Author:
Arif Hassan
If we had to select just one spice to flavor our food, pepper, 'the master spice,' would be a wise choice. Always the world\'s most important spice—at one time worth its weight in gold—pepper accounts for about 35of the total world trade in spices today. It\'s a staple in food manufacturing, and in household kitchens its popularity is rivaled only by its sister seasoning, salt.
Pepper\'s status as a popular spice stems from its distinctive taste, aroma and versatility. It peps up almost any dish and is great for salt-free diets. Pepper works well in combination with other herbs and spices, too, and is commonly found in blends (like poultry seasoning, curry powders, sausage blends and even an occasional pumpkin pie spice blend). The alkaloids piperine, piperidine and chavicin account for its hot and pungent flavor. Because it stimulates the taste buds and increases gastric secretions, pepper is thought to inspire the appetite and aid digestion.
Pepper\'s rich history can be traced through the records of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and the logs of early traders and explorers. In 1180, A Guild of Pepperers—the most important guild of the time—was in existence in London. Often equated with money, pepper has been used for taxes, rent, dowries and ransom. When Rome was besieged by Alaric the Goth, for example, gold, silver, and pepper were demanded as ransom. (The gold and silver were easy enough to come by, but the pepper gave them some trouble.) The value of pepper helped establish water passages to India. Its quest largely defines the history of the spice trade. In fact, procurement of pepper and other spices led to the European efforts to find a sea route to India—and eventually the European discovery and colonization of the Americas.
Black, white and green pepper all comes from the woody tropical plant Piper nigrum. The plant is unrelated to capsicum peppers (like paprika, chili peppers and cayenne peppers) or long peppers (Piper longa). Usually trained to climb supports, the vine grows 25 to 30 feet long. Native to Southwest India and cultivated today in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and China, most peppers are named for their shipping ports (Saigon and Allepy, for example). There are over 13 types of black pepper grown commercially, but the most popular variety is Indonesian Lampong, a small, earthy-flavored pepper from southern Sumatra. Large Telicherry peppers—from the Malabar coast of India—are softer flavored than some other black peppers; many people consider them to be the highest quality black pepper.
Pepper bushes, which need lots of rain, shade and heat, flourish near the equator. They are propagated from seeds or cuttings, and it takes three to four years for the first harvest. Although they are most productive at about eight years, the plants continue to bear for about 25-30 years.
Pepper berries grow in long clusters, and turn green, then red, as they ripen. The stage at which they\'re harvested (and whether or not they are husked) determines the color of the resulting spice.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/pepper-primer-5059094.html
About the Author
<a href='http://www.extraprofits.biz/?m=arifhassan'>data entry
Arif Hassan
If we had to select just one spice to flavor our food, pepper, 'the master spice,' would be a wise choice. Always the world\'s most important spice—at one time worth its weight in gold—pepper accounts for about 35of the total world trade in spices today. It\'s a staple in food manufacturing, and in household kitchens its popularity is rivaled only by its sister seasoning, salt.
Pepper\'s status as a popular spice stems from its distinctive taste, aroma and versatility. It peps up almost any dish and is great for salt-free diets. Pepper works well in combination with other herbs and spices, too, and is commonly found in blends (like poultry seasoning, curry powders, sausage blends and even an occasional pumpkin pie spice blend). The alkaloids piperine, piperidine and chavicin account for its hot and pungent flavor. Because it stimulates the taste buds and increases gastric secretions, pepper is thought to inspire the appetite and aid digestion.
Pepper\'s rich history can be traced through the records of ancient Rome, the Middle Ages, and the logs of early traders and explorers. In 1180, A Guild of Pepperers—the most important guild of the time—was in existence in London. Often equated with money, pepper has been used for taxes, rent, dowries and ransom. When Rome was besieged by Alaric the Goth, for example, gold, silver, and pepper were demanded as ransom. (The gold and silver were easy enough to come by, but the pepper gave them some trouble.) The value of pepper helped establish water passages to India. Its quest largely defines the history of the spice trade. In fact, procurement of pepper and other spices led to the European efforts to find a sea route to India—and eventually the European discovery and colonization of the Americas.
Black, white and green pepper all comes from the woody tropical plant Piper nigrum. The plant is unrelated to capsicum peppers (like paprika, chili peppers and cayenne peppers) or long peppers (Piper longa). Usually trained to climb supports, the vine grows 25 to 30 feet long. Native to Southwest India and cultivated today in India, Indonesia, Malaysia and China, most peppers are named for their shipping ports (Saigon and Allepy, for example). There are over 13 types of black pepper grown commercially, but the most popular variety is Indonesian Lampong, a small, earthy-flavored pepper from southern Sumatra. Large Telicherry peppers—from the Malabar coast of India—are softer flavored than some other black peppers; many people consider them to be the highest quality black pepper.
Pepper bushes, which need lots of rain, shade and heat, flourish near the equator. They are propagated from seeds or cuttings, and it takes three to four years for the first harvest. Although they are most productive at about eight years, the plants continue to bear for about 25-30 years.
Pepper berries grow in long clusters, and turn green, then red, as they ripen. The stage at which they\'re harvested (and whether or not they are husked) determines the color of the resulting spice.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/cooking-tips-articles/pepper-primer-5059094.html
About the Author
<a href='http://www.extraprofits.biz/?m=arifhassan'>data entry
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