You wont find here what we are selling

One of the bestknown tropical fruits. But not so many people know how they are really grown, not in cans, that's for sure.

Lets have a closer look:

The Ananas are fruits out of the family of the Bromeliaceae. They were found in 1493 by Christof Columbus on the island of Guadeloupe in the north of Dominica(the first island that he found after his journey over the seas). The Ananas contains a lot of vitamines, minerals and enzyms like Bromelin or Bromelain. This is good for your digestion, heals and cools inflammations,  lowers blood pressure and helps to lower the risk of arteriosklerosis. It also contains Vitmain E that may prevents your body from free radicals. They say that Ananas also helps in case of problems with your stomach or with arthralgia.

In our days Ananas could be found all over the world in the tropical belt between 25° North and South.Well konown are the Plantations of Hawai. We known their product mostly in a tin canned form and enjoy them as Toast Hawai etc.

Aside the fresh Ananas the conserved(heated) form of Ananas has its significance in the modern cuisine. Because the Bromelin was destroyed by the heat it does not sour Milkdishes or the gelation of Puddings, The fresh Ananas could be useed to get meat more mellow.

The most famous sort of this fruit is the ordinary Ananas (Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.), thatcome from the tropical America und now is cultivated in Africa, Asia and the south of Europe too. Since 1830 the Ananaas gets breeded in big glasshouses in Europe. In fact the ANans is not one single fruit, sccientifically it mus be seen as a union of fruits cause it gets collected out of a lot of single blossoms and their bracts.  But in colloquial language we talk of one ananas fruit and so we will continue to do so here.

If you want to enjoy it you have to carefully prepare the fruit at first. You have to cut of the complete head with its small and hard leaves, peel of the pod, cut it into quarters (from he top) and get rid off the stem in the middle. To really enjoy it the fruit should be ripe the it will taste sweet with a little sour in it. You can smell it if the Anans is ripe enough to be enjoyed.

Cookies fried in the hot oil, which are specifically popular in Trinidad.

The Bay used and known in europe for a very long time. The antique greeks used it as a symbol for the their god Apollo. His temples were decorated with it and Poets and singers used it to decorate themselves. To use it as a symbol for victory and honour came up with the old romans. Over centurys it was welll known as a helper against lung problems. Hildegard von Bingen called it "Lungroot" cause of that. It was also well known to be used in the kitchen and as a digestive middle.

Bay or Laurel grows as a little green bush or tree of max 2 meters height. The leaves are elliptic and copped. The bush stays green allyear long.

is a kind of a tree thats a member of the family Myrtacea. The Baytree grows on the caribbean islands, in Guayana and Venezuela. The robust and always green tree grows up to 60 feet high. If it is used for oilproduction then it will be cutten down to 4 meters only so it could be harvested more easy. Its a close relative to the Piment tree. For the oil production normally only the leaves will be used. They contain the etheric oil that could be destillated. Maoin component of the oil is Eugenol thats in the clove  too. There is also Estragol in that oil. Bayoil was used around 1900 as care for the skin of mens head. It was also used for hair restoring. Bayleaf destillate is namend Bayrum and sold as an after shave or body lotion.

Bay-Oil has a strong and spicy smell that remind of cloves. The antiseptic effect of the oil was proofed and so the oil is often used with chills to inhalations or bathes together with eucalyptus oil. They also say that the oil has a calmative efect on the neuro vegetative nerv system. The fruits of thet tree are similar to Piment but of a bader quality. So they are seldomer used as a seasoning. The leaves are dried and used as a spice in stews and soups and so on.

Cassareep is the juice of the grated Maniok root. Cinnamon, cloves and brown sugar are added. Especially used in the pepperpot.

This Member of the family of the solanaceous herbs is a chili that comes from Middle and South America. Meanwhile it also could be found in South and South East of Asia. It just has to be tropic climate. Already in precolumbian times the natives breeded the different varietys of these chilies. The Spanish took the pepper to europe but nearly no one took notice of it. In these times the people used more of the black pepper. So the pepper went right through to the colonies in asia where this unambitious plant grew very well and was very welcomed by the natives there.

The Plant is a bush thath grows over some years with elliptical small ang green leaves of about 10 cms length. The blossoms are light green to white and the berry are about 3 cm of a lucent red. The light red powder of the dried and grounded berrys is then called Cayenne Pepper. It supports metabolism, digestiv, sweaty, antibacterial, anti flatulent and supports the blood flow. Its Aroma is between burning hot and lightly burning.

Chilis may be used in any form, if you liek it use it dried, fresh, cooked, baked boiled, grilled or raw. In the kitchen it may be used in all these ways its just a matter of fantasy. You have to try and find out by yourself hat best for you here. It even may be good for you if you have cold feet or hands. Also wit a light depression a warm tea made of chillies will be good for you.

The chili called peeper spices grow on a perennial herbaceous plantthat can reach a size from up to 5 ft. The fruit looks like a pod and is build from a harder skin, the flesh of the fruit and the white skin inside that holds the seeds. There are a lot of varieties of chilis all over the world with round, cylindric or copped form. The color may vary between from white, yellow, red to brown and green.

The hotness of the fruit is made by the Capsaicin the is most concentrated in the white skin in the fruit that holds the seeds.

During the colonization time coconut was beside sugar one of the most exported goods from the carribean islands. They were grown in big plantages all ver the islands. For the hard work in these fiels slaves were imported from africa or just snatched on the islands. Today these plantages are no longer in use cause of the geological circumstances that do not allow big enough farms and the use of machines. So coconuts are today grown in asia mostly.

The nut itself is packed into a thick green skin like conkers. In the islands you may find people selling fresh coconut aside the streets. They just open them with a cutlass and after enyoing the milk they open the nut for you so that you may eat the jelly too.

Today the coconut is mostly used in the kitchen.

Garlic could be found all over the world today. Generically it comes from Central-Asia. 7000 years ago the egyptians found the garlic taht delicious that they putted it into nearly all theyre dishes. From the egyptians the garlic was braought to the romans that it took over to europe.

Years later, throughout the middle age, garlic was found to be used all over europe. Meanwhile it was not only found in the kitchen but also in the hospitals where it was used as prevention against some illness. Somewhen the myth was founded that garlic is good against vampires.

Ginger is well known in india for centuries. Already in very early times it came to europe, probably by arabic traders. It konown as a very usefull spice and as a universalmedicine too. 200 years after Christ the stuff was that wanted in Rome that goverment could put a heavy tax on it. Still years later the people paid real fantasy proces for this stuff.

Ginger is very usefull in the kitchen or by any kind of medical problems aroound your stomach.

The Guava is a small bush or tree that has green to yellow coloured pea like fruits. There are different sorts oof them that have white, yellow, orange to red fruitflesh that contains a lot of vitamine C The Guava can be consumed raw as she is and tastes sweett-sour. Mosty Marmeöade, Jelly or Siroup is made of them. You may find them seldom here because they cannot be transported very far after harvesting them.

Habanero could be translated with "coming from Havana". But youu wouldn't find much of zthis bushes there.. The latin name Capsicum chinense is misleading cause there are nearly none of them around there in china. Most of these plants could be found on the mexican peninsula Yucatan. On the carribean islands you mayy find them but not very often.

This bushy plant gets up to 4 ft high and wears small fruits that can get 1 to 3 inches long and around 1 inch wide. During mature they strat green and become yellow first and then varying from sort to sort red to brown. They say this is one of the hottest chilies in the world.

The Key lime (Citrus aurantiifolia or Christmas Swingle) is a citrus species with a globose fruit, 2.5-5 cm in diameter (1-2 in), that is yellow when ripe but usually picked green commercially. It is smaller, seedier, has a higher acidity, a stronger aroma, and a thinner rind than that of the Persian lime (Citrus x latifolia). It is valued for its unique flavor compared to other limes, with the key lime usually having a more tart and bitter flavour. The name comes from its association with the Florida Keys, where it is best known as the flavoring ingredient in Key lime pie. It is also known as West Indian lime, Bartender's lime or Mexican lime, the latter classified as a distinct race with a thicker skin and darker green color.

C. aurantifolia is a shrubby tree , to 5 m (16 ft), with many thorns. Dwarf varieties are popular with home growers and can be grown indoors in winter in colder climates. The trunk rarely grows straight, with many branches that often originate quite far down on the trunk. The leaves are ovate 2.5?9 cm (1?3.5 in) long, resembling orange leaves (the scientific name aurantifolia refers to this resemblance to the leaves of the orange, C. aurantium). The flowers are 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, are yellowish white with a light purple tinge on the margins. Flowers and fruit appear throughout the year but are most abundant from May to September.

C. aurantifolia is native to Southeast Asia. Its apparent path of introduction was through the Middle East to North Africa, thence to Sicily and Andalusia and via Spanish explorers to the West Indies, including the Florida Keys. From the Caribbean, lime cultivation spread to tropical and sub-tropical North America, including Mexico, Florida, and later California.

The English name "lime" was derived from the Persian name Limu in this course."Key" would seem to have been added some time after the Persian lime cultivar gained prominence commercially in the United States following the hurricane of 1926, which destroyed the bulk of US C. aurantiifolia agriculture, leaving it to grow mostly casually in the Florida Keys. Since the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, many Key limes on the US market are grown in Mexico and Central America. They are also grown in Texas, California and the carribean islands.

The Mango is the fruit of a tree that may be up to 120 ft tall. The fruits maybe green, yellow or red. They have a relatively hard skin that contains a more fibric fruitflesh and a kernel with the seed inside. The tasste is mild to sweet with a bit of sourness. They contain a lot of vitamine A and iron. You can make juice or marmelade of the flesh. But it will also fit very well into chutneys or sauces.

The Nutmeg was first found on the Banda and Molucca Islands. Both are located in the Indian Ocean as we all know since the Tsunami. Today these nuts could be found in similar zones once around the earth. So they are grown today in Indonisia, Sri Lanka, India and Middle and South America. Until the late middle age the Nutmeg was only brought to europe by arabic dealers. Around 1512 the seaway to India was found and the Molucca Islands were conquered by the Potugees. From then on they had an monopoly on the trading and growing of the nuts. The dutch took some parts of this later on. It was known as a strengthening tonic. In the middle age the nutmeg was mostly used to spice drinks like wine and met and beer. Sure they found very quickly that you just have to eat/smoke enough of it to achieve a halluzinogenic effect.

The Nutmeg is an always green Tree that can grow up to 90 feet high. When its grown in Plantains then it is normally kept on a size of around 45 feet. It has long, oval leafs. The fruits look like aprocots and have the so called nut in it. the nut is covered by a red, sliced skin, the blossom, also known an Macis. The core itself is a wooden thing thats more long then round. Formerly it was putten into lime milk as a preservative against insects. Today the light white colour that is left from this treatment is a sign of quality. The Nutmeg has a anticonvulsant, anti flatulent, digestive, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, calmative and halluzinogen impact. The Nuts have a fiery-spicy, somewath bitter aroma.

Nutmeg is used in a wide variety in the kitchen today. It is used in a (at best freshly) grounded form in many meals with vegetables, potatoes and cabbage. It also could be used on deserts like of peas and apples. A caribbean punch cant be made without it. The macis has a bit finer taste than the nuts itself. In europe they normally only know of the taste of the nuts but in asia and the caribbeans the healthy effects is also well known. A tea of nutmeg may help with most kinds of stomach problems.

This tropical bush is often called a tree cause of its size. The oval fruits are green to yellow and could become up to 1 ft and up to 6 kgs weight. Usual only the salmon colored flesh will be used and not the small black pips. It could be eaten raw as fruit. They also could be found in salads, chutneys and they are used for conserving other goods. They contain a lot of vitamines A and C. They also contain an enzyme that makes meat softer and helps the digestive and helps to reduce body fat.

The Passionflower ist a climbing flower with many digfferent varieties with different fruits and colors. the fruits are eggformed berrys with a lot of vitamin C and pips. They have a strong skin that surrounds the fruitflesh. They mostly taste rfershing sour-sweet and really exotic. They say that these fruits support a good sleep and lower blood pressure. Passionfruits can be enjoyed as they are or you can make fruit-salads, sirups marmelade etc. from them.

Pepper is one of the eldest spices known and used in the world. Originally it came from the indomalayian territory where it was mentioned already more than 4000 years ago. It was brought to europe indirectly by Alexander the great. By conquering half of the world he opened trading routes to until then unknown countries. Today most of the pepper is grown in India and Indonesia. In the middle age Pepper was the most used spice although nearly no one could pay it. Arabic Traders managed to have a monopoly on the complete Pepper tradings in the european space. On European side the Monopoly was doubled by the Venetians that kept the deals with the arabs under control. By discovering a seaway to India Vasco da Gama was the first to break this Monopoly. But for about one hundred years now the Portugeese had the full control over the way of the Pepper. After that the English and the Dutch went to Asia and broke this Monopoly.

Pepper is a climbing plant that will grow up to 20 feet high in Plantains. In the free nature they will grow up to 45 feet high. The have small, green and oval leaves. Like Currants they have white and standing blossoms followed by red and hanging berrys. Pepper is good for your stomach, its digestiv, helps blood flow, is anti flatulent, warms and strengthens and is antiseptical.

Pepper is the only spice in the worls that is sold in 4 different colours. If harvested unripe and freshly putten into a salty or sour brine will resullt in green pepper. If reaped shortly before beeing mature and dried will give you the black pepper. If it is harvested after maturity and then dried in the sun will give white pepper. The red one is produced like the green, the difference is the maturity when it is harvested. They all taste different and could be used in the kitchen in quite different ways. Generally said: use white pepper when the meal is bright, use the black one if its dark.

Piment is also known as Baypepper or Newspice or Allspice. It was found on the Wets Indies by the spanish and brought to europe during the 16. century. Today the Piment is cultivated in Mexico, the Wets Indies and Middle- and Southamerica. The name "AllSpice" was introduced by the british Botanist John Ray (1627-1705) who found that the grounded piment tastes and smells like nutmeg, cinammon and clove. Up to today the Scandinavians really love the Piment. One reason therefore may be that you could use it especially good in fish stock.

Piment grows on trees that can be up to 30 feet high. The leaves are green, shaped like an egg and with a leathery skin. The blossom is a very small white one that becomes a small berry. This berry will be harvested shorty before it is fully mature. This is done because it then will have the most aroma.

Piment could be used in the kitchen nearly everywhere. It should be in nearly every stock if is used for fish or beef or pork meat. It could also be used in Cakes, or hot wines or desserts.

This kind of pepper could be found all over the carribean but it will also be found nearly only here. Its got a fruity taste with a bit of apricot in it. The plant gets up to 4 ft. high and is more bushy. This pepper could also be grown in europe but than you have to find a warm and sunny place for her.

The fruits are more wide and narrow than long. They grow up as a green fruit but that changes to a nice yellow and will be orange-red when the fruit matures.

Beside the south-american Habaneros the Scotch Bonnet is one of the hottest Peppers in the world.

Mostly we think that the sweet pepper was always grown in the puszta of hungary. But this is one of the famous falsities of our time. The sweet pepper was originally found in the tropical americas and brougth to europe by the spanish conquistadores. Formerly there was only one kind of this sweet pepper and that one was somewhat hot.

Botanically zhe fruit is a bear and it contains a very high fraction of Vitamin C. Sweet Paprika is nowadays one of the most used vegetables in every kitchen. It could be used in nearly any form. It can be cooked, boiled, grilled, baked or enjoyed raw.

This tree was first found in the north eastern Savannas of Africa. From there it moved very early to India and Asia. Early notes in Sanskrit show that the Tamarind was known and used in India early. From India the Tamarin came over the mediterrean countries to the Americas in the 16th centurie. In Afrika the Tamarin always was used as food in the dry Savannas of the Notrth and East. The Sailors took it for cenutries cause of the high value of Vitamin C in it. The pulp was used as a preservative against the Skorbhut.

The Tarind is an always green tree that grows up to 60-75 feet high. The small and elliptic leaves roll together in the Dusk. The blossoms are white with red stripes in it. The pods are up to 15 cms long and contain between 4 an 12 Seeds. The only eatable stuff of the pod is the pulp between the seeds. It is brown, papescent and sour-sweet. It has a high value of fruit acids that leed to a high content of Vitamin C.

In the kitchen the Tamarind is mostly used for chutneys, soups, deserts or to make siroups and beer of it.