to Advances in Agronomy, the magnum opus of agricultural science, a world record. He is also Senior Fellow of the world renowned Alexander von Humboldt Research Foundation, The Federal Republic of Germany and was recently elected Fellow of the National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, India. Currently pursuing global agricultural research, he lives with his wife, Dr Pankajam Nair, a Nematologist trained in Europe, in Calicut, Kerala State, India.