Peppercorn
(Piper nigrum)
This perennial woody vine is native to south India. Its dried fruit, or drupes, are known as peppercorns. When grown commercially it is typically trained up the trunks of trees. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice!
Medicinal Properties: Used since antiquity as a traditional medicine. Once the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine not to be confused with the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers.
Harvesting: Black pepper 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 fruit lose pungency, and ultimately fall off and are lost. Black Pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water; the heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. On some estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand and then sun-dried without the boiling process.
White pepper consists solely of the seed of the pepper plant, with the darker colored skin of the pepper fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the pepper softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried.
Green pepper, like black, is made from the unripe drupes. Dried green peppercorns are treated in a way that retains the green color, such as treatment with sulphur dioxide, canning or freeze-drying. Pickled peppercorns, also green, are unripe drupes preserved in brine or vinegar. Fresh, unpreserved green pepperdrupes, largely unknown in the West, are used in some Asian cuisines. Their flavor has been described as spicy and fresh, with a bright aroma. They decay quickly if not dried or preserved.
Pepper plants will bear the most fruit from 4th year for about 7 years.
Propagation: from cuttings
Size: up to 13’ high on supportive trees or poles.
Light: Full Sun/Partial Shade
Flowers: The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 3 to 6 inches long.
Soil: Likes rich well drained soil with mulch.
Water: Keep moist and water regularly, will not tolerate either drying or standing water.
(Piper nigrum)
This perennial woody vine is native to south India. Its dried fruit, or drupes, are known as peppercorns. When grown commercially it is typically trained up the trunks of trees. Black pepper is the world’s most traded spice!
Medicinal Properties: Used since antiquity as a traditional medicine. Once the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine not to be confused with the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers.
Harvesting: Black pepper 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 fruit lose pungency, and ultimately fall off and are lost. Black Pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water; the heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. On some estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand and then sun-dried without the boiling process.
White pepper consists solely of the seed of the pepper plant, with the darker colored skin of the pepper fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the pepper softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried.
Green pepper, like black, is made from the unripe drupes. Dried green peppercorns are treated in a way that retains the green color, such as treatment with sulphur dioxide, canning or freeze-drying. Pickled peppercorns, also green, are unripe drupes preserved in brine or vinegar. Fresh, unpreserved green pepperdrupes, largely unknown in the West, are used in some Asian cuisines. Their flavor has been described as spicy and fresh, with a bright aroma. They decay quickly if not dried or preserved.
Pepper plants will bear the most fruit from 4th year for about 7 years.
Propagation: from cuttings
Size: up to 13’ high on supportive trees or poles.
Light: Full Sun/Partial Shade
Flowers: The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 3 to 6 inches long.
Soil: Likes rich well drained soil with mulch.
Water: Keep moist and water regularly, will not tolerate either drying or standing water.