Looking for Magic: Black Pepper

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Posted by @Sharon on
Aunt Bett always said, "Look for the magic that hides in plants, look real close and you'll find it." We get so used to seeing condiments at every meal, sometimes we don't even notice them and we certainly never think of the plants that are their source. Most of them provide nutrition our bodies need, whether we realize it or not. So is black pepper magic? Surely not. Oh, but let's take a closer look.

There it sits through every meal, right in the middle of my table. My pepper shaker most likely is the most refilled container I own. Surely lightning will strike around here if I ever forget to put it back in its rightful place on the middle of the table, completely filled.  And of course it's ignored, never given a second thought but the hands reach automatically for it without even looking, many times throughout a meal.

2012-09-19/Sharon/27ddb8

For years it never occurred to me that with every sprinkle of pepper over my scrambled eggs, every dash across an ear of corn, and every dab tossed with a salad contributed to anything but flavor.  Now I suddenly realize it even covers my slices of cantaloupe. Without my knowing, it has become a good habit.

Black pepper is native to India, where it still grows wild in the mountains.  It has quite a history, being one of the most ancient commodities of the spice trade. Together with ginger, it has the longest history of export from South Asia dating back at least 4000 years.  I haven't heard of any Pepper Wars, though there could have been, since it was one of the first commercial products and highly sought after in trade.  Some say that without the lure of spices, other countries would not have been discovered as early as they were.

In Egypt black peppercorns were found stuffed in the nostrils of Ramses II, a part of the mummification process at the time of his death in 1213 BCE. I have no idea how Ramses fared, but I know I would have been sneezing my way through eternity.

It is said by some that Attila the Hun demanded from Rome a ransom of more than a ton of pepper when the city was seized in the 5th century. (An erroneous statement obviously, just corrected by my favorite history buff who tells me:  Attila never sacked Rome though he probably received tribute. Alaric (Visigoth) sacked Rome in 410. Genseric (Vandal) sacked Rome in 455 and Totila (Ostrogoth) did it in 546).

Pliny mentioned black pepper in the first century and wrote of the annual drain of silver to India to pay for it.

Long after the decline of the Roman empire, Europeans continued to prize the popular pepper. It was the lure of pepper and other spices that brought the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama to the Indian coast in 1498. Other European countries soon followed and rival trading companies grew.

By the Middle Ages, pepper became important in Europe for seasoning or preserving meats, and for improving the taste of stored food. Peppercorns were very expensive and were accepted in place of money in dowries, taxes and rents during that time.

Black pepper, along with other spices from lands in the Far East, changed the course of world history. It was the rarity of these precious spices that led to the Portuguese efforts to find a sea route to China and consequently to the Portuguese colonial occupation of that country, as well as the European discovery and colonization of the Americas.

Today, pepper accounts for one-fifth of the world's spice trade.

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About the plant:

Piper nigrum is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is dried and used as a spice and seasoning.  The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is dark red when fully mature, and contains a single seed. Peppercorns, and the powdered pepper derived from grinding them, may be described simply as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit) and white pepper (dried ripe seeds).

The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing up to about 13 feet in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate and the flowers are small.  The fruit of the black pepper is called a drupe and when dried it is a peppercorn.

Medicinally:

* Historically pepper was of great value as a traditional medicine and was featured in early medicinal documents.  It's widely used in traditional Indian medicine and as a home remedy for relief from sore throat, throat congestion, and cough.

* Extracts from black pepper have been found to have antioxidant properties and anti-carcinogenic effects.

* Piperine, a component of pepper, enhances and accelerates energy metabolism in the body and also increases the serotonin and beta-endorphin production in the brain.

Nutrition:

Pepper provides potassium, manganese, vitamin K, iron and fiber to our bodies.  It stimulates the taste buds in such a way that an alert is sent to to the stomach to increase acid secretion, thereby improving digestion.

Black pepper has long been recognized as a substance that helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas.  In addition, black pepper promotes sweating and is considered a diuretic.  It has demonstrated impressive antioxidant and antibacterial effects, yet another way in which this wonderful seasoning promotes the health of the digestive tract.

And not only does black pepper help you derive the best flavor from your food, the outer layer of the peppercorn stimulates the breakdown of fat cells, keeping you slim while giving you energy to burn.

On the table a pinch of black pepper is added to almost every type of recipe imaginable.  Here are some suggestions to add to your everyday list:

* Coat steaks with crushed peppercorns before cooking to create the classic dish, steak au poivre.

* The pungent taste of black pepper is a natural complement to the deep, berry-like flavor of venison; use it to flavor this meat when preparing venison steaks or venison stews.

* Olive oil, lemon juice, salt and cracked pepper make a delicious salad dressing.

Emerging Black Pepper vine

Growing:

Black pepper, Piper nigrum, is a tropical plant grown for black, white, and red peppercorns. The three colors of peppercorns are simply their different stages of growth.
 
* Pepper is a warmth loving plant that stops growing when below 65F and will not tolerate any amount of frost.  They do, however, make very good container plants.
 
* They like to be in partial to full sun with 50% or better humidity.  Plants should be watered thoroughly when soil appears dry.
 
* For peppercorn production inside, the plants should be grown under bright light and kept warm. They are vining in nature and slow growing. It will take a couple of years before they start producing flowers, then peppercorns.
 
* Pepper plants are not prone to insect problems. The only disease problems are due to root diseases. It is important to keep them warm (above 65F) and to not keep wet or allowed to totally dry out.  You'll have to strike a happy medium.
 
Now do you see the magic?  There it sits right beside the salt on my kitchen table and in a profusion of packets in every take out; we use it at every meal.  We sprinkle it, we grind it, we dash it, we dab it, and all the time it's working its magic. 
 
I haven't yet tried it on watermelon, but I might.  Just a little dab of pepper here and there; think of all the nutrients it provides!
 
Black Pepper!  Magic, for sure.
~*~
 
The photo of the Pepper plant is courtesy of Bubbles and if you click on it you'll find it in ATP's database.

 
Comments and Discussion
Thread Title Last Reply Replies
On strawberries too! by threegardeners Sep 27, 2012 12:49 PM 9
Black pepper and turmeric by hazelnut Sep 26, 2012 5:09 PM 15
What about Cayenne pepper? by zuzu Sep 25, 2012 10:36 AM 6
Black Pepper history by RickCorey Sep 24, 2012 8:09 PM 2

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