Black Pepper

Black pepper (piper nigrum) is the world's most widely used spice. Black pepper originated in the rain forests of Kerala, and has reigned as the "master spice" from its earliest usage about 4,000 years ago. The world today consumes as much black pepper as all other spices combined. It is used in one way or other in most cuisines and it is used to prepare just about every kind of dish, including desserts.

Black pepper corns are the sun-dried fruit of the pepper vine. Pepper grows on climbing evergreen perennials that grow on slender spikes. New plants are produced from cuttings and are planted near trees or poles for support. In pepper plantations they are generally grown on wooden poles. Pepper plants are sometimes interspersed in tea and coffee plantations. In two to five years the plants begin to produce flowers that yield small green berries resembling bunches of tiny grapes. As the berries ripen they begin to turn yellowish red in color. Pepper plants live for as long as forty years. They require long and heavy rainy seasons, fairly high temperatures and partial shade for best growth. Peppercorns are available in varying sizes, aroma and pungency. The aroma comes from essential oils while the pungency in pepper is due to the presence of an alkaloid called piperine. Pepper is marketed in four different colors: black, white, red and green. It is interesting to note that all four varieties can be harvested from the same pepper plant by changing the time of harvest and processing method.

Today pepper is cultivated in most tropical regions of the world. Ocean trade between South India and South East Asia was prevalent in the early centuries, which facilitated the transplantation of pepper. There are pepper plantations in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Brazil, and Sri Lanka. India and Indonesia together produce about half of the pepper traded in the world markets. Kerala accounts for about 95% of the pepper farmland and 97% of the pepper production in India. Kochi (Cochin) in Kerala is the major pepper trade center in India. Modern pepper trade grades the spice based on its country of origin. The Indian grades are Malabar and Thalasseri (Tellicherry) and they are very aromatic. Pepper plants in Indonesia produce smaller berries. They are grayish black in color and have lesser aroma, compared to Indian pepper. Pepper from Malaysia is mild and fruity. Brazilian pepper is very mild in taste.

Black pepper commanded great respect centuries ago, and practically changed the course of history by playing a key role in the development of trade and conquest. Pepper has a colorful history as it followed the trade routes from India to the West. Since ancient Greece, pepper has held such high prestige that it was not only used as a seasoning but as a currency and a sacred offering. Pepper was used to both honor the gods and to pay taxes and ransoms. During the Middle Ages the wealth of a man was oftentimes measured by his stockpile of pepper.

Salt and pepper shakers are permanent fixtures on the dining tables and Western cuisines incorporate this healthy spice in several different ways.