Black Pepper

About Black Pepper

The most traded spice in the world and the reason the Age of Exploration began - Europeans sought sea routes to India to bypass Arab pepper monopolies. It was used as currency - the phrase peppercorn rent comes from nominal rents paid in pepper. Piperine, its active compound, increases nutrient absorption by up to 2,000% (especially curcumin from turmeric). It is native to the Malabar coast of India. White pepper is the same berry with the outer skin removed. Green pepper is unripe berries. Vietnam is now the largest producer. It was found in the nostrils of Ramesses II, placed there after his mummification in 1213 BCE.