Black Pepper – Piper Nigrum
The pepper plant is a tall climbing vine grown in tropical countries in the world. It is native to India.
This perennial can reach 5 meters (15 feet). It has large oval shaped leaves and tiny white flowers.
The piper nigrum is about three years old when it starts to produce the fruits which may be harvested. 
The peppercorns grow in clusters and are small and round. The fruit clusters on the piper nigrum are called drupes. They ripen from green to red. After they are dried they are called peppercorns.
Green peppercorns are picked when the drupe is unripe and then they are preserved, often pickled.
Black pepper is also picked when the drupe is green and unripe. The green peppercorns are dried. Some will boil the unripe green drupes before drying. Others will sundry the peppercorns without boiling them first.
During the drying process the peppercorns will wrinkle and darken. Soon we will have what is widely known as black pepper.
To get red and white pepper the drupes are picked when they are ripe and have a red color.
For red pepper the ripe drupes are dried.
For white pepper the ripe peppercorns are soaked in water for about eight days before drying. The outer pepper is removed and only the seed inside is dried and sold as white pepper.
In Cooking
Black pepper is about as common as salt. Black pepper naturally accompanies salt on the table to season dishes. It is used to flavor hundreds of different recipes. Pepper can be used to season almost any kind of food. The latest fad is black pepper ice cream which is becoming increasingly popular; who would have thought?
Ground black pepper will lose its aroma and flavor if exposed to light and air for too long. It is highly recommended to grind whole peppercorn yourself immediately before you intend to use it.
When you are cooking pepper should always be added to the food just before serving to uphold the health benefits and the flavor of pepper.
Benefits
Black pepper has a warming effect in the body. This is probably the best known benefit of black pepper.
Black pepper improves the digestive system. It helps reduce stomach pains and bloating. Black pepper is known to increase the appetite.
Black pepper is said to have aphrodisiac qualities. Something maybe love birds want to make a note of.
Black pepper is a great antioxidant. Many believe black pepper is a valuable aid in fighting colon cancer.
The peperine found in black pepper has proven to increase the absorption of curcumin found in turmeric. The combination of black pepper and turmeric has shown encouraging results in the battle against breast cancer.
Black pepper also increases the body’s ability to absorb vitamin B, selenium and beta-carotene.
All in all black pepper is a wonderful spice. Remember to grind the whole peppercorns yourself in order to take advantage of the benefits of black pepper.
History
Black pepper has been used since Ancient times. Pepper was very expensive and considered legal currency for goods. Attila the Hun demanded 3000 pounds (1360kg) of black pepper as ransom payment when he laid siege of Rome in 408 CE. They arrived with gold and left with pepper. Black pepper was considered so valuable it was referred to as “black gold”.
Black pepper which is native to India has been used there both for culinary and medicinal purposes for 4000 years. Pepper was one of the few “medicines” Buddhist monks were permitted to carry.
The Chinese have used black pepper as medicine as far back as 4000 years ago. It was used to treat stomach pains.
The mummified body of Ramses II was found with peppercorns in his nostrils. He died in 1213 BCE.
In Europe during the Middle Ages black pepper was something only the wealthy could afford. This could be something to think about and maybe show more appreciation for this lovely spice we all take for granted.
Here is another kind of food enhancers found here in Thailand. My favorite is the unripe pepper. It was my first time here to see unripe pepper mixed in a curry or fish course. Unripe black peppers are no too spicy and yet, so good when bitten. It removes the after taste effect of the fish too. Hmmm.. I always scoop the unripe black pepper whenever I see they are in the food.
Indeed pepper is unavoidable entity when it is coming to cooking, because i have been cooking for myself for a long time. I know that pepper can reduce the veracity of the cold. And i always almost use it on all kinds of food that i am cooking although i like to scatter it over the egg omlet.
Black pepper is one of the things that will never be absent when cooking. Salt and pepper to taste is just like husband and wife. Peppers will also ease common colds as what my grandmother said. Black pepper in a dish is just like an icing on a cake, your dish will be lonely and less aromatic in the absence of black pepper. This is a spice that goes along with everything.
Well, it’s good to know that there are also benefits in using black pepper. I thought it was only used as spice for foods that we prepare.
In India, white pepper taken with ghee (butter) is recommended to improve eyesight while black pepper is not used for this purpose. I seems, the shell of the black pepper has some toxins.
I don’t know that pepper has so much benefits for our body. But the sad thing is taht i don’t like pepper. After i eat pepper my stomach hurts me so i don’t eat so frequently.
Till now, I didnt like to eat black pepper. But this article changes my thought about black pepper completely. Now I will try black pepper and get benefits from it in future.
Black Pepper also have lot of benefits to human health .yes friend it helps in digestive system .I ove eat them and i suggest that we all have to eat it .
Wow,l I didn’t even know that black pepper is good for tackling breast cancer. I only knew of its use in cooking – I like pepper in lots of dishes, especially potato noodles.
I love using black pepper as a spice, it makes everything really tasty. But I didn’t know that it’s good for stomach pains and increasing the appetite and many other thing! I’m gonna keep it in mind.
I tasted a lot of food which contains the black pepper. Good to know about the harvesting method using the video, it is really unique.
Black Pepper is a good spice used from ancient time to give better taste to healthy food.
Fresh peppers just brings out the flavor in so many things like meats. We use it all the time to cook here in mx. I always wondered how it was grown. Now I know.