Description

What is Melegueta pepper, also known as ‘grains of paradise’?

The Melegueta pepper plant is a herbaceous plant native to West Africa. Its Latin name is Aframomum melegueta and it belongs to the ginger family. The spice is known by many other names, including ‘grains of paradise’, ‘ossame’, ‘alligator pepper’, ‘African pepper’, ‘Guinea grains’ and ‘Guinea pepper’. 

The flavour of melegueta pepper

Paradise grains have a peppery heat. This is followed by citrusy notes, with hints of cinnamon, cloves and cardamom. The aroma is reminiscent of walking through a forest filled with pine trees.

Melegueta pepper vs black pepper

Unlike black pepper, alligator pepper is a dried seed, not a berry. Piperine is a naturally occurring organic compound found in black pepper. The alkaloid it contains, known as piperine, gives black pepper its peppery flavour. Melegueta pepper’s genetic composition does not include piperine.

Alligator pepper sounds like a pepper that might be quite strong. The truth, however, is that it is quite mild compared to black pepper. The seed contains a unique combination of aromatic ketones, which gives it a distinctive peppery flavour. The dominant flavour derived from the essential oils found in cardamom is also present to a small extent in Melegueta pepper. This is also the source of its slight cardamom flavour.

How to store paradise seeds

Store whole seeds in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. Kept in a cool, dry and dark cupboard, this pepper will keep for up to three years.

Once crushed, it can be added to many dishes. We recommend using the crushed pepper straight away, when the flavour and aroma are at their best.

How is Melegueta pepper used?

Aframomum melegueta seeds can be used whole or ground, either during cooking or as a finishing touch in place of black pepper. It is a spice that pairs well with other herbs, particularly thyme, rosemary and sage.

A mortar and pestle are best for crushing Melegueta pepper, as the seeds are hard. Once crushed, the seeds release their full flavour and reveal their white interior.

Recipes usually call for between ¼ and 1 teaspoon when cooking. When baking, it is recommended to grind the spice into a powder before adding it to biscuits, cakes or bread.

The spice was often mixed into a blend called galot daggo. This was made with pepper, cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Nutmeg is often replaced with cubeb pepper.

The historical background of African pepper

Arab, Berber and Jewish traders were the first to sing the praises of African pepper. From West Africa – present-day Liberia – caravans of camels moved slowly across the Sahel, through the endless Sahara and then across Sudan. Eventually, the spices made their way across the ocean to Europe.

At first, the spice was simply identified and referred to as African pepper. Pliny the Elder, a 1st-century military commander and writer, best known for his encyclopaedic natural history, mentions African pepper in his writings.

Later, Europeans renamed the spice ‘grains of paradise’. This created a distinction between grains of paradise and black pepper, the latter of which commanded the highest price. To the relief of coin collectors, it is hardly surprising that ‘grains of paradise’ became a popular substitute for black pepper in European kitchens during the 14th and 15th centuries.

During this period, spices were generally used not only in cooking but also to preserve the quality of food and drink. The *Ménagier de Paris* or *Parisian Household Book* (1393) recommended using grains of paradise to improve wine that had gone off.

In the mid-1400s, King Afonso V of Portugal granted Fernão Gomes, a merchant from Lisbon, exclusive rights to trade within 100 miles of the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa. This gave the shrewd entrepreneur a stranglehold on the now much-loved Aframomum melegueta. By this time, the grains of paradise had been renamed Melegueta pepper. 

What does ‘Melegueta’ mean?

According to historians, the term may be linked to the Italian word for millet, which is ‘meligo’. Others claim that it took its name from the Spanish city of Málaga, which was an ancient Phoenician port at the time. Regardless, the French translated the word as ‘maniguet’.

‘Guinea grains’, ‘Guinea pepper’ and ‘alligator spice’ are other names given to this spice by the British.

How is Aframomum melegueta grown and harvested?

The perennial plant Aframomum melegueta, although short in stature and growth – just 35 centimetres tall and 15 centimetres wide – bursts into a profusion of magnificent flowers during the flowering season. Each trumpet-shaped flower displays its beauty with a rosy-orange blush and an orange-tinged lip. The scent is very aromatic.

Small, tube-shaped pods develop from these blooms. Each is about five to seven millimetres long. Inside are numerous reddish-brown, golden seeds.

On the farms, the men harvest the peppers and the women extract the seeds by hand, removing them from the pulp. This is done gently to prevent any seeds from being lost. The leaves are then removed and the seeds are spread out to dry in the sun.

Cooking with Melegueta pepper 

This spice is the most common in West African cuisine. It is so important to Yoruba culture that a newborn child is given a taste of the pepper immediately after birth.

Try using Melegueta pepper in curries, stews, marinades or salad dressings. It is particularly delicious in stewed lamb with potatoes and aubergines. Paradise grains make a wonderful addition to gingerbread and cakes.

Flavouring drinks with paradise seeds.

In West African villages, these seeds are used to flavour a traditional drink made from cola nuts. Guinea berries have found their way into craft beers. Scandinavians enjoy the flavour of aquavit.

For a festive holiday atmosphere, add a couple of paradise seeds to red wine, along with a little orange juice, a cinnamon stick, cranberries and a few orange slices. Heat it up and enjoy your mulled wine! Or serve it with glögg. 

Bombay Sapphire Gin is a premium gin with an aromatic flavour. This neutral grain spirit, distilled in England and infused with 10 botanicals, is made according to a recipe dating back to 1761. Grains of West African allspice help to add flavour to Bombay Sapphire.

It is amusing to think that, as recently as 150 years ago, adding seeds from the paradise plant to alcohol was strictly forbidden and a punishable offence. It was believed at the time that this poisoned the body and mind, thereby causing madness.

Bombay Sapphire Gin also contains juniper berries, orris root, Spanish almonds, lemon peel, liquorice, cassia bark, coriander and another of our favourites: cubeb pepper.

The benefits of cubeb pepper

In West African folk medicine, it is used as a digestive aid. It is also chewed whole to warm the body. Furthermore, this African pepper, when ground and added to broth, has been noted for its wound-healing properties. Among older generations, both the seeds and the pods are used as remedies in traditional medicine and are valued for their antibiotic and antibacterial properties.

Due to its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties, this small seed relieves pain, such as that caused by osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as stomach ache and even toothache.

When oils are extracted from the seed, they appear to possess antimicrobial properties that may be useful in cleaning products, whilst also meeting the demand for natural products.

Guinea Pepper Voodoo

In the Caribbean and Latin American countries, this Guinea pepper is used in religious Voodoo ceremonies. It is said that sprinkling Guinea pepper on a lover’s bed causes the couple to part ways for good. However, when sprinkled around the home or yard, it protects the homeowner and their family from the intrusion of enemies.

Why we love Melegueta pepper

We might love these ‘paradise grains’ simply for their name, but this spice captivates us with its versatility and exciting flavour. It’s well worth a try!