Black pepper

Black pepper is one of the world’s oldest and most widely traded spices. It originates from the rainforests of southwestern India, particularly the Malabar Coast in present-day Kerala. The pepper plant is a climbing vine that uses aerial roots to climb up trees and other vegetation.

The fruits of the pepper plant are small and round and grow in dense clusters. Black and white pepper both come from  the black pepper plant, but the fruits are processed differently. Black pepper is produced by harvesting the fruits while they are still green and unripe. They are often briefly blanched in hot water and then dried in the sun for several days, during which the outer fruit layer becomes black and wrinkled. White pepper is the seed of the fully ripe red fruits. In this process, the fruit pulp is removed by soaking, leaving only the pale seed for use.

In the past, pepper was a costly luxury commodity that was transported over long distances. This has left traces in language as well, for example in expressions such as “a peppery price” to describe something very expensive, and “where the pepper grows” to refer to a place very far away.

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