Learning about Spices What is a spice? Why were spices important? Sources of spices Perfumes and Incenses  Use of spices as aphrodisiacs Use of spices as medicines Culinary herbs A spice timeline Table of Spices Allspice (Pimento) Anise Black Pepper Cardamom Cassia Chile Pepper Chocolate Cinnamon Clove Coriander (Cilantro) Cumin Dill Fennel Fenugreek Frankincense and Myrrh Galangal Garlic Ginger Horseradish Licorice Mustard Nutmeg and Mace Onion Saffron Sugar Sumac Tamarind Turmeric Vanilla Contacts and Acknowledgments

Common Name BLACK PEPPER Click image to enlarge Genus Species Piper nigrum Family Piperaceae Origin India Cultivated India, Indonesia, Brazil, Madagascar                     Description Freshly ground pepper is more aromatic than packaged powders, and the ceremony of the waiter grinding the pepper over one’s entrée has some gustatory merit in addition to offering a ceremonial reminder of pepper’s ancient importance. Most black pepper comes from India, where it is known as the king of the spices; it is also exported from Indonesia, Malaysia and Brazil. It has always been one of the most popular spices, and the successful sea voyages of U.S. importers of pepper and cloves made Salem, Massachusetts, one of the richest towns in the U.S.A. at the beginning of the 19th century. Black pepper is available on most Western dining tables, but yellow pepper is preferred in cooking since it does not add dark color to foods. See a list of Major Pepper Spices. See a list of spices by Taste and Hotness. Useful Parts Black pepper is obtained from the unripe green berries of the vine, which become black when they are dried in the sun. YELLOW (or WHITE) PEPPER is obtained from ripe red berries or by peeling off the pericarp from black peppercorns. Medicinal Properties The main flavor is from piperine, but other essential oils, including terpenes, contribute to the aroma. Its alkaloids include the pungent tasting chavicine and piperidine. See chemicals in spices. Historical View “Black pepper is an aromatic carminative stimulant; and is also supposed to possess febrifuge properties. Its action as a stimulant is more especially evident on the mucous membranes of the rectum and urinary organs.” Bentley, Robert and Henry Trimen. Medicinal Plants; being descriptions with original figures of the principal plants employed in medicine and an account of the characters, properties, and uses of their parts and products of medicinal value. London, Churchill, 1880. (WZ 295 B556m 1880) Click image to enlarge

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