Zubin D’souza
Recently several governments in the West decided to issue a ban on Indian spices. It wasn’t an attempt to curb our imports nor an economic sanction that was being imposed. Instead, government officials in the importing nations were aghast about a strange new additive in the spice mixes that they had heard about.
Word on the street was that the spices are laced with cow dung and cow urine.
Now a majority of Indians follow an ancient religion called Hinduism. The cow is a sacred core tenet and the dung and urine are considered essential in purification rites. The ruling government is a party with a strong leaning towards Hinduism and most people conveniently believed that the administration issued an unwritten diktat to that effect.
The use of the urine and dung however is restricted to religious ceremonies and is definitely not added to the spices by the manufacturers or the spice processing units.
But palates across the world suddenly went a tad crazy. People were wondering if they had unknowingly participated in a cow effluent consumption ritual. There were tweets and truly disdainful hashtags popping up all over the place. Bans on curries and curry houses were called for and online heckling was suddenly the norm.
Amidst this maelstrom of accusations and feeble defences, I stood shaking my head. People were actually discussing whether their spice powders had a bit of cow crap stuck to it. I was truly amazed! Were we seriously so worried?
I have already mentioned that the cow in its entirety and her excreted wastes are religious symbols to the Hindus. The use of these products are steeped in our tradition that dates back thousands of years. People have been using these ingredients with no ill effects visible ever.
However the same people calling for a ban on Indian spices were doing so as they gently sipped on their fragrant ‘Kopi Luwak’. As they took in the refreshing and rather distinctive taste and aroma of this unique and rather expensive coffee, I wonder if they even thought about the origins of this interesting beverage. The kopi luwak coffee has interesting antecedents.
Deep in the Southeast Asian forest one might stumble across the common palm civet. This wild member of the cat family is known for its varied diet which includes small rodents and fruit. It loves to gorge on ripe coffee berries during harvest season. Although this should automatically classify it as a pest, it is a move welcomed by the locals. They track down where these little felines have pooped, forage through the remains to retrieve the undigested coffee beans that although not digested by the animal actually ferments in their digestive tract. These beans are then roasted to create an extremely expensive coffee that is considered to be a delicacy.
Although the jacu bird is an invasive species in Brazil, it is now protected by the government. Coffee farmers can do very little to chase away the birds that choose to feast on their organically grown coffee cherries. But do the farmers want to do anything about that is the question!
In a process reminiscent of what transpires with the civet cat, the jacu birds are responsible for creating a massive windfall for the local farmers who forage through the ample droppings to create jacu bird coffee that is so expensive and rare that it is only sold in the most exclusive of stores.
But why fool around with cats and birds when you can have an elephant?
Thai caregivers of rescued pachyderms are feeding their wards coffee beans mixed into their fruit mash. The beans undergo a radical change as they are processed through the animal’s digestive tract and they release a very distinctive sweetness. The dung-foraged coffee which is aptly named ‘black ivory coffee’ also happens to be one of the most expensive hot brews in the world.
Throughout history, humans have had an undeniable bond with the stuff that comes out of regions too queasy to mention in polite conversations.
Whale excrement called ambergris once was sought after the most famous of chefs to flavour their ice creams and custards.
When 10th century Icelanders depleted their natural forests by using them as fuel, they quickly turned to the next available resource which was sheep dung. For over ten centuries, this wonderful product has warmed them and smoked their cold meats and the hops that formed their beer.
I guess that the only issue with the allegedly cow dung laced spices is that we are probably selling it too cheap!