The pungent flavour of paracress is due to an unsaturated alkamid,
spilanthol, which reaches its highest concentration (1%) in the flowers;
additionally, other pungent alkamides (isobutylamides of
hendeca-2E,7Z,9E-trienoic acid and hendeca-2E-en-8,10-diynoic acid). In
other work there are reports of C9 polyunsaturated
alkamides. These compounds
are chemically and physiologically related to the sanshools found in
Sichuan pepper.
(Chem. Express, 7, 153, 1992),
(Bioscience, Biotechnology and Biochemistry, 56, 795, 1992),
(Phytochemistry, 51, 729, 1999)
Spilanthes oleracea: Paracress inflorescence
Paracress flower. Cultivated forms like this one typically have only disk florets.
Besides the alkamides, pungent nonvolatile sesquiterpenoids have been found,
e. g.,
polygodial and eudesmanolide II. The former is the dominant constituent of
two other pungent spices, water pepper and
Tasmanian pepper.
(Chem. Express, 6, 993, 1991)
From the flowers of paracress, traces of an essential oil were isolated, whose
main constituents were limonene, β-caryophyllene, Z-β-ocimene,
γ-cadinen, thymol, germacrene D and myrcene.
(J. Essent. Oil Res., 3, 369, 1991),
(J. Essent. Oil Res., 5, 693, 1993)
Origin
Both types of paracress stem from South America; they are native to tropical Brazil.
Spilanthes oleracea: Paracress (Toothache plant)
Paracress flowers
Spilanthes acmella/oleracea: Flower head of para-cress
Paracress flower head
Etymology
Paracress is names after the Brazil province Pará. BTW, the same is true
for the paranut or Brazil nut (Bertholletia excelsa,
Lecythidaceae/Theales/Dilleniidae). See
cress on the derivation of cress.
The genus name Spilanthes means stained flower
, from
Greek spiloma [σπίλωμα] stain
and anthos [ἄνθος] flower
;
the reference is to the dark pollen which stains the bright petals.
The species name oleracea goes
back to Latin holus, a leaf vegetable, and alludes to the
edible leaves; acmella, I think, is motivated by the sharp
pungency: Greek akme [ἀκμή] point, peak
,
related to Latin acer acute, sharp
(Proto-Indo–European root H2EḰ pointed
).
Names like Swedish tandvärksplanta or synonymous
English toothache plant refer to the anaesthetic action of the
alkamid constituents of paracress; chewing a paracress flower head
is effective to damp toothache, at least for a while. For similar
reasons, a North American tree closely related to
Sichuan pepper is also known as
toothache tree
.
Selected Links
Sorting Acmella names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au)
Sorting Spilanthes names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au)
Sorting Blainvillea names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au)
Receita: Pato no Tucupi (www.gastronomias.com)
Receita: Pato no Tucupi (www.kalamares.com.br)
Recipe: Pato no Tucupi (www.wsd1.org)
Receita: Tacacá (jangadabrasil.com.br)
Receita: Tacacá (pratofeito.com.br)
Ricetta: Tacacá (www.cookaround.com)
Recette: Romazava (Madascar beef stew) (cuisine.linternaute.com)
Recette: Romazava (Malagasy beef stew) (cuisine.linternaute.com)
Commercial source for Sechuan Buttons
(koppertcress.com)
Spilanthes acmella/oleracea: Para cress plant
Paracress plant
Paracress has nothing in common with real
cresses except the name; in its culinary
properties, paracress stands far apart. The volatile isothiocyanates of cresses
produce a quickly developing pungency in the mouth that will extent to the nose
and will also fade quickly; the pungency of paracress, on the other hand,
develops slowly and is confined to the mouth, where first a tickling sensation
is felt that may lead, over time, to a numb feeling. The flavour is more
resistant to boiling than the flavour of true cress; yet after prolonged
cooking, the leaves become rather mild and can be eaten as a vegetable.
Culinary use of paracress is today almost restricted to tropical Brazil,
particularly the provinces Acre, Amazonas, Pará and Ceará,
where the herb is much used in the cooking styles of the indigenous peoples.
There, the starch-containing tubers of manioc are eaten as a staple, and since
that vegetable has a quite bland taste, it is often flavoured with potent
spices. For this purpose, paracress is often used; the leaves are used
fresh, added as a whole and eaten as an additional source of vitamins
(and flavour).
Spilanthes oleracea/acmella: Paracress plant with flowers
Flowering paracress
Duck first fried and then stewed in manioc juice flavoured with
garlic (tucupí)
is a popular food in all Amazonian provinces (pato
no tucupí). Another recipe from the region is
tacacá, a soup thickened with manioc juice
that contains dried shrimps and sometimes fresh water fish; it is eaten
in many variants in Pará and the rest of North-Western Brazil.
Both dishes are flavoured with garlic and
paracress leaves, sometimes also hot chiles.
Simultaneous usage of two pungent spices (chile and paracress) gives a
unique taste that cannot easily be described; it is somewhat comparable
to the use of Sichuan pepper in hot Chinese
Sichuan cookery.
Outside of Brazil, paracress is little known and little used as a food. There
are records of a related species being grown in South East Asia, where
the boiled leaves are used as a vegetable; but fresh leaves also have some
flavouring use, for example in Western Jawanese cooking, where they
complement hot sambal (see chile).
Since the pungency of paracress is wholly distinct to the heat of both
black pepper and chiles,
it is an interesting alternative that should be tried
by innovative cooks; it can be used together with other pungent spices,
or alone. I found that it performs well instead of pepper in
European foods, to which it lends an unconventional, tickling and yet
subtle pungency.
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