Pepper
Pepper is one of the oldest and best-known spices in the world.
Pepper is rightly called the King of Spices
As pepper requires hot and humid climate, and as the crop tolerates
temperatures between 10 degree and 40 degrees, fine Indian pepper
is grown in the monsoon forests along the Malabar Coast in Kerala
at an altitude of 1500 meters above MSL A well-distributed annual
rainfall of 125 to 200 cm is considered ideal for pepper.India is
in top position in the production of pepper. A combination of
natural conditions and organic techniques produces berries that are
bigger, well shaped, with more aroma and flavour.
Black pepper is produced from the unripe berries of the pepper
plant. The berries are boiled to clean them and prepare them for
drying. They are dried in the sun for several days or dried using
machines. While drying, the fruit around the seed shrinks and
darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer.
White pepper consists of only the seed, without the skin of the
fruit. The skin is removed by a process known as retting. This is
done by soaking the fully ripe berries in water for about a week,
to soften and decompose the fruit.They are then rubbed to remove
whatever is left on the seed and dried. Other processes are also
used for removing the outer skin which includes the removal of the
outer layer by mechanical, chemical and biological
means.
The plants are propagated by cuttings about 40 to 50 centimetres
long, tied up to neighbouring trees or climbing frames at distances
of about two metres apart; trees with rough bark are used.
Competing plants are cleared away, leaving only required trees to
provide shade and permit free ventilation. The roots are covered in
leaf mulch and manure, and the shoots are trimmed twice a year. On
dry soils the young plants require watering every alternate day
during the dry season for the first three years. The plants bear
fruit from the fourth or fifth year, and continue to bear fruit up
to seven years. A single stem will bear 20 to 30 fruiting
spikes.
Indian
Pepper
India has always been at the top in the production and export of
this exotic spice. India exported 18,850 tons of pepper during the
year 2010-2011
The International Pepper Exchange is located in Kochi,
India.
Pepper has been known since antiquity and used for its flavour and
also used in medicine. Dried and ground pepper is one of the most
common spices used in European cuisines.
The spiciness of black pepper is due to the chemical piperine. It
can be found on nearly every dining table in most parts of the
world along with table salt.
Pepper is used by meat packers and in canning, pickling, baking,
due to its preservative value. It has the ability to correct the
seasoning of dishes.
Black pepper is also an essential ingredient in Indian system of
medicine, and figure in the remedies in Ayurveda, Siddha and
Unani.
Piperine, the pungency in pepper oleoresin is also used in
pharmaceuticals.
