Pepper (piper nigrum) originally came from India. From Antiquity to the Middle Ages, pepper have been a rare spice, very coveted because of its commercial value. It was not only used to raise the taste of food, but also because of its medicinal vertues. Pepper was used as a currency of exchange. It could be exchange for gold. However under the Arab empire and Roman, the conquerors and thereafter the explorers introduce it gradually not only in Europe but in their colonies in the New World. Today it can also be found in Indonesia, in Malaysia, in Vietnam, in Madagascar, in Brazil, in the Antilles, in Reunion island, etc. Pepper remains the spice the more used and the more requested even today. Approximately 27% of the world trade of spices are connected to peppers. There is a market of 550,000 tons of pepper per year.
Pepper is a spice used everywhere, it is appropriate as well for the meats, vegetables, the pasta, rice, fish and seafood and even for several fruits. It has also the characteristic to adapt to all the other mixes of spices and seasonings. It raises the taste of food however, it should be used with care in ways to prevent that the pepper steal the flavours of other products. To preserve pepper its maximum taste, it is always preferable to use it whole and to grind it for immediate use using a pepper grinder (the mark Peugeot, it is definitively the best from our point of view). It is also important to store your pepper in a place safe from moisture and dark if you wish to preserve the maximum of flavour.
The pepper the more used and most known in the world is the piper nigrum. It is a pepper which grows in the tropical areas. Piper nigrum is a plant made up of 2 stems. The central stem suppors the root of the plant. The second stem is divided in 7 leafs. On these leafs a liana of small fruits can be found. These fruits are peppers which grow in bunch. These lianas can reach several meters. The pepper plant will take from 7 to 8 years to produce the first peppers and its duration of production is approximately 28 to 35 years. The green pepper, black, red and white result from the same fruit.
the Green Pepper:
The pepper gathered completely before maturity, it is still green as a fruit which is not ripe.
the Black Pepper:
It is the pepper which is collected right before maturity. Under the effect of an intense sun, peppers dry and becomes black.
the Red Pepper:
It is the pepper which reached its complete maturity. It becomes red as a fruit which becomes too ripe. This pepper is not marketed. However it can be found from producers.
the White Pepper:
The envelope which covers the pepper is taken off. The result is the heart of the pepper. The white pepper is appreciated fish amateurs and white sauces.
the long Pepper:
The long pepper is called the piper largum, it also comes from a liana but is cultivated especially in India and in Indonesia. It is a pepper of 2 to 3 cm. It is of brown colour, slightly grey. It is very difficult to grind. It is used often whole. It has a slightly cardamonized pepper flavour. It is also a very expensive pepper.
the Cubebe:
The cubebe (the piper cubeba) is pepper with tail (like a cherry of France). It is cultivated in Indonesia more specifically in Sumatra. It is a crunching pepper, slightly bitter which approaches the taste of sage. It is softer than other peppers but its taste can be surprising. It appears a pepper to be used with other products.
the Pink Pepper:
Pink pepper, (schimus molle) is not a pepper, but a bay from the Reunion Island and also produced in Madagascar. Pink pepper is soft but has a slightly sweetened fruity taste. It mixes very weel with black pepper, white and green. It is also used for decoration on fish, meats etc.
the Jamaica Pepper:
It is often called pepper because it resembles the Black pepper except that it has 2 to 3 times its size. It tastes like pepper, nutmeg, clove and cinnamon. This is why it is often called all spices.
the Cayenne Pepper:
The Cayenne Pepper, does not come from the same plant as pepper. Because it is strong it is often called Cayenne pepper.
the Sichuan Pepper:
The pepper of Sichuan is not a pepper but the fruit of a tree of the area of Sichuan. It resembles an open shell and its taste is bitter. This pepper is very appreciated by the Chinese customers.
