Now, spice up your chocolates, cosmetics!

Next time when you get bored eating your regular chocolate having the same cliched flavour, how about spicing it up with a dash of chilly or cinnamon!!
Yes, chocolates spiced up with chilly, cinnamon and cardamom are here to provide a new kick to your taste buds.
People these days have started using various spice value products such as spice chocolates, spice teas and even cosmetic products like spice creams, shampoos, face washes etc, Spices Board of India Chairman Dr A Jayathilak told PTI.
'Flavourit', an initiative of the Spices Board to share and sustain the passion of spices, has come up with a variety of spice chocolates for food lovers and spice cosmetics for beauty conscious people.

It has experimented with bringing out chocolates in six unique flavours of cardamom, chilly, cumin, cinnamon, clove and nutmeg.
The response to chocolates with chilly flavour has been really good and when it is put up at exhibitions in foreign countries, food enthusiasts even want to know how it is prepared, Jayathilak said.

Even in non-culinary segment, spice creams with tulsi, turmeric, saffron, etc and soaps and facewashes with clove, cardamom, pepper, cinnamon, green coffee bean and vanilla are being experimented, he said.
Even turmeric-dyed garments, like kurtas and bedsheets are in the trial process.
"It would be surprising to know that the 'health conscious' people are increasing the use of spices in their daily cuisine and have adopted it as part of their lifestyle," Jayathilak said.

India commands a formidable position in the world spice trade with spice exports expected to touch US$3 billion by 2016-17.
"In the past few years, the demand for value-added spice products has increased. The spice oils and oleoresin, spice tea, spice chocolates, cosmetics from spices such as spice creams, spice shampoos, spice face washes, etc, are becoming extremely popular with Indian," said the IAS officer who heads the Kochi-based Spices Board.
To a question, he said spices have definitely not lost sheen to exotic herbs among the urban food lovers.
Spices have always been such an essential part of Indian

cuisine and still remain an integral part of the culture. The importance of spices has not changed for generations and will remain the same for the upcoming generations, Jayathilak said.
To another question, he said there has been no decline in the sale of traditional spices, especially cardamom owing to its health benefits which include anti-cholesterol property, control of cancer, and improvement of blood circulation to name a few. It is also a crucial ingredient in 'biryani' and various traditional Indian desserts.
As for clove, it is a known fact that it is a temporary solution for toothache. The use of cinnamon has been gradually increasing by Indians as it is now used in desserts and tea, he said.

On the current trend in Indian spices, he said the spices market in India has witnessed a growth in recent years on account of rising demand for spices fuelled by expansion in spice mixes.
"The surge has majorly originated from growth in chilly and turmeric as a segment of spice market. The growth in this segment has been largely led by the domestic factors such as increase in the area under cultivation and increasing demand in international markets," he pointed out.
Asked about the spices most in demand among traditional Indian food lovers, he said favourite spices vary from region to region as there are many varieties of spices used in every part of the country. One of the most favourite spices is turmeric, for its medicinal and healing properties.

Towards the south of India, cardamom, chilly, ginger and pepper are extremely popular. In the north, cumin,fennel and mustard and towards the north east spices such as turmeric, ginger and large cardamoms are widely used, he said.
About the preferences of people in rural and urban areas, the Spices Board Chairman said both use various type of spices for culinary and non-culinary purposes.
"Spices are mainly used for imparting colour, aroma and taste to food and as a quick home remedy for certain illness or mild injuries both by rural and urban people. Hence in general preference for spices, be it urban or rural would remain the same," he said.

On the 'Flavourit' initiative, he said it selects the finest of the spices from the farms where growing spices is a tradition and faith.
It brings growers, collectives and developmental ventures under the economic and social inclusion, he added.