A special place is reserved for whole black pepper in the typical North American household. After all, black pepper is a spice that is publicly displayed in shakers and grinders on the kitchen counter or, in the holiest of places, the dining table in almost every single house and restaurant, while other spices are hidden away in dark drawers. It is the only spice that appears in almost every kind of food.

What is black pepper precisely, and where does it originate?

What does black pepper mean? 

In reality, peppercorns are the fruits of a Piperaceae family blooming vine. Wherever the berries develop into cylindrical clusters, the wide-leafed, green vines produce long tendrils. The fruits are tiny, with a single big seed, very little real fruit, and a thin skin. Depending on the desired level of heat and pepper type, the fruits are harvested at different stages of ripeness and prepared appropriately.

From whence does it originate?

Although the vine is indigenous to India, it is cultivated in almost all tropical climates. Around 35% of the world's supply of black pepper is now grown and exported from Vietnam, with India, Brazil, China, and Sri Lanka following. Pepper is the most trafficked spice in the world, accounting for 20% of the global spice trade, and is used in almost every kind of cuisine conceivable. The black pepper trade is really valued at billions of dollars a year!

Given that people have adored this spicy tiny spice for hundreds of years, it should come as no surprise. Its main use for a very long time was as medicine. The spice was also used to preserve mummies (peppercorns were placed under Ramses the Great's nostrils to help keep his body clean), and it was widely believed to be able to treat toothaches and sleeplessness.

Ancient Greeks and Romans loved pepper. In fact, 80% of the recipes in the 4 AD ancient Roman cookbook Apicius call for black pepper.

Many explorers, like Columbus and Vasco de Gama, were motivated by the need for black pepper and set out to discover a quicker way to India in order to obtain it faster for the spice-hungry European markets.

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