Black Pepper

Black pepper started its initial periods as a form of currency and was offered as a gift to the Gods.



The pepper plant is a soft woody vine. It grows in hot and humid climates. Peppercorns are the berries of the pepper plant. Pepper is powdered peppercorn, used in cooking as a spice.



Whole peppercorns are preferred from the market to avoid adulteration and to ensure good flavor. They are heavy without blemishes. They are bought in a compact manner, devoid of cracks. Referred botanically as Piper nigrum, pepper intake triggers the secretion of hydrochloric acid, thereby enhancing digestion.

Indigestion or heartburn is produced by accumulation of food in the stomach, due to lack of acid secretion.



This also results in acting as a food source for microbial flora, causing constipation, flatulence and diarrhea. Pepper prevents flatulence formation, by triggering the acid secretion. It also acts as a diuretic. Pepper aids in promoting perspiration, acting as a diaphoretic. It comforts the digestive tract as an antioxidant and aids in intestinal health. The peripheral layer of peppercorn triggers the fat breakdown, helping in burning of calories.

In addition to lemon juice, salt and olive oil, crushed pepper is used as a salad dressing. Certain amount of antinutrients, such as purines, oxalates and goitrogens are present in black pepper. It is an excellent source of dietary fiber, manganese, vitamin K and iron. The different stages of development and maturation indicate the various kinds of pepper available commercially. White pepper, black pepper and green pepper are the different kinds. White peppercorns are completely ripe and soaked in sodium chloride solution. This gets rid of the dark shell, resulting in white pepper.



Black pepper are half ripe and are dark in color. Green pepper is green in color and is unripe.

Black peppercorns are made by picking the pepper berries when they are half ripe and just about to turn red. They are then left to dry which causes them to shrivel and become dark in color. Alternatively, green peppercorns are picked while still unripe and green in color, while white peppercorns are picked when very ripe and subsequently soaked in brine to remove their dark outer shell leaving just the white pepper seed. Pepper derives the freshness out of the food in which it is used. Important culinary purposes are served by pepper. It has led to the discovery of many lands. Indonesia and India are the primary sources of pepper.