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{{Short description|Ground fruit of the family Piperaceae}}
{{
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}▼
{{Use British English|date=March 2023}}
▲{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Piper_nigrum_-_Köhler–s_Medizinal-Pflanzen-107.jpg
| image_caption = Pepper plant with immature peppercorns
| genus = Piper
| species = nigrum
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|L.]]<ref name=GRIN>{{GRIN | access-date = 2 March 2008}}</ref>
}}
'''Black pepper''' ('''''Piper nigrum''''') is a [[flowering plant|flowering]] [[vine]] in the family [[Piperaceae]], cultivated for its [[fruit]] (the '''peppercorn'''), which is usually dried and used as a [[spice]] and [[seasoning]]. The fruit is a [[drupe]] (stonefruit) which is about {{convert|5|mm|in|abbr=on}} in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a [[Pyrena|stone]] which encloses a single pepper [[seed]]. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as ''pepper'', or more precisely as ''black pepper'' (cooked and dried unripe fruit), ''green pepper'' (dried unripe fruit), or ''white pepper'' (ripe fruit seeds).<ref name=kind>{{cite web |url=https://www.foodrepublic.com/2016/01/27/what-are-the-different-kinds-of-peppercorns/ |title=What Are The Different Kinds of Peppercorns? |last=Harrison |first=Paul |date=27 January 2016 |website=Food Republic |language=en-US |access-date=21 November 2019}}</ref>
Black pepper is native to the [[Malabar Coast]] of [[India]],<ref name="Sen, Colleen-Taylor">{{cite book |title= Food Culture in India – Food culture around the world |first=Colleen Taylor |last=Sen |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |year=2004 |isbn=
==Etymology==
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===Black pepper===
Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe [[drupe]] of the pepper plant.<ref name=kind/> The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=22 October 2021 |title=Why Is Pepper Black? – Know Your Pantry |url=https://www.knowyourpantry.com/seasonings/why-is-pepper-black/ |access-date=24 May 2022 |website=knowyourpantry.com |language=en-us}}</ref> The heat ruptures [[cell wall]]s in the pepper,
The pepper drupes ===White pepper===
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==Plants==
[[File:Black Pepper on Jackfruit Tree - Kerala - IMG 3623.jpg|thumb|Black pepper vine climbing on Jackfruit tree (''Artocarpus heterophyllus'')]]
The pepper plant is a [[perennial plant|perennial]] [[woody plant|woody]] [[vine]] growing up to {{convert|4|m|ft|abbr=on}} in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate, entire, {{convert|5|to|10|cm|abbr=on}} long and {{convert|3|to|6|cm|abbr=on}} across. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes {{convert|4|to|8|cm|abbr=on}} long at the leaf nodes, the spikes lengthening up to {{convert|7|to|15|cm|abbr=on}} as the fruit matures.<ref name="Herbal Beast"/> <!-- The fruit of the black pepper is called a drupe and when dried is known as a peppercorn. -->
Pepper can be grown in soil that is neither too dry nor susceptible to flooding, moist, well-drained, and rich in organic matter.
[[File:Black Pepper Flower - Kerala - IMG 3622.jpg|thumb|Single stem with flowers.]]
A single stem bears 20 to 30 fruiting spikes. The harvest begins as soon as one or two fruits at the base of the spikes begin to turn red, and before the fruit is fully mature, and still hard; if allowed to ripen completely, the fruits 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.<ref name="Herbal Beast">{{cite web |url=http://www.herbalbeast.com/black-pepper-cultivation-and-harvest/ |title=Black Pepper Cultivation and Harvest |publisher=Thompson Martinez |access-date=14 May 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809123950/http://www.herbalbeast.com/black-pepper-cultivation-and-harvest/ |archive-date=9 August 2014}}</ref>
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In 2020, [[Vietnam]] was the world's largest producer and exporter of black peppercorns, producing 270,192 [[tonnes]] or 36% of the world total (table).<ref name=fao/> Other major producers were [[Brazil]], [[Indonesia]], [[India]], [[Sri Lanka]], [[China]], and [[Malaysia]]. Global pepper production varies annually according to crop management, disease, and weather.<ref name="karvy">{{cite web |url=http://www.karvycommodities.com/downloads/karvySpecialReports/karvysSpecialReports_20080515_01.pdf |title=Karvy's special Reports — Seasonal Outlook Report Pepper |publisher=Karvy Comtrade Limited |date=15 May 2008 |access-date=29 January 2008 |archive-date=30 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130013655/http://www.karvycommodities.com/downloads/karvySpecialReports/karvysSpecialReports_20080515_01.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Peppercorns are among the most widely traded spice in the world, accounting for 20% of all spice imports.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Parthasarthy |first1=V. A. |title=Chemistry of spices |date=2008 |publisher=CABI Pub |isbn=978-
==History==
Black pepper is native to [[South Asia]] and Southeast Asia, and has been known to [[Indian cuisine|Indian cooking]] since at least 2000 BCE.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aggarwal |first1=Bharat B. |last2=Kunnumakkara |first2=Ajaikumar B. |title=Molecular Targets and Therapeutic Uses of Spices: Modern Uses for Ancient Medicine |date=2009 |publisher=World Scientific |isbn=978-981-283-791-2 |pages=26–27 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xblX4RL_qQgC&dq=black+pepper+indian+cooking+2000+bce&pg=PA27 |access-date=28 March 2022 |language=en}}</ref>{{how|date=March 2023}} J. Innes Miller notes that while pepper was grown in southern [[Thailand]] and in [[Malaysia]],{{when|date=February 2020}} its most important source was India, particularly the [[Malabar Coast]], in what is now the state of [[Kerala]].<ref>J. Innes Miller, ''The Spice Trade of the Roman Empire'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1969), p. 80</ref> The lost ancient port city of [[Muziris]] in Kerala, famous for exporting black pepper and various other spices, gets mentioned in a number of classical historical sources for its trade with [[Roman Empire]], [[Egypt]], [[Mesopotamia]], [[Levant]], and [[Yemen]].<ref>[http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/artefacts-from-the-lost-port-of-muziris/article6657446.ece "Artefacts from the lost Port of Muziris."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113025900/http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/artefacts-from-the-lost-port-of-muziris/article6657446.ece |date=13 January 2016 }} The Hindu. 3 December 2014.</ref><ref>[http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl2708/stories/20100423270806200.htm "Muziris, at last?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210723201636/http://www.frontline.in/navigation/?type=static&page=flonnet&rdurl=fl2708%2Fstories%2F20100423270806200.htm |date=23 July 2021 }} R. Krishnakumar, ''www.frontline.in'' Frontline, 10–23 April 2010.</ref><ref name="Pattanam">[http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/pattanam-richest-indoroman-site-on-indian-ocean-rim/article274715.ece "Pattanam richest Indo-Roman site on Indian Ocean rim."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113025900/http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/pattanam-richest-indoroman-site-on-indian-ocean-rim/article274715.ece |date=13 January 2016 }} The Hindu. 3 May 2009.</ref><ref name="Kodungallur">{{cite book |author=Prof. George Menachery |author2=
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]]''. The Romans knew of both and often referred to either as just ''piper''. In fact, the popularity of long pepper did not entirely decline until the discovery of the New World and of [[chili pepper]]s. Chili 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. Before the 16th century, pepper was being grown in [[Java]], [[Sunda Islands|Sunda]], [[Sumatra]], [[Madagascar]], Malaysia, and everywhere in Southeast Asia. These areas traded mainly with China, or used the pepper locally.<ref>Dalby, p. 93.</ref> 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.
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It is commonly believed that during the [[Middle Ages]], pepper was often used to conceal the taste of partially rotten meat. No evidence supports this claim, and historians view it as highly unlikely; in the Middle Ages, pepper was a [[luxury good|luxury item]], affordable only to the wealthy, who certainly had unspoiled meat available, as well.<ref>Dalby, p. 156; also Turner, pp. 108–109, though Turner does go on to discuss spices (not pepper specifically) being used to disguise the taste of partially spoiled wine or ale.</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite journal |author1 =H. J. D. Dorman |author2 =S. G. Deans | title=Antimicrobial agents from plants: antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils | journal=Journal of Applied Microbiology | year=2000 | volume=88| issue = 2 | pages=308–16 | doi=10.1046/j.1365-2672.2000.00969.x | pmid=10736000|s2cid =21788355 |quote=Spices, which are used as integral ingredients in cuisine or added as flavouring agents to foods, are present in insufficient quantities for their antimicrobial properties to be significant.}}</ref> Salt is a much more effective preservative, and [[salt-cured meat]]s were common fare, especially in winter. However, pepper and other spices certainly played a role in improving the taste of long-preserved meats.
Archaeological evidence of pepper consumption in late medieval Northern Europe comes from excavations on the Danish-Norwegian flagship, [[Gribshunden]], which sank in the summer of 1495. In 2021, archaeologists recovered more than 2000 peppercorns from the wreck, along with a variety of other spices and exotic foodstuffs including clove, ginger, saffron, and almond. The ship was carrying King Hans to a political summit at the time of its loss. The spices were likely intended for feasts at the summit, which would have included the Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish Councils of State.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Larsson |first1=Mikael |last2=Foley |first2=Brendan |date=2023-01-26 |title=The king's spice cabinet–Plant remains from Gribshunden, a 15th century royal shipwreck in the Baltic Sea |journal=PLOS ONE |language=en |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=e0281010 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0281010 |doi-access=free |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=9879437 |pmid=36701280|bibcode=2023PLoSO..1881010L }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Foley |first=Brendan |date=2024-01-31 |title=Interim Report on Gribshunden (1495) Excavations: 2019–2021 |url=https://brill.com/view/journals/acar/94/1/article-p132_10.xml |journal=Acta Archaeologica |volume=94 |issue=1 |pages=132–145 |doi=10.1163/16000390-09401052 |issn=0065-101X|doi-access=free }}</ref>
[[File:Calicut 1572.jpg|thumb|300px|A depiction of [[Kozhikode|Calicut, Kerala, India]] published in 1572 during Portugal's control of the pepper trade]]▼
Its exorbitant price during the Middle Ages – and the monopoly on the trade held by [[Republic_of_Venice|Venice]] – was one of the inducements that led the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] to seek a sea route to India. In 1498, [[Vasco da Gama]] became the first person to reach India by sailing around Africa (see [[Age of Discovery]]); asked by Arabs in [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] (who spoke Spanish and Italian) why they had come, his representative replied, "we seek [[Christians]] and spices".<ref>Prasad, p. 3.</ref> 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 eventually gained much greater control of trade on the Arabian Sea. The [[Treaty of Tordesillas|1494 Treaty of Tordesillas]] with the Spanish granted Portugal exclusive rights to the half of the world where black pepper originated.▼
▲[[File:Calicut 1572.jpg|thumb|300px|A depiction of [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], Kerala, India
However, the Portuguese proved unable to monopolize the spice trade. Older Arab and Venetian trade networks successfully imported enormous quantities of spices, 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 trade to the [[Netherlands|Dutch]] and the [[England|English]], who, taking advantage of the Spanish rule over Portugal during the [[Iberian Union]] (1580–1640), occupied by force almost all Portuguese interests in the area. The pepper ports of Malabar began to trade increasingly with the Dutch in the period 1661–1663.▼
▲Its exorbitant price during the Middle Ages – and the monopoly on the trade held by [[Republic_of_Venice|Venice]] – was one of the inducements that led the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] to seek a sea route to India. In 1498, [[Vasco da Gama]] became the first person to reach India by sailing around Africa (see [[Age of Discovery]]); asked by Arabs in [[Kozhikode|Calicut]] (who spoke Spanish and Italian) why they had come, his representative replied, "we seek [[Christians]] and spices".<ref>Prasad, p. 3.</ref> 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 eventually gained much greater control of trade on the Arabian Sea. The [[Treaty of Tordesillas|1494 Treaty of Tordesillas]]
▲However, the Portuguese
[[File:Le livre des merveilles de Marco Polo-pepper.jpg|thumb|Pepper harvested for the European trade, from a manuscript ''Livre des merveilles de [[Marco Polo]]'' (The book of the marvels of Marco Polo)]]
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==Traditional medicine, phytochemicals, and research==
[[File:Alice par John Tenniel 21.png|right|thumb|"There's certainly too much pepper in that soup!". Alice said to herself, as well as she could for sneezing
Like many eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a [[traditional medicine]]. Pepper appears in the Buddhist [[Samaññaphala Sutta]], chapter five, as one of the few medicines a monk is allowed to carry.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/buddhistmonastic0000wija |title=Buddhist Monastic Code II |author=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |author-link=Thanissaro Bhikkhu |publisher=Cambridge University Press |date=30 November 1990 |isbn=978-0-521-36708-0 |access-date=29 January 2008 |url-access=registration}}</ref> Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used. Black pepper (or perhaps long pepper) was believed to cure several illnesses, such as [[constipation]], [[insomnia]], oral [[abscess]]es, [[sunburn]], and [[toothache]]s, among others.<ref>Turner, p. 160.</ref>
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==Flavour==
[[File:Pfeffermuehlen S7301812.jpg|thumb|Handheld pepper mills with black (left) and mixed (right) peppercorns]]
Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from [[piperine]] derived from both the outer fruit and the seed. Black pepper contains between 4.6 and 9.7% piperine by mass, and white pepper slightly more than that.<ref>[https://www.tis-gdv.de/tis_e/ware/gewuerze/pfeffer/pfeffer.htm/#selbsterhitzung Pepper]. Tis-gdv.de. Retrieved on 31 October 2012.</ref> Refined piperine, by weight, is about one percent as hot as the [[capsaicin]] found in [[chili pepper]]s.<ref name=lawless>{{cite book|last1=Lawless|first1=Harry T.|last2=Heymann|first2=Hildegarde|title=Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices|pages=62–3|year=2010|publisher=Springer|isbn=978-
Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve its spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose flavour when exposed to light, which can [[Isomerisation|transform]] piperine into nearly tasteless [[chavicine|isochavicine]].<ref name = "McGee">McGee, p. 428.</ref> Once ground, pepper's aromatics can evaporate quickly; most culinary sources recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use for this reason. Handheld [[pepper mill]]s or grinders, which mechanically grind or crush whole peppercorns, are used for this as an alternative to pepper shakers that dispense 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 have remained a popular method for centuries, as well.<ref>{{cite book | author=Montagne, Prosper | title=Larousse Gastronomique | publisher=Hamlyn | year=2001 | isbn=978-0-600-60235-4 | page=726 | oclc=47231315 }} "Mill".</ref>
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==See also==
* [[False black pepper]] – ''Embelia ribes'' is a species in the family Primulaceae (the ''primrose family'')
{{Clear}}
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==Bibliography==
{{
* {{cite book | last = Dalby | first = Andrew | title = Dangerous Tastes | publisher = University of California Press | location = Berkeley | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-520-23674-5|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7IHcZ21dyjwC}}
* {{cite book | last = Davidson | first = Alan | title = Wilder Shores of Gastronomy: Twenty Years of the Best Food Writing from the Journal Petits Propos Culinaires | publisher = Ten Speed Press | location = Berkeley | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-1-58008-417-8 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/wildershoresofga00davi }}
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* {{cite book | author=Turner, Jack | title=Spice: The History of a Temptation | publisher=Vintage Books | location = London| year=2004 | isbn=978-0-375-70705-6 | oclc=61213802}}
* {{cite book|last=Young|first=Gary K.|title=Rome's Eastern Trade|date=2001|publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-415-24219-3}}
{{
▲* {{Commons category-inline|Piper nigrum|''Piper nigrum''}}
▲* {{Wikispecies-inline|Piper nigrum|''Piper nigrum''}}
▲* {{cookbook-inline|Pepper}}
{{Culinary herbs and spices}}
{{Transient receptor potential channel modulators}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q43084}}
{{Authority control}}
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