Local Spices : For Taste, Flavour and Good Health.

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Hello friends in Steem for Nigeria community, I am pleased to be participating again in a contest organised by @steem4nigeria. I have always like participating in this contest and below is my entry.

What are spices? And identify at least five of the spices in the thumbnail picture above.

Spices are special food items that add flavour, tastes and colour to our dishes. Without spices most foods will be tasteless while some will not be edible. Have you ever throw up after eating some food that lack some important spices such as pepper, onions or ginger? There are a lot of people if some spices are not added to their food they will throw up.

In the thumbnail picture above the five spices I can identify are:

1. Onions
2. Ata
3. Ginger
4. Garlic
5. Tumeric

What are the local names of the spices you could Identify with local pictures from your kitchen.

The local names of the spices I can identify are: Onions we call it anyim, Tumeric we call it aran unen, Ata is the local name we call this particular spice and I do not know it English name. Pepper is called ntuen. Ginger is called ginger I am not aware of any local name for ginger in my dialect.

How did you get to know this spices and when do you apply them individually or as a combination.

I got to know about all these spices from both my grandmother and mother when they cook. Pepper is a very common and popular kind of spice that must be added to every kind of food cooked at home. It has a hoting kind of taste. Pepper can be added to meat when steamed. Pepper soup, sources soup any kind of cooked food.

Onions, Ginger, Ata and tumeric can be added to different kinds of food as a combination of all of them or to specific kind of food. Onions Ginger and Ata can be added to pepper soup. Tumeric is mostly used for cooking rice. Onions can be added to some soup.

How do you measure the quantity to be used when preparing any local dish.

I do not have a specific measurement when applying my spices to food. The quantity of spices I add to my food depends upon the quantity of the food and how much influence I want the spice to have on the food. For peperish spices I am always careful to avoid making it too spicy as can be difficult to eat such food.

Are they any claimed or confirmed health benefits of the spices you have identified?

Yes there are a lot of health benefits of the spices I have identified.

Onions are antioxidants, they have benefits such as improved heart health, improve blood sugar regulation of bone density.

Pepper reduces high cholesterol, prevents breast pancreas and bladder cancer, improve blood regulation.

Ginger has the capacity to lower blood sugar and prevent heart diseases.

Garlic has active compounds that can help reduce blood pressure. It can be used to prevent some diseases such as cold.

What else would you like to tell us about these or any other spices.

Spices like Ata, ginger and garlic are very medicinal if you have cough or cold and you chew raw ginger or garlic you will get a great relief. Ata if added in pepper soup can get rid of cold and carrghter. It is also usually added in pepper soup made for women who have newly given birth. While pregnant women are advised not to add those spices to their food as it could be harmful to the unborn child and could lead to miscarriage especially if taken in large quantities.

I invite my friends @kemzy21, @bela90 and @thedummy to participate in this contest.