Where Does Pepper Come From?

Pepper is a fruit that grows on a flowering vine called Piper nigrum, native to the Malabar Coast along the southeast of India. In the region’s balmy forest, it grows as small green berries that dangle from an unassuming green plant.

So yes, pepper is technically a fruit. In the world of botany, fruits are the ovaries of a flowering plant that bear its seeds. They develop from the fertilized flower and serve as the fleshy, tasty bubble that disperses those seeds, allowing the plant to spread to new pastures and grow the next generation.

Where does black pepper come from?

The different forms of pepper come from the variety of ways the fruit (the peppercorn) is processed. For black pepper, peppercorn berries are picked while still unripe and green, allowed to ferment, then sun-dried until they shrivel and turn a brownish-black color, like a raisin. White pepper, on the other hand, is made from ripe peppercorns that are soaked to remove the outer layer.

There are also green peppercorns, which are picked unripe and preserved, often by brining, freeze-drying, or air-drying so they retain their green color, as well as red peppercorns, which are fully ripe berries that are usually preserved in brine to maintain their vibrant red hue.

Pepper has an epic backstory

Pepper has grown in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years and has been used in Asian cooking for just as long. It was first introduced to Europe after the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 4th century BCE and has since grown to become the most important and widely consumed spice in the world. 

Like many spices, it was traded across Asia and Europe through the Silk Road. From the Arabs and Portuguese to the Dutch and the British Empire, many different cultures attempted to gain a monopoly on the pepper trade and reap its financial fruits. It was sometimes called “black gold” because its high demand made it nearly as valuable as gold.

Bear in mind, the peppercorn plant is from a totally different family to chili peppers (Capsicum), which are native to the Americas and were only brought to the rest of the world in the 16th century as part of the Columbian exchange. As with a few other natural things in the Americas, the name reflects a mix-up by early European colonizers who associated, or simply confused, New World species with familiar ones from their homeland.

The punchy, spicy, and bitter flavor of pepper is largely thanks to the chemical piperine. This naturally occurring compound can “fire up” the body’s TRPV1 receptors, which detect potentially harmful stimuli, provoking a slight burning sensation in the mouth. 

Pepper has been associated with numerous health benefits, owing to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, and neuroprotective properties.

It might not be worth as much as it was in centuries gone by, but pepper still spices up the lives of billions of people each day.