Black pepper ( Book Chapter) - Handbook of Herbs and Spices

Abstract

Among the spices, black pepper is the king. It is the most important, most popular and most widely used spice in the world. It has extensive culinary uses for flavouring and preserving processed foods and is important medicinally. Of the total spices traded internationally pepper accounts for about 34% (throughout this chapter, pepper is used to mean black pepper, unless otherwise stated). South West India is the traditional home of this important spice, particularly the Western coastal regions of South Peninsular India (the Malabar Coast). Black pepper was the first oriental spice to be introduced into the Western world, and was well known among the Romans and Greeks. In the middle ages pepper assumed great importance in Europe. Its use resulted in revolutionary changes in Western cooking: together with other spices, pepper helped to improve flavour and preservation of food became easier. Pepper was also used in medicine, as a carminative and febrifuge, for aiding in digestion, and in curing the common cold.