Alligator pepper

Aframomum melegueta is a leafy, reed-like herbaceous plant in the ginger family, growing one to two metres tall in damp forest and swampy ground, with trumpet-shaped purple flowers near the soil. It bears bright red to orange, fig-shaped pods, rough-skinned enough to inspire the name alligator pepper, and each contains many small, reddish-brown, glossy, angular seeds.

The seeds smell of pepper, citrus and cardamom and taste hot and aromatic with a lingering warmth and slight camphor note. They are sold whole in the pod or loose, or ground, and are used in spice mixes, beverages and ritual foods. Because they are small and pungent, a little goes a long way.

Aframomum melegueta is native to the swampy coastal region of West Africa, from Senegal and Sierra Leone through Liberia, Ghana and Nigeria to Cameroon. Medieval traders called the Liberian stretch of coast the Grain Coast because of the trade in grains of paradise, and the Portuguese called the plant malagueta.

The name grains of paradise is thought to have been a trader's flourish that added mystery and value to the spice. The common name alligator pepper refers to the pod's bumpy skin, while the botanical genus name Aframomum combines Africa with amomum, an old name for spice plants.

Grains of paradise reached Europe by trans-Saharan caravan routes by the 13th century and soon became a popular peppery spice in medieval and Renaissance cooking, used in spiced wines such as hippocras and in sauces, and sometimes as a cheaper alternative to black pepper. After Portuguese ships opened direct sea routes to West Africa in the 15th century, the trade shifted by sea, and the stretch of coast became known as the Grain Coast. When black pepper from Asia became cheaper and more available, the spice lost much of its European market, though it continued to be used in brewing and as a flavouring in beer and spirits and remained an ingredient in Scandinavian aquavit and some gins.

In West Africa, it never lost its importance. Among the Igbo of Nigeria, alligator pepper is shared with kola nut in welcoming ceremonies, naming rites and prayers, and the Yoruba use it in cooking and traditional medicine. It is a key ingredient in many African spice blends, and North African cooks use it in ras el hanout mixtures.

In recent years, craft brewers and chefs have rediscovered grains of paradise for its complex peppery and citrus taste, and it appears in modern beers, gins, and tasting menus around the world.

The ground seeds season soups, stews, pepper soup, grilled meat and fish across West Africa, and are used in ceremonial offerings with kola nut. Elsewhere, they flavour beer, gin, aquavit, mulled wine, ras el hanout and spice rubs, and are used wherever a warm, citrusy pepper note is wanted.

In traditional medicine, seeds are chewed or made into infusions for digestive complaints, and the pods and roots feature in various local remedies. Whole pods are sometimes cracked open at the table, and a few seeds are chewed to freshen the breath and warm the mouth.

Grains of paradise contain pungent compounds related to gingerols, such as paradols and shogaols, which are studied in the laboratory for antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity. Traditional uses include easing digestion and warming the body, but clinical evidence for health benefits is minimal. As a seasoning used in small amounts, it adds flavour and heat without notable nutrition.