
A Guide to Black Pepper | Taste Test
- Lampong (origin: Indonesia)
- Tellicherry (origin: India)
- Brazilian
- Vietnamese
- Malabar (origin: India)
- Sarawak (origin: Malaysia)
- Talamanca (origin: Ecuador)
...
Black pepper | |
---|---|
Order: | Piperales |
Family: | Piperaceae |
Genus: | Piper |
Species: | P. nigrum |
What is the best brand of black pepper?
- The product is Kosher
- The product is Gluten free
- Great for meats, sauces, soups and salads
- Country of origin is Viet Nam
What are the different types of black pepper?
- Ecuador. See Talamanca del Caribe, below.
- Lampong. Cultivated on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, Lampong is a smaller-size corn, similar to Sarawak black peppercorns, but hotter than Sarawak due to a higher amount of piperine. ...
- Madagascar. ...
- Malabar. ...
- Sarawak. ...
- Talamanca Del Caribe. ...
Does black pepper and White Pepper taste the same?
White pepper has a milder taste, while black pepper is considered a more complex and pungent flavor. Black pepper also lasts longer, while white pepper can quickly become stale and lose its flavor very quickly.
What is the difference between black pepper and white pepper?
Similarities Between Black Pepper and White Pepper
- Black and white pepper are made from the fruit of the pepper plant.
- They have a spicy taste.
- Both are used as a spice.
See more

What kind of hot peppers are black?
Black Cobra chile peppers are typically harvested when they are black and are only in this stage for a few weeks before ripening into a bright red. The rare peppers are not commonly used fresh and are instead dried and ground, predominately used for their spicy taste.
Is there different types of black pepper?
Every black pepper variant has a unique taste, texture and aroma that fit perfectly with different dishes. There are over 600 varieties of the pepper spice but only a few are generally used as spices or in other applications. Vietnam is by far the largest exporter of black pepper with India being the largest consumer.
Is there a black hot pepper?
The Hungarian Black Pepper is a rare & colorful hungarian heirloom Chile, originating in the city of Kiskenfelegyhaza in modern day Hungary. Unique, black-colored fruits are the shape of a Jalapeño. They are mildly hot and have a delicious flavor.
What are small black peppers called?
Black Pearl Pepper One of the most popular ornamental peppers around, the Black Pearl is a real jewel, but not only for the tiny onyx black chili peppers themselves that age to a crimson red.
What is the difference between peppercorn and black pepper?
Black pepper, ubiquitous in table shakers and takeout packets, actually comes from peppercorn, the dried berry of a flowering vine native to Southeast Asia. The pepper most of us encounter is ground, and flavor and aroma-wise, a pale shadow of the whole peppercorn, freshly ground or cooked whole.
Which black pepper is best?
Tellicherry black peppercornsThen there are Tellicherry black peppercorns, which are often lauded by many as the best in the world. Tellicherry peppercorns have two defining characteristics. First, they are grown in India. Second, Tellicherry peppercorns are 4 millimeters or larger in size.
What are black jalapenos?
The Black Jalapeno pepper is a really cool Jalapeno pepper variety. These Black Jalapenos are prone to getting a black 'blush' on their shoulder where its side faces the sun. This Black Jalapeno was bred to be almost totally black, and it is sweet and tasty. Show this beauty off to your neighbors and gardening buddies.
Can you get black peppers?
Yes, growing black pepper is possible and here's a little more black pepper information which will make it even more worthy beyond saving a couple of dollars.
What is a black cobra pepper?
These black cobra peppers (or goats weed) are spicy hot. Mom calls it Ot Hiem (Dangerous pepper), we call it the Devil pepper and others say it's a thai chili variety. Though it looks like the typical thai chili from a distance, it's possesses at least 3 times the potency.
Why is black pepper so common?
When, during the early Roman Empire, new trade routes plied the coast of southwest India where black pepper was cultivated, the supply of piper nigrum greatly increased in the West. Like a knockoff handbag, the black pepper was close enough to long pepper that it was purchased in great quantity by spice-craving Romans.
Can you eat black chilli peppers?
Black pepper is considered safe for human consumption in the typical amounts used in food and cooking (2).
What does a poblano pepper look like?
Poblanos are dark green in color, wide at the stem and narrow along the length of the pepper. When they're mature, they're about four inches long and two inches wide. When left to fully ripen and dry out, the dehydrated and dried poblano peppers are called ancho chiles.
How is black pepper made?
Black pepper. Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying.
What is the name of the pepper plant?
Species: P. nigrum. Binomial name. Piper nigrum. L. Piper nigrum from an 1832 print. Black pepper ( Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning.
How to extract peppercorns from berries?
On some estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand and then sun-dried without boiling. After the peppercorns are dried, pepper spirit and oil can be extracted from the berries by crushing them. Pepper spirit is used in many medicinal and beauty products.
How to make white pepper?
This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week so the flesh of the peppercorn softens and decomposes; rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Sometimes the outer layer is removed from the seed through other mechanical, chemical, or biological methods.
How tall do pepper plants grow?
The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing up to 4 m (13 ft) in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate, entire, 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) long and 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) across. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.1 in) long at the leaf nodes, the spikes lengthening up to 7 to 15 cm (2.8 to 5.9 in) as the fruit matures.
What is pepper spirit?
Pepper spirit is used in many medicinal and beauty products. Pepper oil is also used as an ayurvedic massage oil and in certain beauty and herbal treatments. Ground black pepper and a plastic pepper shaker. Roughly cracked black peppercorns, also known as mignonette or poivre mignonette. Black and white peppercorns.
What is the most traded spice?
Black pepper is the world's most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers.
What is the smell of black peppercorns?
The peppercorns have a strong, earthy and smoky aroma with a hint of cinnamon. Lampong is the black peppercorn sold most often in the U.K.—they like their pepper hot—but the heat and flavor are extremely well-balanced, and they are milder than Malabar and Tellicherry.
Where does pepper come from?
From Turkey and Northern Syria (the town of Aleppo, a famous food mecca, is located in Syria near the Turkish border), this spice is used to add heat and pungency to Middle Eastern dishes. While most of the “peppers” in our glossary are berries, this is a moderately hot red chile that is sun-dried, seeded and crushed.
What is the difference between Malabar pepper and Tellicherry?
Berries that become Tellicherry (see below) grow together on the same vine, but Malabar pepper is picked from the lower part of the vine and is picked earlier (and less ripe than) Tellicherry— when the berries have turned from green to yellow. The Malabar corns have a slightly greenish hue.
What peppercorns go well with steak?
Use It: The piperines will ratchet up the pepperiness of anything: It goes well with steak. This is a peppercorn for those who love hot chiles. Tellicherry. Tellicherry is the best-known black peppercorn in the world, produced from the largest and best 10% of the berries on the vine.
Where are Lampong peppercorns grown?
Ecuador. See Talamanca del Caribe, below. Lampong. Cultivated on the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, Lampong is a smaller-size corn, similar to Sarawak black peppercorns, but hotter than Sarawak due to a higher amount of piperine. The peppercorns have a strong, earthy and smoky aroma with a hint of cinnamon.
What is the largest pepper in Chile?
See our Chile Pepper Glossary. BLACK PEPPER. The black peppercorn, Piper nigrum, is the largest category of pepper: corns are available from a variety of origins. Some are more robust, some more delicate; some have notes of pine, some have cinnamon spice.
What is the difference between Aleppo pepper and crushed red pepper?
It has a moderate heat level and fruity notes with mild, cumin-like undertones. If you use crushed red pepper (a pizza staple), it is much more flavorful and complex than generic crushed red pepper, and without its harshness. Aleppo Pepper: A smoky nose and a fruity palate.
Why Are My Peppers Turning Black?
The most likely reason that your peppers are turning black is that they are ripening. All peppers will change color when they reach a fully mature state, including jalapeños, bell peppers, banana peppers, and poblanos.
Black Pepper Varieties
While some of the common peppers briefly turn black before ripening, other varieties are black from the start. There are many different shapes and sizes of black peppers you can grow from seed.
Blossom End Rot
If you are growing bell peppers or other large varieties, you may be dealing with blossom end rot. This condition is not actually rot, but a calcium uptake issue that is linked to watering.
Black Spots On Peppers (Disease or Pests)
The final reason you may be seeing your peppers turn black is from pests or disease. There are many pests that can impact pepper plants, and sometimes the symptoms come as black spots on the fruits.
What color is a bell pepper?
Bell pepper is on the larger side and has the shape of a bell, hence the name. When it is immature, it is green in color and tastes slightly bitter. As it matures, it becomes red and has a sweeter taste. You can find bell peppers in orange, yellow, pink, white, and purple varieties.
What is the spiciest pepper?
The cayenne pepper has a Scoville unit of 30,000 to 50,000 making this one of the spiciest peppers. It is a slim pepper with a tapered end. It is also referred to as a finger child, Ginnie pepper, or bird pepper. It is commonly dried and ground, and sold as cayenne pepper powder. This pepper is ideal for dishes like chili con carne. Cayenne peppers are usually red, but it is possible to find cayenne gold peppers, which are a yellow color.
What is the hottest pepper in the world?
Habanero peppers are hot. They have Scoville units of 150,000 to 350,000, which makes them one of the hottest peppers you can find. What is most interesting about the habanero is that underneath the heat, there is a touch of sweetness. These peppers are small and look like a bulb. They are part of the Scotch Bonnet family. These peppers are incredibly popular in Mexico and the Caribbean. They are ideal for making a hot sauce.
What is a bird's eye pepper?
The bird’s eye pepper is a spicy Thai pepper. It falls somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 heat units which make it similar to cayenne and habanero peppers. It is one type of Thai pepper, and it brings a fair amount of heat to hot sauce. This pepper is used in chili powder.
What is a mirasol pepper?
The mirasol chili pepper has Scoville units of 2,500 to 5,000, which is the same amount of heat you would expect from a jalapeño but a little sweeter. These peppers are red and point towards the sun while they grow. When they are dried, they are called guajillo. Drying these peppers change their taste slightly. They become tangy, fruity, and slightly acidic. They are commonly used in al pastor and a mole sauce.
How many heat units does a Shishito pepper have?
The shishito pepper ranges from 50 to 200 heat units. This is a mild pepper but what is interesting about it is that there is often a spicy shishito in the bunch of peppers. You will not know which one is spicy until you bite into the pepper. They are picked while they are still green. The riper they are means, the spicier they will be. They can be seared in a pan and eaten alone. They are perfect for adding to pizza. They can also be roasted, drizzles with sauce or oil, and eaten.
What is an Anaheim pepper?
The Anaheim pepper has a Scoville unit of 500 to 2,500, making it a mild type of pepper. It goes by several different names, including Chile Verde, California green Chile, and New Mexican Chile. The Anaheim pepper is long and green when it has not matured. Once it matures, it turns deep red and maybe called Chile Colorado. This pepper is most often used in salsa. These peppers are the ones most often found in canned peppers.
What are the different types of peppers?
All types of peppers are part of the genus Capsicum, which includes hot varieties, also known as chile peppers, and sweet varieties, such as the bell pepper. Up until the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the New World, peppers grew only in Latin America. Along with corn, tomatoes, and beans, the Europeans brought back some ...
What is the name of the pepper that turns red?
Bell Pepper. Alternate Names: Green pepper, red pepper, sweet bell pepper, capsicum. Characteristics: Relatively large in size, the bell-shaped pepper in its immature state is green with a slightly bitter flavor. As it matures, it turns bright red and becomes sweeter.
How hot is a pepper?
The heat of a pepper is measured using Scoville units: The scale ranges from 0 (as in bell peppers) all the way to 3,000,000 (as in the spiciest chile in the world, the Pepper X). Most dried chiles you will encounter fall somewhere in the middle but can still be pretty hot!
How many inches is tabasco pepper?
At maturity, the pepper measures one to two inches and is bright red. To create the famous tabasco sauce, the pepper is smashed and combined with salt and vinegar, which tempers the pepper's heat (the Scoville rating of tabasco sauce is 2,500 to 5,000 — a mere fraction of its rating as a pepper).
How many types of peppers are there?
20 Types of Peppers and Their Uses. From spicy to sweet, these are the peppers that flavor dishes around the world. All types of peppers are part of the genus Capsicum, which includes hot varieties, also known as chile peppers, and sweet varieties, such as the bell pepper. Up until the arrival of Spanish and Portuguese explorers in the New World, ...
What color are serranos?
Characteristics: Just a couple of inches long, with a tapered end, this small pepper packs quite a bit of heat. Beware: The smaller the pepper, the hotter it is. When ripe, serranos are red or yellowish orange—they can be cooked in both their ripe and unripe states. Serranos are common in Mexican and Thai cooking.
What are the characteristics of habanero?
If you can get past the heat, habañeros also have a fruity flavor . They're popular on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and in the Caribbean, where they're used to make hot sauces.
How to tell if peppers are going bad?
Another important sign of pepper going bad is if the color has changed. The normal colors which may signal different stages of ripening include green, yellow and red. Brown or black/brown blotches signal spoilage and that you should throw out the peppers.
How to tell if a pepper is rotten?
Give the peppers a soft feel, checking for the firmness of their flesh. Fresh peppers have smooth skins and remain firm to touch, while rotten ones look wrinkly and feel soft. This means that the pepper is nearing its last stage of freshness and should be eaten soon.
Is it safe to eat black pepper seeds?
The blackening of pepper seeds is commonly associated with spoilage, but it doesn’t always mean that it should be discarded. Thus, the importance of knowing what this blackening really means, if peppers with black seeds are safe for consumption as well as other tell-tale signs of spoilage.
What is a dried poblano pepper?
That’s a dried poblano pepper. Poblano peppers have mild to medium heat, one step up from the banana peppers and pimentos. When fresh, roasting is a popular cooking method. They’re also the pepper of choice in chile relleno.
What is a banana pepper?
Banana pepper. Also a sweet pepper, they’re often used on deli sandwiches. They’re also good in salads (you’ll usually see them in antipasto at Italian joints) and on pizza. They have a little more tang to them than bell peppers.
What peppers can light your mouth on fire?
Cayenne. Hotter than serranos, cayenne peppers can light your mouth on fire. In addition to red cayenne peppers you’re likely used to seeing, you can also find cayenne gold peppers, which are yellow. 35,000 to 50,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
What is a chipotle pepper?
As one of the more common peppers to cook with, they go great in everything from chilis and soups to salads. A chipotle pepper is simply a smoked jalapeno pepper.
How many units does Scoville pepper have?
It starts at zero units with the bell pepper and goes up to 16 million units, which is pure capsaicin. Most commercially available peppers don’t crack the 300,000 to 500,000 range, but a few of them are in the millions.
What peppers are used in frying?
Cuban pepper (or cubanelle pepper) These are popular peppers to fry, but you can also use them instead of bell peppers in various dishes to add a different flavor. Still mild in heat, they’re considered sweet peppers. 1,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)
How hot are sweet peppers?
These sweet peppers can range from very mild to hot. They have thick flesh, bright yellow in color, smooth texture, and shiny surface. They can be stuffed and cooked, roasted, seared on the grill, pickled, or chopped up raw for salads and crudites. 100 to 15,000 Scoville Heat Units (SHU)

Overview
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed. Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper, or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and d…
Etymology
The word pepper derives from Old English pipor, Latin piper, and Sanskrit pippali for "long pepper". In the 16th century, people began using pepper to also mean the unrelated New World chili pepper (genus Capsicum).
Varieties
Processed peppercorns come in a variety of colours, any one of which may be used in food preparation, especially common peppercorn sauce.
Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The drupes dry in t…
Plants
The pepper plant is a perennial woody vine growing up to 4 m (13 ft) in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate, entire, 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) long and 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) across. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.1 in) long at the leaf nodes, the spikes lengthening up to 7 to 15 cm (2.8 to 5.9 in) as the fruit matures.
Production and trade
In 2020, Vietnam was the world's largest producer and exporter of black peppercorns, producing 270,192 tonnes or 36% of the world total (table). Other major producers were Brazil, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka, China, and Malaysia. Global pepper production varies annually according to crop management, disease, and weather. Peppercorns are among the most widely traded spice in the world, accounting for 20% of all spice imports.
History
Black pepper is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. J. Innes Miller notes that while pepper was grown in southern Thailand and in Malaysia, its most important source was India, particularly the Malabar Coast, in what is now the state of Kerala. The lost ancient port city of Muziris in Kerala, famous for exporting black pepper and various other spices, gets mentioned in a number of classical historical sources for i…
Traditional medicine, phytochemicals, and research
Like many eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a traditional medicine. Pepper appears in the Buddhist Samaññaphala Sutta, chapter five, as one of the few medicines a monk is allowed to carry. Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used. Black pepper (or perhaps long pepper) was believed to cure several illnesses, such as constipation, insomnia, oral abscesses, sunburn, and toothaches, among others. Various …
Flavour
Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from piperine derived from both the outer fruit and the seed. Black pepper contains between 4.6 and 9.7% piperine by mass, and white pepper slightly more than that. Refined piperine, by weight, is about one percent as hot as the capsaicin found in chili peppers. The outer fruit layer, left on black pepper, also contains aroma-contributing terpenes, including germacrene (11%), limonene (10%), pinene (10%), alpha-phellandrene (9%), and beta-caryo…