Category: Spices

Black pepper: Another important kitchen spice is black pepper. It helps reduce gas and digest food due to its beneficial effect of stimulating hydrochloric acid production, which is naturally produced by the stomach for the digestion of proteins and other food components. Why does black pepper give me gas? When protein and other macro nutrients […]

Store whole peppercorns in a sealed container in a cool, dry place up to one year. Some sources claim that properly stored, sealed peppercorns can still be viable for up to three years. Ground pepper begins to lose flavor after about four months, so if you do not use a lot of pepper, avoid those […]

According to Dr Neha Pathania, Chief Nutritionist of Paras Hospital, “Black pepper is a very effective way to control your blood pressure. The piperine element present in the pepper reduces pressure. Black pepper is also rich in potassium which helps control heart rate and blood pressure. Does black pepper increases blood pressure? Background: Piperine, the […]

Old World (True) Peppers Black pepper (Piper nigrum), the true pepper, is economically the most important species of the pantropical pepper family (Piperaceae). It is native to Java, whence it was introduced into other tropical countries. Is pepper from the Old World? Foods That Originated in the New World: artichokes, avocados, beans (kidney and lima), […]

The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes dry in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper skin around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn. Why is […]

Trade routes by sea had outcompeted overland trade routes, and since black pepper traveled by water, it won out over long pepper. Today, long pepper’s still commonly used in cooking from the places where it grows: it’s an ingredient in Indian cooking and in southeast Asian dishes. Is long pepper and black pepper same? It […]

During the Roman Imperial period huge quantities of black pepper arrived into the Empire from southern India and were employed in a range of contexts, from the cu- linary and medicinal, to the religious. Did ancient Romans use pepper? Pepper in the Roman Empire Pepper became an essential ingredient in food in the Roman world. […]

Pepper didn’t exactly get cheaper for this, though, and even in the High Middle Ages, pepper was a hugely valuable spice which came with an astronomically high price for the consumer, largely because moving it from India to the West required the efforts of so many middlemen. Why was black pepper so expensive? The Production […]

Organic black pepper has the added advantage of being entirely free of harmful chemicals and pesticides and is relatively fresher due to the absence of preservatives. You’ll be surprised to know the various health benefits that regular black pepper consumption can entail for your body. Should you buy organic black pepper? Yes! Organically grown spices […]

The chili burn stems from a chemical reaction that happens when capsaicin bonds with the pain receptors in your mouth, which are located at nerve endings that also detect heat. Why does pepper make your mouth burn? Hot peppers contain an alkaline, oil-based molecule called capsaicin, which sneakily triggers the temperature-sensitive pain receptors in your […]

With nearly X thousand tons, the United States became the world’s leading pepper consuming country, accounting for X% of global consumption. Which countries use black pepper? The World’s Top Black Pepper Producing Countries Rank Country Production (in thousands of tons) 1 Vietnam 163 2 Indonesia 89 3 India 53 4 Brazil 42 What country consumes […]

Fact: They both come from the same vine. The pepper fruit is picked from the vine and allowed to shrivel and dry. Then the peppercorns are sorted by size. The smaller peppercorns are considered whole black pepper while the larger peppercorns become the Tellicherry. Why is Tellicherry pepper the best? Tellicherry (origin: India) Our sample […]

Black peppercorns come from the Piper nigrum plant. They are the dried berries of the plant. Because ground pepper is simply ground black peppercorns, there should be no change in flavor by using it as a substitute. Is black pepper just ground peppercorn? Black pepper, ubiquitous in table shakers and takeout packets, actually comes from […]

When you think of pepper, you likely envision the black variety. In reality, black peppercorns are green peppercornsgreen peppercornsPeppercorn sauce is a culinary cream sauce prepared with peppercorn, which is prepared as a reduction of the cream in the cooking process. Various types of peppercorn can be used in its preparation, such as black, green […]

Tellicherry peppercorns. Tellicherry peppercorns are like San Marzano tomatoes: they need to come from Tellicherry, a city on the Malabar coast of Kerala in India. They’re considered some of the finest peppercorns in the world, and one of the few “names” in pepper that people are familiar with. What is the best black pepper you […]