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Black Pepper, The World's Most Traded Spice

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) which is considered the ''King of spices'' is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter. Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India, and the Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there and in other tropical regions. Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavor and as traditional medicine. Black pepper is the world's most traded spice and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. In early historic times, pepper became an important article of overland trade between India and Europe and often served as a medium of exchange; tributes were levied in pepper in ancient Greece and Rome. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers. Black pepper is an important healthy food owing to its antioxidant, antimicrobial potential, anti-inflammatory, anti-depressant and gastro-protective modules. It is ubiquitous in the Western world as a seasoning and is often paired with salt and available on dining tables in shakers or mills. Fruits hang from a black pepper vine at Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachi at Beldanga, West Bengal; India on 22/6/2023. (Photo by Soumyabrata Roy/NurPhoto)

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