Down to Basics: Pepper (the spice)

Pepper, or black pepper as it’s called, comes from a flowering vine called Piper Nigurm which is cultivated for its fruit, known as a drupe, known as the peppercorn. A drupe is a fruit that consists of a seed encased in a pit surrounded by a fleshy outer skin which is actually a deep rich red when ripe. (drupe! there it is!)

The peppercorn is dried and ground then used as the spice we’ve come to know and love (the yang to salt’s ying).

Black pepper is native to India and cultivated there as well as in other tropical regions. Since ancient times, pepper was dried then ground and used both as a seasoning and a medicine.

Black pepper’s spiciness comes from the chemical piperine. It’s best to store ground pepper in a dark, airtight container because it will lose its flavor and aroma through evaporation and exposure to light which chemically alters the piperine and makes it icky and unusable. (That’s why most culinary sources recommend grinding the whole peppercorns immediately before using.)

In your culinary journeys you will occasionally come across recipes calling for different types of peppers. Let’s go ahead and take a look at those, shall we?

Black Pepper

Black pepper comes from unripe, still-green pepper plant drupes. To prepare them for drying, the drupes are briefly cooked hot water to clean them and to rupture the drupe’s cell walls which helps kick start the work of the browning enzymes. The drupes (which is really fun to say by the way) are either dried by machine or laid out in the sun until the fleshy outer layer becomes shriveled, wrinkly and darkened into the black peppercorn you see sold in stores. Black pepper tends to be the strongest of the peppers with a heated flavor and aroma.

Green Pepper

Green pepper also comes from immature drupes that are specially treated to retain their green color. Fresh green pepper drupes are used in some Asian cuisines and pickled peppercorns are simply unripe drupes preserved in vinegar (or brine). Green pepper is described as being fresh and piquant with a bright taste so go well with fruity foods, salads, salsas and fresh veggies.

White Pepper

White pepper is made from the drupe seed by itself (without the surrounding pit or the fleshy outside). To get rid of the outer parts, the drupes are soaked until they become waterlogged (usually takes about a week) and then when the fleshy part is super soft and decomposing, it gets rubbed off. The seed is then dried and ground. White pepper is usually used in light colored dishes so that it doesn’t stand out like black pepper would. And there is a difference in the taste from black pepper because of the absence of the pit and flesh (black pepper tends to be kickier).

Red Pepper

Red pepper comes from ripe drupes (which as mentioned above are red) that pickled (in vinegar or brine). The red ripe drupes are also dried using the same color-preserving techniques used to make green pepper.

Pink Pepper

Pink pepper comes from dried pink peppercorns that come from a different branch of the black pepper family tree. Their flavor has been described as delicately fragrant, sweet and spicy.