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.

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.

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.

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.