Betel Nuts

I put this information on the blog because I had experience with betel nuts. Betel nut wraps are very popular in Myanmar (Burma). It is like a Myanmar traditional chewing gum which is mixed with betel nuts, lime and other ingredients. Once you chew it, betel juice comes out but u don't swallow it. You leave it in your mouth until you want to spit it out. It is as addictive as smoking cigarettes although it takes a very long time to prepare.

Betel nut, also known as Pinang or Areca nut, is the seed of the Betel Palm (Areca catechu). Betel nuts can be chewed for their effects as a mildly euphoric stimulant, attributed to the presence of relatively high levels of psychoactive alkaloids. Chewing betel nuts is an important and popular cultural activity in many Asian countries. It is also used as an offering in Hinduism.

In India (the largest consumer of betel nut), the betel nut is cut into small pieces using a special instrument called sarota, and the husk is wrapped in a "betel leaf" along with lime and may include clove, cardamom, catechu (kattha), etc. for extra flavouring. Betel leaf has a fresh, peppery taste, but, depending on the variety of betel pepper from which it comes, it can be very bitter. Experienced chewers might mix the betel nut with tobacco (the drug effect of the nicotine in tobacco resembles that of betel nut). This preparation of betel leaf with or without betel nut is commonly referred as paan in India and Pakistan, and is available everywhere.
Betel nut is also sold in ready-to-eat pouches called Pan Masala. It is a mixture of many spices whose primary base is betel nut crushed into very small pieces. Sometimes Pan Masala also includes a small quantity of tobacco, in this case, the product is called gutka.
Betel leaf is a different species of plant than the betel nut, and not in the areca family, but the Piper family (same as pepper and Kava).

For More Information, Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betel-Nut