Black pepper
Pepper plant with immature peppercorns
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Piperales Family: Piperaceae Genus: Piper Species: P. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its Piperales is a Botanical name for an order of Flowering plants It necessarily includes the family Piperaceae but otherwise has been treated variously Piperaceae is the Botanical name for a family of Flowering plants. Piper, the pepper plants or pepper vines (a term used for certain Clematis in older times are an economically and ecologically nigrum
Binomial name
Piper nigrum L.[1]

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group A vine is any plant of Genus Vitis (the Grape plants or by extension any similar climbing or trailing plant Piperaceae is the Botanical name for a family of Flowering plants. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. A spice is a dried Seed, Fruit, Root, Bark or vegetative substance used in Nutritionally insignificant quantities as a Food additive Alternate meanings Seasoning (cast iron; Seasoning (wood; Seasoning (slave Seasoning is the process of imparting or improving The same fruit is also used to produce white pepper, red/pink pepper, and green pepper. ^[2] Black pepper is native to South India (Tamil: milagu, மிளகு; Telugu: miriyam) and is extensively cultivated there and elsewhere in tropical regions. South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe five millimetres in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed. The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context and the term is not synonymous in Food preparation and Biology. In Botany, a drupe is a Fruit in which an outer fleshy part ( Exocarp, or skin and Mesocarp, or flesh surrounds a shell (the pit A seed (in some plants referred to as a kernel) is a small embryonic Plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat usually with some stored

Dried ground pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine and its descendants, having been known and prized since antiquity for both its flavour and its use as a medicine. Cuisine (from French cuisine, "cooking culinary art kitchen" ultimately from Latin coquere, "to cook" is a specific set Medicine is the art and science of healing It encompasses a range of Health care practices evolved to maintain and restore Human Health by the The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. Piperine is the Alkaloid responsible for the Pungency of Black pepper and Long pepper, along with Chavicine (an Isomer Ground black peppercorn, usually referred to simply as "pepper", may be found on nearly every dinner table in some parts of the world, often alongside table salt. Salt is a Dietary mineral composed primarily of Sodium chloride that is essential for Animal life but toxic to most land plants

The word "pepper" is derived from the Sanskrit pippali, the word for long pepper^[3] via the Latin piper which was used by the Romans to refer both to pepper and long pepper, as the Romans erroneously believed that both of these spices were derived from the same plant. Sanskrit (sa संस्कृता वाक् saṃskṛtā vāk, for short sa संस्कृतम् saṃskṛtam) is a historical Long pepper ( Piper longum) sometimes called Javanese Long Pepper, Indian Long Pepper or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. The English word for pepper is derived from the Old English pipor. The Latin word is also the source of German pfeffer, French poivre, Dutch peper, and other similar forms. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname In the 16th century, pepper started referring to the unrelated New World chile peppers as well. The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth specifically the Americas and Australia. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade "Pepper" was used in a figurative sense to mean "spirit" or "energy" at least as far back as the 1840s; in the early 20th century, this was shortened to pep. ^[4]

Contents 1 Varieties 2 The pepper plant 3 History 3.1 Ancient times 3.2 Postclassical Europe 3.3 China 3.4 Pepper as a medicine 4 Flavour 5 World trade 6 Notes 7 References 8 Further reading

Varieties

Black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The word berry has two meanings one based on a botanical definition the other on common identification The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the fruit, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. A cell wall is a tough flexible and sometimes fairly rigid layer surrounding a cell, located external to the Cell membrane, which provides the cell with structural Browning is the process of becoming Brown, especially referring to Food. Enzymes are Biomolecules that catalyze ( ie increase the rates of Chemical reactions Almost all enzymes are Proteins The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the fruit around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer, the result of a fungal reaction. Once dried, the fruits are called black peppercorns.

White pepper consists of the seed only, with the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by allowing fully ripe berries to soak in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the fruit softens and decomposes. Decomposition (or spoilage) refers to the break down of tissue of a formerly living Organism into simpler forms of matter Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Alternative processes are used for removing the outer fruit from the seed, including removal of the outer layer from black pepper produced from unripe berries.

In the U. S. , white pepper is often used in dishes like light-colored sauces or mashed potatoes, where ground black pepper would visibly stand out. In Cooking, a sauce is Liquid or sometimes semi- Solid food served on or used in preparing other Foods Sauces are not consumed by themselves Mashed Potato or mashed potatoes is a common way of serving Potato in many countries worldwide There is disagreement regarding which is generally spicier. They do have differing flavors due to the presence of certain compounds in the outer fruit layer of the berry that are not found in the seed.

Green pepper, like black, is made from the unripe berries. Dried green peppercorns are treated in a manner that retains the green colour, such as treatment with sulfur dioxide or freeze-drying. Freeze drying (also known as lyophilization or cryodesiccation) is a Dehydration process typically used to preserve a perishable material Pickled peppercorns, also green, are unripe berries preserved in brine or vinegar. Brine (lat saltus) is Water saturated or nearly saturated with Salt (NaCl Vinegar is an acidic liquid processed from the Fermentation of Ethanol in a process that yields its key ingredient Acetic acid (also called ethanoic acid Fresh, unpreserved green pepper berries, largely unknown in the West, are used in some Asian cuisines, particularly Thai cuisine. Asian cuisine is a term used in the West as an umbrella term for the various cuisines of South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia and for fusion ^[5] Their flavor has been described as piquant and fresh, with a bright aroma. ^[6] They decay quickly if not dried or preserved.

A rarely seen product called pink pepper or red pepper consists of ripe red pepper berries preserved in brine and vinegar. Even more rarely seen, ripe red peppercorns can also be dried using the same colour-preserving techniques used to produce green pepper. ^[7] Pink pepper from Piper nigrum is distinct from the more-common dried "pink peppercorns", which are the fruits of a plant from a different family, the Peruvian pepper tree, Schinus molle, and its relative the Brazilian pepper tree, Schinus terebinthifolius. Peruvian Pepper ( Schinus molle, also known as American pepper, Peruvian peppertree, escobilla, false pepper, Brazilian Pepper ( Schinus terebinthifolius; also known as Aroeira, Florida holly, and Christmasberry) is a sprawling Shrub or In years past there was debate as to the health safety of pink peppercorns, which is mostly no longer an issue. ^[8] Sichuan peppercorn is another "pepper" that is botanically unrelated to black pepper. Sichuan pepper (or Szechuan pepper) is the outer pod of the tiny Fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly

Peppercorns are often categorised under a label describing their region or port of origin. Two well-known types come from India's Malabar Coast: Malabar pepper and Tellicherry pepper. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Malabar (മലബാര്‍ is a region of southern India, lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. For the ship wrecked in 1806 see Tellicherry (ship Thalassery, also known as Tellicherry, is a city on the Malabar Coast of Kerala Tellicherry is a higher-grade pepper, made from the largest, ripest 10% of berries from Malabar plants grown on Mount Tellicherry. ^[9] Sarawak pepper is produced in the Malaysian portion of Borneo, and Lampong pepper on Indonesia's island of Sumatra. Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the Island of Borneo. For the biogeographical region see Malesia Malaysia (məˈleɪʒə or /məˈleɪziə/ is a country that consists of thirteen states and Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located at the centre of Maritime Southeast Asia. The Republic of Indonesia ( (Republik Indonesia is a Country in Southeast Asia. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two White Muntok pepper is another Indonesian product, from Bangka Island. Bangka (or sometimes Banka) is an island lying east of Sumatra, Indonesia. ^[10]

The pepper plant

The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing to four metres in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. A perennial plant or perennial ( Latin per, "through" annus, "year" is a Plant that lives for more than A woody plant is any vascular Plant that has a perennial stem that is above ground and covered by a layer of thickened Bark. A vine is any plant of Genus Vitis (the Grape plants or by extension any similar climbing or trailing plant A tree is a perennial Woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. ROOT is an object-oriented program and library developed by CERN. The leaves are alternate, entire, five to ten centimetres long and three to six centimetres broad. In Botany, a leaf is an above-ground Plant organ specialized for Photosynthesis. 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. A flower, also known as a bloom or Blossom, is the reproductive structure found in Flowering plants (plants of the division Magnoliophyta, also

Black pepper is grown in soil that is neither too dry nor susceptible to flooding, moist, well-drained and rich in organic matter. A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land a deluge 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. In Agriculture and Gardening, '''mulch''' is a protective cover placed over the Soil, primarily to modify the effects of the local Climate. Manure is Organic matter used as Organic fertilizer in Agriculture. 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 cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar A single stem will bear 20 to 30 fruiting spikes. The harvest begins as soon as one or two berries 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 berries 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.

History

Pepper has been used as a spice in India since prehistoric times. Stone Age Paleolithic See also Paleolithic, Recent African Origin, Early Homo sapiens, Early human migrations "Paleolithic" Pepper is native to India and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[11] J. Innes Miller notes that while pepper was grown in southern Thailand and in Malaysia, its most important source was India, particularly the Malabar Coast, in what is now the state of Kerala. The Kingdom of Thailand (ˈtaɪlænd ราชอาณาจักรไทย, râːtɕʰa-ʔaːnaːtɕɑ̀k-tʰɑj India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Malabar Coast also known as the Malabarian Coast, is a long and narrow south-western shore line of the mainland Indian subcontinent. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; ^[12] Peppercorns were a much prized trade good, often referred to as "black gold" and used as a form of commodity money. Commodity money is Money whose value comes from a Commodity out of which it is made The term "peppercorn rent" still exists today. In legal terminology a peppercorn is a very small payment used to satisfy the requirements for the creation of a legal Contract.

The ancient history of black pepper is often interlinked with (and confused with) that of long pepper, the dried fruit of closely related Piper longum. Long pepper ( Piper longum) sometimes called Javanese Long Pepper, Indian Long Pepper or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering Dried fruit is fruit that has been dried, either naturally or through use of a machine such as a Food dehydrator. The Romans knew of both and often referred to either as just "piper". In fact, it was not until the discovery of the New World and of chile peppers that the popularity of long pepper entirely declined. The chili pepper, chilli pepper, or chili, is the fruit of the plants from the Genus Capsicum, which are members of the nightshade Chile peppers, some of which when dried are similar in shape and taste to long pepper, were easier to grow in a variety of locations more convenient to Europe.

Until well after the Middle Ages, virtually all of the black pepper found in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa travelled there from India's Malabar region. By the 16th century, pepper was also being grown in Java, Sunda, Sumatra, Madagascar, Malaysia, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia, but these areas traded mainly with China, or used the pepper locally. Java (Jawa is an Island of Indonesia and the site of its Capital city Jakarta. The Sunda Islands are a group of Islands in the western part of the Malay Archipelago. Sumatra (also spelled Sumatera) is the sixth largest island in the world (approximately 470000 km² and is the largest island entirely in Indonesia (two Madagascar, or Republic of Madagascar (older name Malagasy Republic) is an Island nation in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern ^[13] Ports in the Malabar area also served as a stop-off point for much of the trade in other spices from farther east in the Indian Ocean.

Black pepper, along with other spices from India and lands farther east, changed the course of world history. It was in some part the preciousness of these spices that led to the European efforts to find a sea route to India and consequently to the European colonial occupation of that country, as well as the European discovery and colonization of the Americas.

Ancient times

Black peppercorns were found lodged in the nostrils of Ramesses II, placed there as part of the mummification rituals shortly after his death in 1213 BCE. A mummy is a Corpse whose Skin and Flesh have been preserved by either intentional or Incidental exposure to Chemicals extreme Little else is known about the use of pepper in ancient Egypt, nor how it reached the Nile from India. Ancient Egypt was an Ancient Civilization in eastern North Africa, concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in what is now The Nile (النيل, Ancient Egyptian iteru or Ḥ'pī, Coptic piaro or phiaro) is a major north-flowing River

Pepper (both long and black) was known in Greece at least as early as the 4th century BCE, though it was probably an uncommon and expensive item that only the very rich could afford. Trade routes of the time were by land, or in ships which hugged the coastlines of the Arabian Sea. The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: Long pepper, growing in the north-western part of India, was more accessible than the black pepper from further south; this trade advantage, plus long pepper's greater spiciness, probably made black pepper less popular at the time.

By the time of the early Roman Empire, especially after Rome's conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, open-ocean crossing of the Arabian Sea directly to southern India's Malabar Coast was near routine. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial South India is the area encompassing India 's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union Details of this trading across the Indian Ocean have been passed down in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ( Periplus Maris Erythraei) is a Greek Periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities According to the Roman geographer Strabo, the early Empire sent a fleet of around 120 ships on an annual one-year trip to India and back. Strabo ( Greek: Στράβων 63/64 BC – ca AD 24 was a Greek historian, geographer and philosopher. The fleet timed its travel across the Arabian Sea to take advantage of the predictable monsoon winds. A monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind which lasts for several months Returning from India, the ships travelled up the Red Sea, from where the cargo was carried overland or via the Nile Canal to the Nile River, barged to Alexandria, and shipped from there to Italy and Rome. The Red Sea is a Salt water Inlet of the Indian Ocean between Africa and Asia. The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation Alexandria ( Egyptian Arabic: اسكندريه Eskendereyya; Standard Arabic: ar الإسكندرية Al-Iskandariyya; Ἀλεξάνδρεια The rough geographical outlines of this same trade route would dominate the pepper trade into Europe for a millennium and a half to come.

With ships sailing directly to the Malabar coast, black pepper was now travelling a shorter trade route than long pepper, and the prices reflected it. Pliny the Elder's Natural History tells us the prices in Rome around 77 CE: "Long pepper . Gaius or Caius Plinius Secundus, ( AD 23 – August 25, AD 79 better known as Pliny the Elder, was an ancient Author Naturalis Historia ( Latin for "Natural History" is an Encyclopedia written Circa AD 77 by Pliny the Elder. . . is fifteen denarii per pound, while that of white pepper is seven, and of black, four. The Roman Currency system included the denarius (plural denarii) after 211 BC a small Silver coin, " Pliny also complains "there is no year in which India does not drain the Roman Empire of fifty million sesterces," and further moralises on pepper:

It is quite surprising that the use of pepper has come so much into fashion, seeing that in other substances which we use, it is sometimes their sweetness, and sometimes their appearance that has attracted our notice; whereas, pepper has nothing in it that can plead as a recommendation to either fruit or berry, its only desirable quality being a certain pungency; and yet it is for this that we import it all the way from India! Who was the first to make trial of it as an article of food? and who, I wonder, was the man that was not content to prepare himself by hunger only for the satisfying of a greedy appetite? (N. The sestertius, or sesterce, was an ancient Roman Coin. During the Roman Republic it was a small Silver, and rare coin issued H. 12. 14)^[14]

Black pepper was a well-known and widespread, if expensive, seasoning in the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial Apicius' De re coquinaria, a 3rd-century cookbook probably based at least partly on one from the 1st century CE, includes pepper in a majority of its recipes. Edward Gibbon wrote, in The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, that pepper was "a favourite ingredient of the most expensive Roman cookery". Edward Gibbon ( April 27, 1737 January 16, 1794) was an English historian and Member of Parliament. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (known popularly as The History) was written by English Historian

Postclassical Europe

Pepper was so valuable that it was often used as collateral or even currency. In lending agreements collateral is a borrower's asset that is Forfeited to the lender if the borrower is insolvent—that is unable to pay back the principal and interest on The taste for pepper (or the appreciation of its monetary value) was passed on to those who would see Rome fall. It is said that Alaric the Visigoth and Attila the Hun each demanded from Rome a ransom of more than a ton of pepper when they besieged the city in 5th century. Alaric I ( Alareiks in the original Gothic; Alarik or Alarich in modern Germanic languages Alaricus in Latin and Alarico The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 After the fall of Rome, others took over the middle legs of the spice trade, first the Persians and then the Arabs; Innes Miller cites the account of Cosmas Indicopleustes, who travelled east to India, as proof that "pepper was still being exported from India in the sixth century". Spice trade is a commercial activity of ancient origin which involves the merchandising of Spices and Herbs. The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia The araB gene Promoter is a bacterial promoter activated by e L-arabinose binding Cosmas Indicopleustes (literally "who sailed to India" of Alexandria was a Greek Merchant and later Monk probably of Nestorian ^[15] By the end of the Dark Ages, the central portions of the spice trade were firmly under Islamic control. This article is about the phrase "Dark Age(s" as a characterization of the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe For other meanings including people named 'Islam' see Islam (disambiguation. Once into the Mediterranean, the trade was largely monopolised by Italian powers, especially Venice and Genoa. The Most Serene Republic of Venice ((Serenìsima Repùblica Vèneta or Repùblica de Venesia Serenissima Repubblica The Most Serene Republic of Genoa (Repubblica di Genova was an independent state in Liguria on the northwestern Italian coast from the 11th century The rise of these city-states was funded in large part by the spice trade. A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty.

A riddle authored by Saint Aldhelm, a 7th-century Bishop of Sherborne, sheds some light on black pepper's role in England at that time:

I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover,

Yet within I bear a burning marrow. A riddle is a Statement or Question having a double or veiled meaning put forth as a Puzzle to be solved Saint Aldhelm (c 639 - 25 May 709) Abbot of Malmesbury Abbey, Bishop of Sherborne, Latin poet and Anglo-Saxon literature The Bishop of Sherborne is an Episcopal title given to a Suffragan bishop in the Church of England Diocese of Salisbury, which is within the England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland

I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table,

Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen.

But you will find in me no quality of any worth,

Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow. ^[16]

It is commonly believed that during the Middle Ages, pepper was used to conceal the taste of partially rotten meat. There is no evidence to support this claim, and historians view it as highly unlikely: in the Middle Ages, pepper was a luxury item, affordable only to the wealthy, who certainly had unspoiled meat available as well. ^[17] In addition, people of the time certainly knew that eating spoiled food would make them sick. Similarly, the belief that pepper was widely used as a preservative is questionable: it is true that piperine, the compound that gives pepper its spiciness, has some antimicrobial properties, but at the concentrations present when pepper is used as a spice, the effect is small. ^[18] Salt is a much more effective preservative, and salt-cured meats were common fare, especially in winter. Salt-cured meat or salted meat, for example Ham, Bacon, or kippered herring, is meat or fish preserved or cured by However, pepper and other spices probably did play a role in improving the taste of long-preserved meats.

Its exorbitant price during the Middle Ages — and the monopoly on the trade held by Italy — was one of the inducements which led the Portuguese to seek a sea route to India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> For the district with the same name see Kozhikode District. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach India by sea; asked by Arabs in Calicut (who spoke Spanish and Italian) why they had come, his representative replied, "we seek Christians and spices. Dom Vasco da Gama, 1st Count of Vidigueira ('vaʃku dɐ 'gɐmɐ ( Sines or Vidigueira, Alentejo, Portugal, ca WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> For the district with the same name see Kozhikode District. A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth " Though this first trip to India by way of the southern tip of Africa was only a modest success, the Portuguese quickly returned in greater numbers and used their superior naval firepower to eventually gain complete control of trade on the Arabian sea. It was given additional legitimacy (at least from a European perspective) by the 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas, which granted Portugal exclusive rights to the half of the world where black pepper originated. The Treaty of Tordesillas ( Portuguese: Tratado de Tordesilhas, Spanish: Tratado de Tordesillas) signed at Tordesillas (now in

The Portuguese proved unable to maintain their stranglehold on the spice trade for long. The old Arab and Venetian trade networks successfully smuggled enormous quantities of spices through the patchy Portuguese blockade, and pepper once again flowed through Alexandria and Italy, as well as around Africa. In the 17th century, the Portuguese lost almost all of their valuable Indian Ocean possessions to the Dutch and the English. The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The pepper ports of Malabar fell to the Dutch in the period 1661–1663.

As pepper supplies into Europe increased, the price of pepper declined (though the total value of the import trade generally did not). Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer Pepper, which in the early Middle Ages had been an item exclusively for the rich, started to become more of an everyday seasoning among those of more average means. Today, pepper accounts for one-fifth of the world's spice trade. ^[19]

China

It is possible that black pepper was known in China in the 2nd century BCE, if poetic reports regarding an explorer named Tang Meng (唐蒙) are correct. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National Sent by Emperor Wu to what is now south-west China, Tang Meng is said to have come across something called jujiang or "sauce-betel". Background birth and years as crown prince Emperor Wu was the tenth child of Emperor Jing, and was born to one of Emperor Jing's favorite Concubines, He was told it came from the markets of Shu, an area in what is now the Sichuan province. Shu ( 蜀) was an ancient state in what is now Sichuan, China. ( Postal map spelling: Szechwan and Szechuan) is a province in western China with its capital in Chengdu. The traditional view among historians is that "sauce-betel" is a sauce made from betel leaves, but arguments have been made that it actually refers to pepper, either long or black. The Betel ( Piper betle) is the leaf of a vine belonging to the Piperaceae family which includes pepper and Kava) ^[20]

In the 3rd century CE, black pepper made its first definite appearance in Chinese texts, as hujiao or "foreign pepper". It does not appear to have been widely known at the time, failing to appear in a 4th-century work describing a wide variety of spices from beyond China's southern border, including long pepper. ^[21] By the 12th century, however, black pepper had become a popular ingredient in the cuisine of the wealthy and powerful, sometimes taking the place of China's native Sichuan pepper (the tongue-numbing dried fruit of an unrelated plant). Sichuan pepper (or Szechuan pepper) is the outer pod of the tiny Fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly

Marco Polo testifies to pepper's popularity in 13th-century China when he relates what he is told of its consumption in the city of Kinsay (Zhejiang): ". Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer Zhejiang ( is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. . . Messer Marco heard it stated by one of the Great Kaan's officers of customs that the quantity of pepper introduced daily for consumption into the city of Kinsay amounted to 43 loads, each load being equal to 223 lbs. "^[22] Marco Polo is not considered a very reliable source regarding China, and this second-hand data may be even more suspect, but if this estimated 10,000 pounds (4,500 kg) a day for one city is anywhere near the truth, China's pepper imports may have dwarfed Europe's.

Pepper as a medicine

Like all eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a medicine. Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used.

Black peppercorns figure in remedies in Ayurveda, Siddha and Unani medicine in India. Ayurveda ( Devanāgarī: आयुर्वॆद the 'science of life' is a system of Traditional medicine native to India, and practiced in other for the towns in Nepal see Siddha Nepal A siddha சித்தா in Tamil means "one who is accomplished" and refers to Unani IPA: (in Arabic, Hindi, Persian, Pashtu, Urdu, etc means " Greek " India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The 5th century Syriac Book of Medicines prescribes pepper (or perhaps long pepper) for such illnesses as constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, tooth decay, and toothaches. Constipation, costiveness, or irregularity, is a condition of the Digestive system in which a person (or animal experiences hard Feces that In Medicine, diarrhea, also spelled diarrhoea (see spelling differences) is frequent loose or liquid Bowel movements Acute diarrhea Otalgia is ear pain or an earache. Primary otalgia is from Pain that originates inside the Ear. Please do not add warnings to this page about the pictures Wikipedia is not censored for taste and has a guideline preventing such warnings - WikipediaNo disclaimers in articles Heart disease is an Umbrella term for a variety for different diseases affecting the Heart. A hernia is a protrusion of a tissue, structure or part of an organ through the muscular tissue or the membrane by which it is normally contained Dyspepsia (from the Greek "δυς-" (Dys- and "πέψη" (Pepse known in plain English as indigestion, meaning hard Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity The liver is a vital organ in the human body and is present in Vertebrates and some other animals lung is the essential Respiration organ in air-breathing Animals including most Tetrapods a few Fish and a few Snails The most primitive An abscess (abscessus is a collection of Pus (dead Neutrophils) that has accumulated in a cavity formed by the tissue on the basis of an infectious process A sunburn is a burn to living tissue such as Skin produced by overexposure to Ultraviolet (UV radiation commonly from the Sun 's rays Dental caries is a disease that damages Tooth structures resulting in what is commonly called tooth decay or cavities which are holes in the teeth A toothache, also known as odontalgia or less frequently as odontalgy, is an aching Pain in or around a Tooth. ^[23] Various sources from the 5th century onward also recommend pepper to treat eye problems, often by applying salves or poultices made with pepper directly to the eye. There is no current medical evidence that any of these treatments has any benefit; pepper applied directly to the eye would be quite uncomfortable and possibly damaging. ^[24]

Pepper has long been believed to cause sneezing; this is still believed true today. A sneeze (or sternutation) is a semi-autonomous Convulsive expulsion of Air from the Lungs, most commonly caused by foreign particles Some sources say that piperine, a substance present in black pepper, irritates the nostrils, causing the sneezing;^[25] some say that it is just the effect of the fine dust in ground pepper, and some say that pepper is not in fact a very effective sneeze-producer at all. Piperine is the Alkaloid responsible for the Pungency of Black pepper and Long pepper, along with Chavicine (an Isomer Few if any controlled studies have been carried out to answer the question.

Pepper is eliminated from the diet of patients having abdominal surgery and ulcers because of its irritating effect upon the intestines, being replaced by what is referred to as a bland diet.

Pepper contains small amounts of safrole, a mildly carcinogenic compound. Safrole is a colorless or slightly yellow oily liquid It is typically extracted from the root-bark or the fruit of Sassafras plants in the form of Sassafras oil, The term carcinogen refers to any substance Radionuclide or radiation that is an agent directly involved in the promotion of Cancer or in the fatation of its propagation

It has been shown that piperine can dramatically increase absorption of selenium, vitamin B and beta-carotene as well as other nutrients. Selenium (səˈliniəm is a Chemical element with the Atomic number 34 represented by the chemical symbol Se, an atomic mass of 78 The B vitamins are eight water-soluble Vitamins that play important roles in cell Metabolism. Beta-carotene is an Organic compound - a Terpenoid, a red-orange pigment abundant in plants and fruits

Flavour

Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Piperine is the Alkaloid responsible for the Pungency of Black pepper and Long pepper, along with Chavicine (an Isomer Refined piperine, milligram-for-milligram, is about one percent as hot as the capsaicin in chile peppers. Capsaicin /ˌkæpˈseˌɪsɪn/ (8- Methyl - N - Vanillyl -6-nonen Amide) is the active component of Chili peppers The outer fruit layer, left on black pepper, also contains important odour-contributing terpenes including pinene, sabinene, limonene, caryophyllene, and linalool, which give citrusy, woody, and floral notes. Terpenes are a large and varied class of Hydrocarbons, produced primarily by a wide variety of plants particularly Conifers though also by some insects such The Chemical compound pinene is a bicyclic Terpene (C10H16 136 Sabinene is a natural bicyclic monoterpene with the molecular formula C10H16 Limonene is a Hydrocarbon, classified as a cyclic Terpene. It is a colourless liquid at room temperatures with an extremely strong smell of oranges Caryophyllene, or (&minus-β-caryophyllene is a natural bicyclic sesquiterpene that is a constituent of many Essential oils especially clove oil the oil from Linalool (lɪˈnæloʊɒl is a naturally-occurring Terpene Alcohol chemical found in many Flowers and Spice plants with many commercial These scents are mostly missing in white pepper, which is stripped of the fruit layer. White pepper can gain some different odours (including musty notes) from its longer fermentation stage. ^[26]

Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve pepper's original spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose flavour when exposed to light, which can transform piperine into nearly tasteless isochavicine. ^[27] Once ground, pepper's aromatics can evaporate quickly; most culinary sources recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use for this reason. Handheld pepper mills (or "pepper grinders"), which mechanically grind or crush whole peppercorns, are used for this, sometimes instead of pepper shakers, dispensers of pre-ground pepper. Spice mills such as pepper mills were found in European kitchens as early as the 14th century, but the mortar and pestle used earlier for crushing pepper remained a popular method for centuries after as well. A pestle and mortar is a Tool used to crush grind and mix substances ^[28]

World trade

Peppercorns are, by monetary value, the most widely traded spice in the world, accounting for 20 percent of all spice imports in 2002. The price of pepper can be volatile, and this figure fluctuates a great deal year to year; for example, pepper made up 39 percent of all spice imports in 1998. ^[29] By weight, slightly more chilli peppers are traded worldwide than peppercorns. The International Pepper Exchange is located in Kochi, India. International Pepper Exchange is an organisation headquartered in Kochi, India, that deals with the global trade of Black pepper.

Vietnam has recently become the world's largest producer and exporter of pepper (82,000 long tons in 2003). Vietnam (ˌviːɛtˈnɑːm Việt Nam) officially Other major producers include Indonesia (67,000 tons), India (65,000 tons), Brazil (35,000 tons), Malaysia (22,000 tons), Sri Lanka (12,750 tons), Thailand, and China. |utc_offset = -2 to -4 |time_zone_DST = BRST |utc_offset_DST = -2 to -5 |cctld Vietnam dominates the export market, using almost none of its production domestically. In 2003, Vietnam exported 82,000 tons of pepper, Indonesia 57,000 tons, Brazil 37,940 tons, Malaysia 18,500 tons, and India 17,200 tons. ^[30]

Notes

References

Further reading

• Nutritional benefits of Black Pepper
• Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages
• "Black Pepper" from Plant Cultures, a collaboration between NYKRIS and Kew Gardens
• Black Pepper Chemical List (Dr. Duke's Databases)

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