Spices and their industrial Refining
The rather negative names ‘old money bags’ and ‘spice huckster’ go back to the rich spice merchants of the middle and late Middle Ages. The days, however, in which those terms were invented and used, are long since gone. What has remained, though, is the constant and on-going development of efficient processing and refining systems in the spice industry.Difficulties can begin to arise when buying the raw products. Fundamental experience and good, long-term, global relationships to importers and foreign exporters are vital for purchasing materials for further processing. This is easy to understand once you realise that spices are natural products, which because of their dependency on the weather, can vary in quality and quantity from one harvest to the next. Furthermore, it is often necessary for the expert buyer to take economic and political changes in the spice growing areas into consideration as these also have an impact on the cultivation, care and the crop yield, which subsequently have an effect on the quality and the price attainable. If storms destroy whole harvests, or when previously reliable supply areas almost completely fail over a long period, then intensive commodity and market skills are needed to ensure supplies through procurement of spices from other sources.
On arrival, the spices are submitted to thorough quality checks. Well-known firms have their own laboratories set up for this purpose. Not only are examinations carried out on the incoming raw materials, but also on the ongoing quality controls of other processing and refining techniques where intensive scientific research is undertaken.
Processing and refining is the core business of the spice industry – it is their job to produce edible consumer products from raw material spices. For this reason, the spices are first of all sorted and cleaned in accordance with specific procedures. During this process, the unwanted parts of the raw materials such as the trimmings, sand, stalks, and other foreign matter are removed. This is followed, in accordance with the requirements, by pre-crushing, grinding and sifting until the required gradation is achieved. Since the spicy components are volatile – primarily essential oils – a specially gentle grinding process is used that does not heat the produce to be milled. This is the only way to maintain the effectiveness of seasoning properties.
Specialist tasks of experts in the spice industry also extends to the manufacturing of mixed spices, seasonings, spice preparations, and other condiments.
There are many discussions on how long spices can be stored and the best way to store them. Unmilled spices are practically durable for years because nature has already carefully enclosed their seasoning properties such as specific essential oils, mineral nutrients and trace elements in the plant cells. In ground products the plant cells have been mechanically destroyed and so the seasoning properties can escape freely from the milled material. In this case, storage has an effect and determines the quality of the product, e.g. the degree of fineness of the grinding process, the temperature and the humidity in the storage area. The determining factor for shelf-life depends especially on the packaging used. Paper bags are a relict of the past. Handy packages with sprinkle seals and aroma sealed reinforced plastic and foil bags or similar containers have been developed for household use. Such packages meet all the requirements for storage length and aroma protection. Due to sophisticated technical developments in packaging, the problem of how to keep spices has been solved. Of course, better and more sophisticated packaging has its price. Therefore, it is important for the spice consumer when comparing prices to take the quality of the packaging material into consideration, too.
The spice industry’s paramount consideration for its products is, and will continue to be, purity, balance and ready-for-usage. Hence, the registered principles, findings and regulations laid down in the Deutsche Lebensmittelbuch (official guidelines for foodstuffs) are adhered to and, also enable the consumer to judge the products of the spice industry themselves.
The general quality criteria state that spice mixtures contain spices without any other added substances. The following belong to this category: baking spices, gingerbread spices, printen spices, bread spices, goulash spice blends, barbeque spice blends, shish kebab spice blends, roast chicken spice blends, pizza spice blends, salad spice blend, marinated beef spices, cucumber spice blends, marinating spices and sausage spice blend.
If these mixtures contain added flavourings or flavour enhancing ingredients such as glutamates or other technological additives, they have to be categorised as seasonings or spice preparations.
Products which primarily contain technologically active ingredients are called seasoning preparations.
Spices and their aromatic components and compounds only conform to logical and mathematical formulas under certain conditions. Various components which do not necessarily possess noticeable physiological effects can enhance the effect of others. This finding has opened a wide field for scientific research which well-known spice companies are intensively and perseveringly carrying out. Future developments in the areas of seasoning are first and foremost for your well-being and quality of life.
