black pepper
brief introduction
black pepper
Dried black pepper is a common spice in European dishes. Since ancient times, black pepper has been cherished for its dual value of seasoning and medicine. The smell of black pepper comes from the piperine it contains. Black pepper, commonly referred to as "pepper", is one of the most widely used spices in the world. It can be found on dining tables all over the world, usually with refined salt.
function
Piperaceae, a perennial climbing vine named Pepper, is native to the coast of Malabar, India. Its spicy fruit is one of the earliest spices used by people, and it may be the most widely used spice now. In medicine, it is also used as a drug to expel wind and stimulate gastric secretion. Pepper has a long and extensive cultivation history in tropical areas of Southeast Asia and has long been regarded as a good product. It is an important trade commodity and exchange medium between India and Europe. In ancient Greece and Rome, pepper was also collected as a tribute. In the Middle Ages, Venetians and Genoese monopolized the pepper trade, which prompted people to find a route to the Far East.
Place of production
Pepper is widely planted in east indies, and introduced to tropical areas in Africa and the Western Hemisphere. This plant, woody stems, can climb as high as 10 meter (33 feet) with the help of air roots. Leaves alternate, bright green, wide, small and light flowers, densely packed into slender spikes, with about 50 flowers per spike; Berry-like fruit is nearly spherical, about 5 mm (0.2 inch) in diameter, yellow-red when ripe, containing 1 seed, fragrant and spicy. The growth of pepper needs a long rainy season, suitable high temperature and partial shade. Piper nigrum is usually planted with branches and painted by hand.
Cultivate and plant beside trees or columns as support. It is also planted in tea gardens or coffee gardens. 2? After 5 years, it began to bear fruit. If conditions are good, it can be harvested continuously for 40 years. Picking berries when they turn red, soaking them in boiling water for about 10 minute, and turning dark brown or black after 1 hour. Then spread it on the table or on the ground to dry 3? Four days. After drying in the sun and kneading, black pepper can be obtained. Then remove the skin, that is, white pepper. In some areas, the method of preparing white pepper is to pile wet berries together. 3 days; Or bag it and sink it into tap water for about 7? 15 days, the skin becomes soft, then the soft skin is washed, rubbed or trampled, spread out and dried, or the skin is removed by mechanical grinding. White pepper is slightly less spicy than black pepper. Pepper contains essential oil 1? 3%, the essential oil makes pepper fragrant, and the spicy taste is mainly produced by oleoresin, which consists of piperine (C 17H 19NO3), carvacine (C 17H 19NO3), piperidine [(CH2) 5NH] and capsicum pavilion (c There are many other families and genera of plants also known as pepper, such as Schinus molle, also known as California pepper tree, Ampelopsis arborea, also known as pepper vine, Clethra alnifolia, also known as sweet pepper shrub and so on. But they are only cultivated as ornamental plants, not as spices for food or medicine. It is cultivated in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan. From autumn to the next spring, when the fruit at the base of the ear begins to turn red, cut the ear, dry it in the sun or dry it in the sun, and pick the fruit. Because it is dark brown, it is called black pepper, which is fragrant and spicy.
Chemical substance content
Pepper contains essential oil 1? 3%, the essential oil makes pepper fragrant, and the spicy taste is mainly produced by oleoresin, which consists of piperine (C 17H 19NO3), carvacine (C 17H 19NO3), piperidine [(CH2) 5NH] and capsicum pavilion (c There are many other families and genera of plants also known as pepper, such as Schinus molle, also known as California pepper tree, Ampelopsis arborea, also known as pepper vine, Clethra alnifolia, also known as sweet pepper shrub and so on. But they are only cultivated as ornamental plants, not as spices for food or medicine.
Place of production
It is cultivated in Guangxi, Guangdong and Yunnan. From autumn to the next spring, when the fruit at the base of the ear begins to turn red, cut the ear, dry it in the sun or dry it in the sun, and pick the fruit. Because it is dark brown, it is called black pepper, which is fragrant and spicy.
Planting method
Pepper is a perennial woody vine, which often climbs on trees, branches or scaffolding, and its height can reach four meters. Pepper is creeping. When the stems of plants touch the ground, they will quickly take root and sprout. Pepper leaves alternate and complete, about five to ten centimeters long and three to six centimeters wide. The flower of pepper is very small, and it produces spikes about four to eight centimeters long on leaf nodes. When the fruit is ripe, the length of the cuttings will increase to seven to fifteen centimeters. The soil suitable for the growth of black pepper should not be too dry, and it should not be easily affected by flooding and humidity. There should also be a good drainage system, rich in organic components. Cut off plant stems about 40 to 50 cm long, and tie them with adjacent trees or grids every two meters or so for reproduction; Trees with rough bark will be beneficial to the climbing of pepper vines. Plants competing with pepper will be cut down, leaving only enough trees to provide shade and ventilation. Pepper roots are covered with leaf mulch and fertilizer, and branches are pruned twice a year. In the dry season of the first three years after planting, plants in dry soil should be watered every other day. Plants bear fruit in the fourth or fifth year after planting, usually lasting seven years. Pepper can grow 20 to 30 spikes on its roots. When one or two berries at the bottom of the spike turn red, you can start harvesting; If allowed to mature, berries will lose their spicy taste and eventually fall off and be lost. The harvested cuttings will be exposed to the sun, and then the pepper seeds will fall off the cuttings.
yield
In 2005, Vietnam was the largest pepper producer and exporter in the world (90,000 tons). Other major pepper producers are India (70,000 tons), Indonesia (35,000 tons), Brazil (35,000 tons), Malaysia (65,438+09,000 tons), China (65,438+05,000 tons) and Sri Lanka (65,440 tons). Vietnam accounts for almost 50% of the world pepper export market, and almost all the peppers it produces are exported: in 2005, Vietnam exported 96 179 tons of pepper, India 15800 tons, Indonesia 29866 tons, Brazil 33977 tons, Malaysia 17044 tons and so on.
Edit the production process of this paragraph.
process technology
Black pepper is made from immature berries on pepper vines. Berries are first boiled in hot water for a while to clean their surfaces and prepare for drying. At the same time, heat will destroy the cell wall of fruit and accelerate the action of browning enzyme during drying. In the next few days, berries will be exposed to the sun or dried in the machine. In this process, due to the reaction of fungi, the peel wrapped around the seeds will gradually turn black and shrink, and finally become a thin wrinkled skin. After drying, the product is black pepper. White pepper is made from peeled seeds. White pepper is usually made of fully mature berries, which are soaked in water for about a week, during which the pulp will soften and gradually rot. After the pulp residue is removed by rubbing, the exposed seeds are dried. There are other processing methods to remove pulp, including removing the skin of black pepper made from immature berries. In the United States, white pepper is often used as a seasoning for light sauces or mashed potatoes, because black pepper is easily recognized in light-colored foods. It is controversial who is hotter, black pepper or white pepper. Because some components of the skin can't be found in the seeds, the smells of the two kinds of peppers are different.
Finished product making
Like black pepper, green pepper is made from immature berries. Dry green pepper remains green to some extent because it has been treated with sulfur dioxide or freeze-drying. Pepper seeds pickled with salt water or vinegar will also appear green. Fresh and untreated pepper berries are very rare in the west. They mainly appear in some Asian dishes, especially Thai dishes. [6] The smell of fresh pepper berries is spicy and fresh, and the aroma is rich. Peppers that are not dried or pickled will rot quickly. Pickling ripe red pepper berries with salt water and vinegar can make valuable red pepper; The color protection technology of dried green pepper can also be used to dry more rare mature red pepper seeds. The variety of red pepper in pepper is different from another more common "red pepper seed", which is the fruit of Schinus molle in Peru and its close relative Schinus terebinthifolius in Brazil. There used to be a debate about whether red pepper seeds are safe as food, but now this debate has subsided. Black pepper has nothing to do with pepper called "Sichuan pepper" in botany. Pepper seeds are usually classified according to origin or port of shipment. There are two famous varieties produced on the Indian Malabar coast: Malabard pepper and Delijeri pepper. Delijeri pepper is a high-grade pepper. The raw material of this pepper is the largest and most mature berry (about 10% of the total berries) produced by Malabard Zanthoxylum bungeanum on Delijeri Mountain. Sarawak pepper is produced in the Malaysian part of Borneo, Nanbang pepper is produced in Sumatra, Indonesia, and Montauk pepper is produced in Bangka, Indonesia.
Edit this paragraph history
Application of functional spices
Pepper has been used as a condiment in India since prehistoric times. J. Innes Miller wrote that although pepper is also grown in southern Thailand and Malaysia, its main source is India, especially the coastal area of Malabard, which is now Kerala. Pepper seeds called "black gold" are valuable trade commodities, and they are also used as physical currency. In English, the word "pepercorn" also has the extended meaning of "named rent". The ancient history of black pepper is often associated with (and confused with) long pepper. The Romans knew these two plants, but they only used a "piper" to describe them. In fact, it was not until the arrival of the new world and the discovery of pepper that pepper was no longer welcomed by Europeans. Because some peppers are similar in shape and taste after drying, and peppers can be planted in a wider area, which brings great convenience to Europeans. Black pepper was found in the nostrils of Pharaoh Ramses II's mummy, which should have been put in the mummification ceremony shortly after Pharaoh's death in 12 13. At present, little is known about the use of pepper in ancient Egypt and the way pepper was transported from India to the Nile Valley. As early as the 4th century BC, the Greeks knew about the existence of pepper and long pepper: although pepper was probably rare and expensive at that time, only the very rich could buy it. At that time, pepper was transported to Europe by land trade or along the waterway route of the Arabian Sea. Piper longum produced in southwest India is easier to obtain than pepper produced in the south; Due to the advantages of long bamboo slips trading and the stronger fragrance of long bamboo slips, the popularity of long bamboo slips in that era may have surpassed that of black pepper.
Make seasoning
Before the end of the Middle Ages, black pepper in markets in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa all came from Malabad. /kloc-In the 6th century, peppers were planted in parts of Southeast Asia such as Java, sunda islands, Sumatra, Madagascar and Malaysia, but most of the peppers planted in these areas were used for trade with China or to meet local demand. The port of Malabad is also a transit port for spice trade in the Far East of the Indian Ocean. Black pepper, together with other commodities from India and the Far East, opened the era of great geographical discovery and changed the course of world history. These precious commodities are one of the reasons that prompted Europeans to find new routes and establish colonies in India. At the same time, in the process of finding new routes, Europeans discovered and colonized America. In the early Roman Empire, especially 30 years after Rome conquered Egypt, the trade routes across the Arabian Sea to the Malabar coast of South India began to be busy. Eritrea's voyage recorded the details of this trade route across the Indian Ocean. According to the records of the Greek geographer Strappo, the early Roman Empire sent a fleet of about 120 seagoing ships to trade with India every year. The fleet regularly crosses the Arabian Sea every year to catch up with the annual monsoon. When returning from India, the fleet will stop at the port of the Red Sea, transport it to the Nile by land or canal, then transport it from the Nile to Alexandria, and finally transport it to Italy and Rome. During the 1500 years before the discovery of the new route, the route of spices such as pepper trading to Europe was basically the same as this route. Black pepper was a famous and widely used condiment in Roman Empire, although it was very expensive. Pepper was used in most recipes in the 3rd century cookbook Pepper. Edward gibbon wrote in his History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire that pepper is "a particularly common ingredient in the most luxurious Roman cooking"
prime
In ancient Europe, valuable pepper was often used as collateral, even as currency. With the decline of Rome, the delicious pepper (and its monetary value) was taken away by the conquerors. It is said that in the 5th century, Alaric I, a visigoth, and Attila, a Hun, both asked Rome to provide more than one ton of pepper when they surrounded Rome. After the fall of Rome, other countries began to intervene in the spice trade: first Persia, then Arabia; Innes Miller quoted an account of an eastward trip to India by the Byzantine writer Cosmas Indykop Leites as evidence that "pepper was still imported from India to Europe in the 6th century". At the end of the dark ages, Islamic forces controlled the middle route of spice trade. After entering the Mediterranean, trade was monopolized by Italian forces, especially Venice and Genoa. Spice trade is largely one of the reasons for the rise of these city-States. A riddle written by St. Yahao, Bishop of Shelburne in the 7th century, reflected the position of black pepper in England at that time: "I have black wrinkled skin on the outside, but my heart is burning violently. I can serve delicious food. I am the king of the table. I'm indispensable for sausages and tender meat. But unless you think about my inner self carefully, you will not find my value. " It is generally believed that in the Middle Ages, pepper was used to mask the rancid taste of meat. But there is no evidence to support this statement, and historians have different views: in the Middle Ages, pepper was a luxury that only the rich could afford, and the rich obviously did not eat carrion. Similarly, the argument that pepper is used as a preservative on a large scale is also problematic: piperine, a compound contained in pepper, does have a certain bactericidal effect, but the concentration of piperine in pepper used as spice is very low, which has little effect. In contrast, salt is a more effective preservative, and bacon is also a common food: especially in winter. However, meat preserved for a long time may need pepper and other spices to improve its taste. In the Middle Ages, pepper was very expensive-the pepper trade in Europe was monopolized by the Italians-which became the motivation for the Portuguese to find a new route to India. 1498, vasco da gama became the first European to arrive in India by sea. Arabs in Kallikat (who can speak Spanish and Italian) asked them why they came here, and he replied, "We are here for Christians and spices." After completing the first voyage around southern Africa to India, a large number of Portuguese quickly poured into the Arabian Sea and seized the absolute control of the Arabian Sea trade with powerful naval artillery. This is the first time that European countries have expanded their power to Asia. 1494 The Tolde silas Treaty gave this expansion legitimacy (at least from the perspective of Europe), and the treaty recognized Portuguese exclusive rights to half the world, including pepper producing areas.
Related historical records
The Portuguese soon proved that they could not control the spice trade. Arabs and Venetians successfully crossed the Portuguese blockade and smuggled a lot of spices. Therefore, in addition to the new route along Africa, the old route between Alexandria and Italy still exists. /kloc-In the 7th century, Portugal was replaced by the Netherlands and Britain in the Indian Ocean. From 16 1 to 1663, all the pepper ports along the Malabar coast fell into the hands of the Dutch. The scene of European businessmen harvesting pepper is taken from a scene in The Travels of Marco Polo. Due to the increase in the amount of pepper imported from Europe (although the total value of import trade has not changed on the whole), the price of pepper began to fall. In the early Middle Ages, chili, which was exclusive to the rich, began to enter the homes of ordinary people and became a daily condiment. The proportion of pepper in the world spice trade has also increased to one fifth. Historical Records Biography of Southwest Yi may be the earliest document of pepper in China. According to Records of the Historian, in the sixth year of Jianyuan (BC 135), Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Tang Meng to South Vietnam, and the king of South Vietnam treated Tang Meng with "stewed beef with vegetables", and told Tang Meng that "stewed beef with vegetables" was transported to Panyu City (near Guangzhou today) from Mangjiang River in Yelang. When Tang Meng returned to Chang 'an, he learned from businessmen that the "citric acid sauce" in Yelang market came from Sichuan (now Sichuan). [24] According to Li Shizhen's textual research, it is generally believed that "gourd sauce" or "sweet sauce" refers to the pepper plant Lou Ye [25], but there are also some different views, such as "Southern Vegetation" written by the Western Jin Dynasty, which is considered as long pepper [26], and some later generations think it is black pepper [27]. In addition, there are some views that glutinous rice paste is Hovenia dulcis Thunb, Lycium barbarum or konjac [25]. Although pepper may have been known to China before Wei and Jin Dynasties, it was introduced to China on a large scale in the Tang Dynasty. [28] Prime Minister Yuan Zai was killed for taking bribes, and 800 stone peppers were stolen goods [29]. According to "Youyang Miscellany", "Pepper, when it leaves many countries in Moga, is said to have no clear branch." At that time, people began to flavor meat products with pepper. [30] [28]/kloc-In the 20th century, black pepper has become a common seasoning in the dishes of dignitaries, and even partially replaced the original seasoning pepper in China. Kyle Poirot once described the consumption of pepper in Kinsai (present-day Hangzhou, Zhejiang), which showed the popularity of pepper in China in the third century: "... Kyle Poirot learned from an official of Khan Customs that 43 tons of pepper were listed every day, each weighing 223 pounds." [3 1] The words recorded in The Travels of Marco Polo are not very reliable, and the second-hand information provided in the travel notes is also questionable; However, if it is true that the daily consumption of pepper in a city mentioned in the travel notes reaches 10000 pounds (about 4500 kilograms), then the pepper import in Europe at that time was only 9 Niu Yi cents compared with China.
Edit the development value of this paragraph.
Drug application
Like all oriental spices, pepper has a long history as a spice and medicine. Long pepper with stronger flavor is usually the first choice, but both long pepper and black pepper are used as medicines. Black pepper is one of Indian herbs, Star and Unani medicines. In the 5th century AD, the Syrian Medical Book pointed out that pepper (in fact, it may refer to water chestnut) can treat constipation, diarrhea, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bite, insomnia, joint pain, liver disease, lung disease, oral abscess, sunburn, dental caries and toothache. In traditional Chinese medicine, black pepper can treat cold phlegm, dyspepsia, epigastric cold pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and cold dysentery, and can also be used to detoxify food poisoning. Many works after the 5th century also suggested that pepper be used to treat eye diseases. Generally speaking, the ointment made of pepper is directly applied to the eyes. In modern medicine, there is no evidence that these therapies are effective; It is uncomfortable to apply pepper directly to your eyes, and it may also cause harm to your eyes. Pepper has long been thought to make people sneeze; I think so now. Some people think that piperine can stimulate the nostrils and make people sneeze; Others think it's pepper, while others think pepper is not a very effective sneezing agent. However, few people have conducted experiments in a controlled environment to answer this question. Because peppers can irritate the intestines, patients who have undergone abdominal surgery or have abdominal ulcers should not have peppers in their diet: generally, milder foods will be used instead. Black pepper contains a small amount of safrole, which is a carcinogen.
Spice citation
The pungent taste of pepper mainly comes from the compound piperine, which exists in the peel and seeds. Calculated by mg, the spiciness of refined piperine is about 1% of capsaicin in pepper. The exocarp of pepper also contains terpenoids such as pinene, juniper, benzene, caryophyllene and linalool, which can produce odor. These are also substances that make lemons, trees and flowers smell. The aroma of pepper will be lost with the volatilization of chemicals, so sealed preservation is helpful to preserve the aroma of pepper for a long time. Under the irradiation of light, pepper will also lose some flavor, because piperine will be converted into almost tasteless isopiperine. After grinding into powder, the aroma of pepper will evaporate faster; Therefore, most cookbooks recommend not to grind pepper seeds before use. Hand-held pepper grinder can mechanically grind or crush pepper seeds to make pepper, and there are also commercially available peppers. Pepper grinder has existed in European kitchens since14th century, but earlier, it was a common method to grind pepper with mortar pestle.
Massage with spices
Black pepper has a strong pungent taste, and a little black pepper can achieve a good therapeutic effect. Especially suitable for refreshing and replenishing energy in an instant. In addition, it is found in aromatherapy that the pungent smell of black pepper essential oil can not only melt women's sexual apathy, but also be effective for middle-aged men. It is a beautiful bath essential oil for couples to increase their interest.
Edit this paragraph and other paragraphs.
prospect
In terms of monetary value, pepper is the most widely traded spice in the world. In 2002, world pepper imports accounted for 20% of spice imports. The price of pepper is unstable and fluctuates greatly every year; For example, the pepper import of 1998 accounts for 39% of all spice imports. [40] If calculated by weight, the annual trade volume of world pepper is slightly higher than that of pepper. International Pepper Exchange is located in Kochi, India.
Edible method
Pour 500 ml of water into the pot (of course, this is only an indefinite value, which can be determined according to your own needs), then boil the water, pour the Gidley white pepper seasoning into the pot, add one or two eggs, and then add the dishes to be cooked after the water is boiled. This method has the advantage of reducing the evaporation of pepper oil. This method is simple and suitable for today's society.