Grains of Paradise

Aframomum melegueta is a leafy perennial herb that grows up to about 1.5 metres in swampy forest and along streams. It produces trumpet-shaped purple flowers near the base and red-orange, fig-shaped pods about 5 to 8 cm long. Each pod holds dozens of small, glossy, reddish-brown seeds, around 2 to 3 mm across, with a pale scar. When crushed, the seeds smell resinous and citrusy, and they taste hot and pungent like black pepper with notes of cardamom, ginger and a hint of pine or flowers. Seeds are sold whole to be ground fresh, or sometimes in blends and as whole dried pods.

The plant is native to the tropical coastal region of West Africa, from Sierra Leone and Liberia through Ghana and Nigeria, with the area once known to Europeans as the Grain Coast, which is now roughly Liberia. The species name melegueta is linked to the term malagueta, used by Portuguese traders. The name grains of paradise is a medieval European phrase, perhaps used to make the exotic spice seem more appealing, and its precise origin is uncertain. In Yoruba the seed is called atare, and in the Igbo language it has other local names tied to cultural use.

Grains of paradise reached Europe by trans-Saharan caravan routes by the thirteenth century and became a valued alternative to black pepper. It was used in medieval spiced wines such as hippocras and in sauces, and appeared in trade accounts and cookbooks. It was widely used in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.

When Portuguese ships began exploring the West African coast in the fifteenth century, they brought back large cargoes and the region was called the Grain Coast, since the spice was a major product. The price of black pepper dropped once sea routes to India opened, and grains of paradise declined in the European kitchen. In Britain, a law of the eighteenth century forbade its use to strengthen beer and spirits, which indicates how common that practice had been.

In West Africa it never lost its cultural role. The seeds are chewed during ceremonies, used in naming rites and offered to guests among the Yoruba and Igbo in Nigeria, where it is sometimes called alligator pepper. In the twenty-first century it has returned to the West through chefs, craft brewers and distillers, who use it for spicy, floral aromas.

Grains of paradise are ground fresh and used like pepper on meats, in rubs, stews, vegetables and rich dishes. They are a component of some North African spice blends, including ras el hanout, and were used in historic mulled wines. Craft brewers add them to saisons and wheat beers, and some gin makers use them as a botanical. In West Africa the seeds are offered at weddings and naming ceremonies, chewed as a stimulant and used in folk remedies for digestion. The pods can be used whole in infusions. Store seeds whole in an airtight jar for the best flavour.

Aframomum melegueta has long been used in West African traditional medicine for digestive complaints, fever and as a general tonic. Laboratory research has identified gingerol-like and paradol compounds and reported antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, but human clinical evidence is sparse. As a culinary spice used in small amounts it is considered an ordinary food ingredient, and it should not be treated as a medicine.