Botanical: Piper
nigrum Family: N.O.
Piperaceae Hindi Name: Gol
Mirch
Black pepper is
probably the most
important and
popular spice in the
whole world. It is
added to almost
every savoury dish,
hot or cold,
imparting a sharp
and pungent flavour.
Native to southern
India, black pepper
sparked the start of
the spice trade
between Asia and
Europe and the need
for this valuable
spice prompted
European explorers
to travel and trade
all over the world.
General
Description:
The best Pepper of
commerce comes from
Malabar. Pepper is
mentioned by Roman
writers in the fifth
century. The plant
can attain a height
of 20 or more feet,
but for commercial
purposes it is
restricted to 12
feet. The plant is
propagated by
cuttings and grown
at the base of trees
with a rough,
prickly bark to
support them.
Between three or
four years after
planting they
commence fruiting
and their
productiveness ends
about the fifteenth
year. The berries
are collected as
soon as they turn
red and before they
are quite ripe; they
are then dried in
the sun.
Plant:
The pepper plant is
a perennial woody
vine growing to four
metres in height on
supporting trees,
poles, or trellises.
It is a spreading
vine, rooting
readily where
trailing stems touch
the ground. The
leaves are
alternate, entire,
five to ten
centimetres long and
three to six
centimetres broad.
The flowers are
small, produced on
pendulous spikes
four to eight
centimetres long at
the leaf nodes, the
spikes lengthening
to seven to 15
centimeters as the
fruit matures.
Piper nigrum on tree
support in Goa,
India.
Black pepper is
grown in soil that
is neither too dry
nor susceptible to
flooding, moist,
well-drained and
rich in organic
matter (the vines do
not do too well over
an altitude of
3000ft above sea
level). The plants
are propagated by
cuttings about 40 to
50 centimetres long,
tied up to
neighbouring trees
or climbing frames
at distances of
about two metres
apart; trees with
rough bark are
favoured over those
with smooth bark, as
the pepper plants
climb rough bark
more readily.
Competing plants are
cleared away,
leaving only
sufficient trees to
provide shade and
permit free
ventilation. The
roots are covered in
leaf mulch and
manure, and the
shoots are trimmed
twice a year. On dry
soils the young
plants require
watering every other
day during the dry
season for the first
three years. The
plants bear fruit
from the fourth or
fifth year, and
typically continue
to bear fruit for
seven years. The
cuttings are usually
cultivars, selected
both for yield and
quality of fruit. A
single stem will
bear 20 to 30
fruiting spikes. The
harvest begins as
soon as one or two
fruits at the base
of the spikes begin
to turn red, and
before the fruit is
mature, but when
full grown and still
hard; if allowed to
ripen, the fruits
lose pungency, and
ultimately fall off
and are lost. The
spikes are collected
and spread out to
dry in the sun, then
the peppercorns are
stripped off the
spikes.
Black pepper is
native to India.
Within the genus
Piper, it is most
closely related to
other Asian species
such as Piper
caninum.
Benefits of Black
Pepper:
Black pepper has
more healthy
properties than most
people know about.
Black pepper isn't
like salt that can
make food less
healthy if too much
is added. Black
pepper is a spice
that has the
potential to make
food more beneficial
when used in various
recipes and as a
table spice.
Varieties:
In trade, the pepper
grades are
identified by their
origin. In India ->
The most important
Indian grades are
Malabar and
Tellicherry (Thalassery).
The Malabar grade is
regular black pepper
with a slightly
greenish hue, while
Tellicherry is a
special product.
Both Indian black
peppers, but
especially the
Telicherry grade,
are very aromatic
and pungent. In the
past, Malabar pepper
was also traded
under names like Goa
or Aleppi. Cochin is
the pepper trade
center in India.
In South East Asia,
the most reputated
proveniences for
black pepper are
Sarawak in Malaysia
and Lampong from
Sumatra/Indonesia.
Both produce
small-fruited black
pepper that takes on
a greyish colour
during storage; both
have a
less-developed
aroma, but Lampong
pepper is pretty
hot. Sarawak pepper
is mild and often
described fruity.
Buying and storing
black pepper:
Black pepper can be
bought either as
whole peppercorns or
ground pepper.
Ground black pepper
is not as pungent or
flavourful as
freshly ground
peppercorns and it
does not keep for as
long either.
One of the reasons
why black
peppercorns were so
valuable centuries
ago is because they
can be stored for
almost indefinitely
without losing their
quality, taste or
aroma.
Dishes always taste
better when freshly
ground black pepper
is added near the
end of cooking time
or just before
serving.
The History of Black
Pepper:
Black pepper has a
history of at least
4000 years. It is
indigenous to India
and gradually began
to make its way
eastwards to
Southeast Asia where
it is now also
cultivated and
grown. Some of the
major producers of
black pepper
nowadays are India,
Indonesia, Vietnam,
Brazil, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka, Thailand
and China.
Pepper was so
valuable for a
number of reasons,
one of them being
its ability to
disguise food that
was not as fresh as
it should have been.
It was also used to
liven up and give a
kick to dishes that
were somewhat
tasteless and not
very appetizing
otherwise.
For these reasons
and more pepper was
not only used as a
spice and seasoning
for food, it was
also a used as a
method of payment in
exchange for other
goods and even to
pay taxes, dowries
and even rent.
In ancient Greece,
pepper was offered
to the gods in
sacred rituals and
was even swapped for
gold. Fortunately,
nowadays pepper is
not that expensive.
/masaala.jpg)
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Kali Mirch (Black
peppercorn)
e
added to almost any savoury dish
imaginable but
surprisingly, it can
also be added to
sweet biscuits and
cakes in order to
spice them up and
add a quirky twist./Kali-mirchi.jpg)
/spice.jpg)
/pepper.jpg)
/Kali-Mirchi-Exporter.jpg)
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