Black pepper is a common spice made from the unripe fruit of the Piper nigrum plant, native to southern India. It was once so valuable that it was used as money, and was a catalyst for the European Age of Exploration. Today, Vietnam is the top producer.
Black pepper is a common spice or seasoning in many cuisines. It is made from the unripe fruit, or peppercorns, of the Piper nigrum plant, a flowering vine native to southern India. This spice is usually ground for use in food.
Piper nigrum fruit consists of small berries that start out green and turn a deep red when fully ripe. Black pepper is just one of the products that can be made from peppercorns. White pepper, green pepper and pink pepper are other varieties.
Black pepper is made from the unripe green fruit of the pepper plant, which is cooked in hot water, then dried. The hot water cleans the peppercorns and breaks the skin, speeding up the browning work of the enzymes when the fruit is dried. Peppercorns are left in the sun to dry or dried by machine. The skin becomes dark and wrinkled and the fruit hardens during the drying process.
Peppercorns are hard and typically need to be ground to be edible. However, ground pepper quickly loses its flavor. Most chefs recommend grinding pepper as needed, immediately before adding it to food, in order to retain maximum flavor.
Although black pepper is a staple on kitchen tables around the world today, it was once so valuable that it was used as money. In the ancient world, the most important source of this spice was the Malabar coast of India, the southwestern coast of the country. The spice was traded with neighboring countries, eventually making its way to China, Greece, Egypt and the Roman Empire, although only the very wealthiest outside of South Asia could afford it.
Black pepper has been a major catalyst for the European Age of Exploration starting in the 15th century. Trade routes to India and other sources of coveted spices were extremely valuable, and the countries that controlled them controlled the European economy. During the Age of Exploration, pepper became more abundant in Europe and average people were able to afford it.
Today, black pepper still accounts for a fifth of the world’s spice trade, but India is no longer the top producer. Vietnam now leads the export market, followed by Indonesia, Brazil, Malaysia and India respectively.
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