Growth : Chia is grown commercially for its seed, a food that is very rich in omega-3 fatty acids, since the seeds yield 25-30% extractable oil, mostly α-linolenic acid (ALA). It also is a source of antioxidants and a variety of amino acids.

Etymology : The word chia is derived from the Nahuatl word chian, meaning oily. The present Mexican state of Chiapas received its name from the Nahuatl "chia water or river."

Botany : Chia is an annual herb growing to 1 m (3.3 ft) tall, with opposite leaves 4–8 cm (1.6–3.1 in) long and 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) broad. Its flowers are purple or white and are produced in numerous clusters in a spike at the end of each stem.

Seeds : Chia seeds are typically small ovals with a diameter of about 1 mm (0.039 in). They are mottle-colored with brown, gray, black and white. Chia seeds typically contain 20% protein, 34% oil, 25% dietary fiber (mostly soluble with high molecular weight), and significant levels of antioxidants (chlorogenic and caffeic acids, myricetin, quercetin, and kaempferol flavonols).
The oil from chia seeds contains a very high concentration of omega-3 fatty acid — approximately 64%. Chia seeds contain no gluten and trace levels of sodium.

Chia seed is traditionally consumed in Mexico, the southwestern United States, and South America, but is not widely known in Europe. Historically, chia seeds served as a staple food of the Nahua (Aztec) cultures of Central Mexico. Jesuit chroniclers referred to chia as the third most important crop to the Aztecs behind only maize and beans, and ahead of amaranth.
Tribute and taxes to the Aztec priesthood and nobility were often paid in chia seed.

Today, chia is grown commercially in its native Mexico, and in Bolivia, Argentina, Ecuador and Guatemala.
In 2008, Australia was the world's largest producer of chia. A similar species, golden chia, is used in the same way but not widely grown commercially. Salvia hispanica seed is marketed most often under its common name "Chia," but also under several trademarks, including "Sachia," "Anutra," "Chia Sage," "Salba," "Tresalbio," and "Mila".

In 2009, the European Union approved chia seeds as a novel food, allowing them to comprise up to 5% of a bread product's total matter.

 Uses in food and cuisines

Magnified image of white sesame seedsSesame is grown primarily for its oil-rich seeds, which come in a variety of colors, from cream-white to charcoal-black.
In general, the paler varieties of sesame seem to be more valued in the West and Middle East, while the black varieties are prized in the Far East.
The small sesame seed is used whole in cooking for its rich nutty flavour (although such heating damages their healthful polyunsaturated fats), and also yields sesame oil.

Sesame seeds are sometimes added to breads, including bagels and the tops of hamburger buns. Sesame seeds may be baked into crackers, often in the form of sticks. Sesame seeds are also sprinkled onto some sushi style foods.
Whole seeds are found in many salads and baked snacks as well in Japan. Tan and black sesame seed varieties are roasted and used for making the flavoring gomashio. In Greece seeds are used in cakes, while in Togo, seeds are a main soup ingredient.
The seeds are also eaten on bread in Sicily and France (called "ficelle sésame", sesame thread). About one-third of the sesame crop imported by the United States from Mexico is purchased by McDonald's for their sesame seed buns (The Nut Factory 1999).
In Manipur (North Eastern State of India) Black sesame is used extensively as a favourite side dish called 'Thoiding' and in 'Singju' (A kind of salad).
Sesame is used extensively for preparing these two dishes. Unlike mainland Indians they are prepared with ginger in Thoiding with chilli and with vegetables in Singu which is spicy and hot. In Assam, black sesame seeds are hugely used to make Til Pitha and Tilor laru (sesame seed balls) during bihu.
In Punjab province of Pakistan and Tamil Nadu state of India, a sweet ball called "Pinni" (پنی) in Urdu and 'Ell urundai' in Tamil, "Yellunde" (sesame ball, usually in jaggery) in Kannada and tilgul in Marathi is made of its seeds mixed with sugar.
Also in Tamil Nadu, sesame oil used extensively in their cuisine, 'Milakai Podi', a ground powder made of sesame and dry chili is used to enhance flavor and consumed along with other traditional foods such as idli.
Sesame (benne) seed cookies and wafers, both sweet and savory, are still consumed today in places like Charleston, South Carolina. The seeds are believed to have been brought into 17th century colonial America by West African slaves. In Cuban cuisine, sugar and white sesame seeds are combined into a bar resembling peanut brittle and sold in stores and street corners.

Camu Camu

The Camu camu (Myrciaria dubia), also known as CamuCamu, Cacari, and Camocamo, is a small (approx. 3-5 m tall) bushy river side tree from the Amazon Rainforest vegetation in Peru and Brazil, which bears a red/purple cherry like fruit. Its small flowers have waxy white petals and sweet smelling aroma. It has bushy feathery foliage. The evergreen, opposite leaves are lanceolate to elliptic. Individual leaves are 3 - 20 cm in length and 1 - 2 cm wide.

It is a close relative of the Jaboticaba (Myrciaria cauliflora) and the Guavaberry or Rumberry (Myrciaria floribunda).

Uses
Documentation of traditional camu camu uses is scarce. It is unlikely that in traditional Amazonian societies camu camu has ever been nutritionally relevant. The fruit is extremely acidic, and the flavour can only be appreciated in recipes requiring a blender, dilution in milk/water and the addition of sugar.

The extraordinarily high Vitamin C content (in the order of 2-3% of fresh weight!),
is the most important property of the camu camu fruit, which has been exploited consistently in positioning camu camu on international markets. Vit C content declines as full maturity is reached, and there is a trade-off between Vit C and flavour expression. As a myrtaceous fruit, camu camu most likely provides other nutritional benefits (phenolics, etc.,), but these are less understood and communicated to consumers.

Camu camu has also a unique aroma and fruit pigmentation. A reddish pigment in the leathery skin (probably anthocyanins) imparts an attractive and unique pink color on juices extracted from camu camu. The aroma is subtle, but is not as captivating as in more popular fruits. Camu camu is more recently also used in ice creams, sweets, etc.

Processed powder from the fruit pulp is beginning to be sold in the west as a health food in loose powder or capsule form. In addition to the high vitamin C content it contains the amino acids valine, leucine and serine, and is also rich in flavonoids.

Dried, ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavour and its use as a medicine. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside table salt.

The word pepper is derived from the Sanskrit pippali, via the Latin piper and Old English pipor. The Latin word is also the source of German pfeffer, French poivre, Dutch peper, and other similar forms. In the 16th century, pepper started referring to the unrelated New World chile peppers as well.
Pepper was used in a figurative sense meaning "spirit" or "energy" at least as far back as the 1840s; in the early 20th century, this was shortened to pep.

Flavour
Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Refined piperine, milligram-for-milligram, is about one per cent as hot as the capsaicin in chile peppers.
The outer fruit layer, left on black pepper, also contains important odour-contributing terpenes including pinene, sabinene, limonene, caryophyllene, and linalool, which give citrusy, woody, and floral notes. These scents are mostly missing in white pepper, which is stripped of the fruit layer. White pepper can gain some different odours (including musty notes) from its longer fermentation stage.

Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve pepper's original spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose flavour when exposed to light, which can transform piperine into nearly tasteless isochavicine. Once ground, pepper's aromatics can evaporate quickly; most culinary sources recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use for this reason.
Handheld pepper mills (or pepper grinders), which mechanically grind or crush whole peppercorns, are used for this, sometimes instead of pepper shakers, dispensers of pre-ground pepper. Spice mills such as pepper mills were found in European kitchens as early as the 14th century, but the mortar and pestle used earlier for crushing pepper remained a popular method for centuries after as well