Attokaran M. Natural Food Flavors and Colorants

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Introduction

Caraway seed has been used in Europe since ancient times. It could have its origin in

the Near or Middle East, as the name is believed to have originated from Caria, which

was a region in Asia Minor. Caraway has probably been cultivated in Europe since

medieval times. Seeds are found in debris in the lakes of Switzerland, making it a

spice most likely used longer than many other spices.

Caraway seeds are popularly used to mask bad breath, especially alcoholic breath.

In ancient times, many virtues were attributed to the seed. They include controlling

gas formation, ﬁ ghting anemia, as an antidote to biting by venomous beasts, and even

as protection from witchcraft.

Plant Material

Caraway seed is the dried fruit of a biennial herb that belongs to the parsley family.

The plant resembles a carrot plant with ﬁ nely divided leaves produced on a ﬂ ower

stem of 40 – 60 cm in height. The seeds are small but elongated and slightly curved

with a length of 2 – 5 mm. It has ﬁ ve or six ridges longitudinally on the outside.

The seeds have a pungent, mildly medicinal aroma caused by the essential oil.

Holland is the world ’ s major producer, but it is also grown in Germany, Russia,

Morocco, Scandinavian countries, Canada, and the United States.

Chemistry

The major constituent is carvone, which demonstrates stereoisomerism. It forms two

mirror image enantiomers: S - ( + ) - carvone and R - ( − ) carvone (Fig. 27.1 ). The typical

smell of caraway is caused by the former. The latter gives an aroma resembling

spearmint. Carvone enantiomers are special in that each of them is perceived

differently by the human olfactory system. Not all similar asymmetric isomers are

perceived differently. While S and R forms are modern ways of describing isomerism

of this nature, older books refer to these respectively as dextro - or d - (for S) and as

levo - or l - (for R) forms. d and l are based merely on polarimetric readings, while

S and R forms are based on the order of distribution of radicals at an optically active

carbon.

Caraway

Carum carvi L ( Umbelliferae )

107

Natural Food Flavors and Colorants Mathew Attokaran

108 Individual Flavors and Colorants

Essential Oil

The drying and size reduction of seeds are important processes in producing the cor-

responding essential oil. On steam distillation, dry spice yields 7 – 8% volatile oil.

S - ( + ) - carvone is present to the extent of 50 – 70% of caraway oil. Besides carvone,

the oil contains a signiﬁ cant amount of limonene. Composition of essential oils from

caraway by supercritical ﬂ uid (SCF) extraction and steam distillation has been com-

pared from the point of view of efﬁ ciency, reproducibility, and accuracy (Sedlakova

et al. 2001 ).

Caraway seed oils from Austria reveal that major components are carvone and

limonene (Bailer et al. 2001 ). A similar trend in carvone is noted by Iacobellis et al.

(2005) but with noticeable quantities of dihydrocarveol, β - caryophyllene, germacrene,

and limonene.

According to the FCC, caraway oil occurs as a colorless to pale yellow liquid with

the characteristic odor and taste of caraway.

Physical characteristics as deﬁ ned by the FCC are as follows.

Optical rotation + 70 ° to + 80 °

Refractive index 1.484 – 1.488 at 20 ° C

Speciﬁ c gravity 0.900 – 0.910

Solubility 1 mL dissolves in 8 mL of 80% alcohol

Very little oleoresin is made from caraway seed. For ﬂ avoring purpose, either the

seed or the oil is used.

Uses

Caraway seeds are used for the ﬂ avoring of bakery products, especially rye bread.

Sausages, cheese, soups, and sauerkraut are also ﬂ avored by it. Caraway is used in

meat, seafood, dips, and bakery items. Oil can be a substitute if similar items are made

as processed foods. The oil is used in liqueurs, chewing gum, toothpaste, and

mouthwashes.

Oil of carvone is used as a room freshener and in aromatherapy. Because of

the phenolic nature of carvone, the oil is used in soaps, lotions, and even in

perfumes.

An infusion of seeds is used as a remedy for colic and digestive disorder, and to

counter worms.

Figure 27.1. Carvone.

27 Caraway 109

Identiﬁ cation Numbers

FEMA No. CAS US/CFR E - No.

Caraway seed oil 2238 - 8000 - 42 - 8 182.20 –

85940 - 31 - 4

Caraway seed extract – 8000 - 42 - 8 –

85940 - 31 - 4

References

Bailer , J. ; Aichinger , T. ; Hackl , G. ; de Huber , K. ; and Dachler , M. 2001 . Essential oil contents and composi-

tion of commercially available dill cultivars in comparison with caraway . Ind. Crops Prod . 14 , 229 – 239 .

Cf. Lawrence, B.M. Progress in essential oils. Perfumer Flavorists 31 (1), 54 – 57.

Iacobellis , N.S. ; Lo Cantore , P. ; Capasso , F. ; and Senatore , F. 2005 . Antibacterial activity of Cuminum

cyminum L and Carum carvi L essential oils . J. Agric. Food Chem. 53 , 57 – 61 .

Sedlakova , Jitka ; Kocourkova , Blanka ; and Kuban , Vlastimil . 2001 . Determination of essential oil content

and composition in caraway ( Carum carvi ) . Czech J. Food Sci. 19 ( 1 ), 31 – 36 (English).

Introduction

In early historical records, there is reference to two types of cardamom, small and

large. There is mention of cardamom in ancient Greek literature before Christ, but it

is not clear whether it refers to small cardamom belonging to the Elettaria family or

large cardamom belonging to the Amomum family. However, there has been clear

differentiation in Europe, since the second century AD, in the list of spices from Asia,

which were subjected to collection of duty at the Roman customs ofﬁ ce in Alexandria.

Among the different spices imported from the East, there was confusion in the identity

of some spices. However, by the sixteenth century with deﬁ nite sea routes being

established, there was a clear difference in small cardamom from Malabar and large

cardamom from Nepal.

In historical writings, there was confusion about its use in cookery. Ela was men-

tioned, which is the cardamom described in a medical treatise attributed to early

Ayurveda masters, Charaka and Sasruta, of the ﬁ rst century AD (the Hindi name for

cardamom is elachi ).

Greeks and Romans are believed to have used cardamom in food, fragrant prepara-

tions, and medicines about 2000 years ago. In fact, the people of Babylon cultivated

cardamom in their gardens around 700 BC. The Vikings entered into its trade in

Constantinople over 1000 years ago, so there is no wonder that cardamom is a special

ingredient in Danish pastries and Swedish cakes. Due to sun drying and prolonged

storage, bleached cardamom was used in Scandinavian countries until very recently.

Arabs promoted the use of green - colored cardamom, as they preferred the fresh

green color. To achieve the maximum green color, special cultivars are chosen and

drying is done in ovens, to prevent the removal of chlorophyll by sun drying. Small

cardamom is generally regarded as the third costliest spice after saffron and vanilla.

Plant Material

Zingiberaceae plants are distributed throughout the tropical forests of the world. The

plant that is the source of small cardamom originally evolved by natural cross -

pollination; today, considerable variation in size and shape is seen in cultivars. Until

recent times, two cultivars, Mysore and Malabar, have been propagated. Oddly, the

one cultivated in Kerala State is known as Mysore and the one in Karnataka State

(until recently known as Mysore State) is called Malabar.

Cardamom

Elettaria cardamom M ( Zingiberaceae )

111

Natural Food Flavors and Colorants Mathew Attokaran

Photo 5. (A) Cardamom plant with capsules growing from the base. (B) Dried green

capsules. See color insert.

112

28 Cardamom 113

The Mysore cultivar, grown in Kerala and in the Western Ghats slopes in adjoining

states, has slightly elongated capsules with greater green color. The other variety is

more rounded and has a poor green color. This rounded variety is made into the

bleached grade. Because of the preference for dry green capsules in international trade,

most of the cultivation is changing to the more greenish, elongated cultivar (Mysore).

This system ended the custom of using chlorine - containing chemicals or sulfur dioxide

for lightening the color. There were also reports of using metanyl yellow solution in

some places for a uniform and appealing bleached color.

The small cardamom bearing plant is a 1.5 - to 4 - m - high herbaceous perennial plant.

From the subterranean roots stock arise a number of upright leafy shoots. The leaves

are alternate and elliptical. Flowers are born in panicles about a meter long coming

from the base of vegetative shoots. Fruits are trilocular capsules, fusiform or ovoid in

shape, and have a green color. Inside, 15 – 20 hard, brownish seeds covered with a thin

mucilaginous membrane are formed. Photo 5 shows the cardamom plant and the dried

green capsules.

Cardamom plants thrive in rich loamy soil. They are shade - loving and require some

rainfall. Multiplication can be carried out vegetatively by dividing the rhizome or

through seeding raised from specially selected seeds.

Plants mature in about 3 years. The life of a cardamom plant is 10 – 15 years. A

well - maintained estate can yield of 110 – 170 kg of dry capsules when the plants are in

excellent conditions. Otherwise, 50 – 75 kg is considered satisfactory.

Cardamom capsules are dried using artiﬁ cial ovens. A well - designed cross - ﬂ ow or

through - ﬂ ow electrical dryer is satisfactory. Where electricity is not available, a room

heated by tin pipes through which hot ﬂ ue from a ﬁ rewood furnace just outside can

be used for drying. Systematic opening of small vents periodically and interchange of

trays depending on the different heat zones will be required for satisfactory results.

Generally, a temperature of above 60 ° C with high humidity can destroy some

amount of chlorophyll on the outside of the capsule. Besides India, Guatemala is the

most important producer of cardamom. There the holdings are small in the northern

areas, which has humus - rich soil and heavy but uniformly distributed rainfall. However,

the cultivated area lacks in shade trees. In southern areas, large holdings are available

and scientiﬁ cally planned cultivation is possible. The cultivar used is Mysore, with

vegetative propagation using rhizome suckers. Replantation is generally carried out

after 10 years.

There is some cultivation in Sri Lanka, where the variety used was Elettaria car-

damomum L Maton var major Thwaites, but it has been replaced by the Indian cultivar

Mysore.

Chemistry

Cardamom capsules on a dry basis contain about 10% crude protein, 42% carbohy-

drate, and 20% crude ﬁ ber, with B vitamins, ascorbic acid, and minerals. Since its

value is mainly as ﬂ avoring substance, the most important constituent is the essential

oil, which is present to the extent of 5 – 11% depending on the region and grade.

The chief constituent of the volatile oil is 1,8 - cineole (Fig. 28.1 ). The component

is noted for its camphoraceous and cool odor. Alcohols such as linalool and terpineol

are present both in free and acetate forms.

114 Individual Flavors and Colorants

Essential Oil

Cardamom oil is a highly valued spice oil. In the early days, steam distillation was

carried out by Western user countries. More recently, distillation is mostly done in

producing countries.

The seeds on a dry basis represent about 65% of the capsule. The husk accounts

for 35%. There can be variation based on region and grade. Almost all the essential

oil is present in the seeds. If the capsule is ground and distilled, the full yield of the

oil can be obtained in 2 – 4 hours. Since the husk and deoiled seeds are in demand for

grinding, in recent times, large manufacturers carry out distillation in different steps.

The ﬁ rst step is breaking the capsule by passing it through a loosely adjusted plate

mill. The husk will be opened and be ready for separation without damaging the seeds.

From this, seeds are carefully separated by combination of vibrating screens and, if

necessary, by manual winnowing.

The collected seeds are fed into a stainless steel distillation unit. The steam is

adjusted at a slow rate without pressure. Distillation is continued for several hours,

even as much as 48 – 64 hours. Emphasis is also placed on obtaining undamaged seeds.

Oil is collected in two or more fractions. The early fraction will have more of the

terpene hydrocarbons and so is regarded as slightly cheaper. The later fraction has a

more desirable rounded aroma required for food ﬂ avoring.

Deoiled whole seeds are used for blending and for curry powder. Even though most

of the volatiles are removed, it will still contribute to the overall ﬂ avor. Even the husk

has a value; it is used for solvent extraction.

Chemical analysis using GC has been carried out by a number of workers. The

composition of total oil in Indian cardamom is as given in Table 28.1 . It can be seen

that 1,8 - cineole with 32 – 35% and terpinyl acetate with 38 – 40% are the major con-

stituents. However, when fractional steam distillation is carried out, the second frac-

tion will show a higher content of terpinyl acetate, that is, 40 – 43% with corresponding

decrease of 1,8 - cineole to 28 – 33%. Higher contents of 1,8 - cineole and α - terpinyl

acetate as well as presence of linalool, linalyl acetate, and geraniol are reported by

Lawrence and Shu (1993) .

Higher levels of alcohols and esters give more value to the oil as a food ﬂ avor. Too

much cineole gives an unwanted camphoraceous aroma. The oil from Malabar cultivar

with rounded shape and less green color gives higher cineole content than the above.

That is another reason why such cardamom is considered inferior, apart from the poor

green color. It may be noted that upgradation of oil quality for use as a ﬂ avor can be

achieved to a level by fractional steam distillation.

Figure 28.1. 1,8 - Cineole.

28 Cardamom 115

For further details about cardamom and its processing, refer to the excellent reviews

by Govindarajan et al. (1982) and Krishnamurthy and Sampathu (2002) .

According to the FCC, cardamom oil occurs as a colorless or very pale yellow

liquid with the aromatic, penetrating, and somewhat camphoraceous odor of carda-

mom and a pungent, strongly aromatic taste. It is affected by light and is miscible

with alcohol.

Physical characteristics as deﬁ ned by FCC are as follows.

Optical rotation + 22 to + 44

Refractive index 1.462 – 1.466 at 20 ° C

Speciﬁ c gravity 1.917 – 0.947

Solubility 1 mL dissolves in 5 mL of 70% alcohol. The solution can be

clear or hazy.

Oleoresin

Cardamom is more valued for its aroma, and this quality is obtained by using

cardamom oil. All the same, there is demand for oleoresin, especially for a water -

dispersible type. Oleoresin gives a more rounded true ﬂ avor of the spice. Additionally,

the resinous portion acts as a good ﬁ xative.

The resin is contributed by the husk. Husk on cold extraction using ethylene dichlo-

ride, ethyl acetate, or a mixture of acetone and hexane gives a yield of 2 – 3% of resin-

ous material. Generally, this is blended with polysorbate and propylene glycol before

oil is added. Oleoresin can be made with a volatile oil content of 5 – 80%, depending

on customers ’ demands. Such oleoresin will disperse in watery food blends. A typical

oleoresin will be a dark greenish liquid with the warm, spicy, pleasing ﬂ avor charac-

teristic of cardamom.

Uses

Cardamom oil is highly valued as a food ﬂ avor. It blends well in baked products, dairy

products, ice cream, sweet preparations, confectionery, and a variety of food products.

Table 28.1. Composition of total cardamom

oil ( GC area percentage)

Constituent % Range

α - Pinene 1.0 – 3.0

β - Pinene 3.0 – 5.0

Myrcene 2.0 – 3.0

Limonene 3.0 – 4.0

1,8 - Cineole 32.0 – 35.0

Linalool 0.5 – 1.5

Linalyl acetate 1.0 – 2.0

Geraniol 0.5 – 1.5

Terpinyl acetate 38.0 – 40.0