When something is peppery, it has a vigor and strength. Most often it is food, but also a verbal turn, which will enhance something and season. Everyone knows the pepper on the table intimately, but few people know what the plant that brings this treasure looks like.
Where do the black, white, pink, green and other colored balls come from? We’ll shine a little bit at them.
“Black and white” pepper
The most important of important pepper is the black pepper (Piper nigrum), king of all spices. He penetrated into many national cuisine and won a heavy battle in competition with chili and cinnamon. Nowadays, the ranking dominates as the most used spice of the world.
It is a woody creeper that grows a length of several meters and is grown on wooden columns or structures on the plantations. The leaves have wide oval, pointed, 10 to 15 long and five to 9 cm wide, dark green, with five to seven longitudinal veins. The inflorescence is approximately as long as the leaf, the seed is round with three to four stalls, almost sessile foreshadows are two. The mature stone is red, dried and immature is black.
His native roots have this record holder recessed deeply in Indian soil and there are historical sources that date his utility existence deep before our era. The first findings come from Vietnam and are about nine thousand years old! Thanks to the store, the ancient Romans also knew pepper, and appreciated it as a quality and luxurious spice. In Europe there was a very rare, and the renowned “black gold” title, which today belongs to oil, at that time belonged to Pepři. From the domestic roots, the pepper tree ripped up to European colonists and expanded it to their tropical colonies around the world. Pepper fruits have been used in the kitchen around the world traditionally, nowadays it is one of its largest producers Vietnam.
How many colors do you have in the roots?
Black pepper has many tastes, shapes, and above all colors. They differ according to the degree of maturity and subsequent modifications, but also in what occasions they are then used in the kitchen.
Black pepper – This is called immature green berries, which are fermented immediately after harvesting and then allowed to dry in the sun. The fermentation process of the berry turns black as we are used to pepper. It is the most common form of pepper very sharp taste.
Green pepper – The second variant of pepper, also collected unripe, ie green. It differs from black pepper by processing. They do not dry but freeze or preserve. It is not so common in Europe, it is less intense than his fermented colleague, and is mainly used in Asian cuisine.
Red pepper – It is collected fully mature, when the berries are red. It can dry in the sun, as well as black pepper, just omitted fermentation. Its taste is not so pronounced, and thanks to its exotic color it is often used as a decorative spice.
White pepper – Like the red one is harvested at full maturity. But white colors are achieved by allowing the fruits to soak in the water until the red skin is peeled and only the white fetal core remains. It is not as aromatic as black pepper, but is popular in preparing food, where black pepper balls would disturb the aesthetics of the overall food.
Pink pepper is not pepper
Pink pepper occasionally confuses with red pepper. Although it is an intruder who, under the pretext of its “pepper”, looks like part of the family, but in fact it is a completely different plant, a medium -sized tree Schinus soft from South America subtropics. Only the fact that it has been spread to the world has been spread with pepper and its deep pink pungent fruits are used as a spice.
Back to the pepper
Long (Pepper long) It is a lesser -known kind of pepper that is interesting for its long ears that have earned its name. The fruits are dark brown to black after drying, and the taste is softer than black pepper. It is popular and used mainly in Asian cuisines, yet, after all, its biggest plantations in Asia.
Another lesser known representative is pepper (Piper cubeba), with a homeless nickname “tail.” He earned it thanks to the growths on the fruits, reminiscent of the tail. It tastes slightly after menthol.
Pepper
A very interesting yet very different kind is betem (Piper betle). It comes from Southeast Asia, such as Malaysia or Indonesia, and is commonly used in some traditional medicines. Its fruits would probably be looking in vain as a spice. This representative, unlike other pepper, has written his leaves. The betel pepper tree has green leaves, heartbeat. The taste is intensely bitter, and together with the arc nuts, slack lime and possible other spices are made of a mixture called betel bite. The chewing of this mixture is relatively widespread, partly for its stimulating effects. Although the long -term harmful effects of chewing betel are not proven by research, but this popular pastime in some countries is either regulated or completely banned.
Pepper leaves Holy pepper are used in Mexico to flavor corn nok tamales And they are also used as a tonic, analgesic and in the treatment of stomach problems. A long range of pepper stations are used in the world. Let’s name at least from the legendary Piper methysticumfrom whose fermented roots a drink is being prepared in ocean kawa.
Australian
A foreign member of the pepper community is also an Australian native Tasmanian (Tasmanny lanceolated) who is called due to its popularity of high altitudes mountain pepper. Strictly speaking, it is also not a true pepper, but its dark purple, even black fruits of distinctive taste are similar in many ways. It differs from the aforementioned orthodox pepper in that it is not used in traditional medicine by South American natives or Asians, but the original Australian inhabitants – Aborids.
Cayenne pepper is chilli
A little outsider pepper community is cayenne pepperabove all, because the only thing he has in common is the name. It is a deep orange to red spice of hot fruits grinding peppers (C. frutescens), originally from South America. He got his incorrect designation because of the English “Pepper”, which can indicate both pepper and pepper. A slightly different form C. frutescens From the French Guyana, from the valley of the Cayen River, sells dried and ground under the name “Cayenen” or “cayenne” pepper. We also know them as part of Tabasco spices.
Neither Sichuan pepper is right pepper
“Sichuan pepper“The dried fruits of the yellow -wood shrub are also sold (Zanthoxylum piperitum). The small shrub really comes from the Chinese Sichuan, at home is also in Korea and Japan. It is grown not only for hot fruits, but also as a valued bonsai. It is sold quite often as a house plant.
O Author
Gaja Rybková She is a grammar school student focusing on natural sciences. She enjoys traveling, nature, culture and history of especially European and Asian countries.
Source: Recipe magazine
