Black pepper

“ In structure it does not bear a close resemblance to black pepper, as its pepper corns, or berries, and husks all harden together on a long, central, irregular, climbing stem, much in the same way that in the pines the seed and covering are all hardened into one cone. It not only has more woody fiber but brings with it much more sand, which is found imbedded in the crevices of the irregular fruit, than is found in ordinary pepper. ”

“ Black pepper is a powerful stimulant, carminative, and rubefacient. Its use in moderation, as a condiment, is peculiarly serviceable to persons who are of cold habit, or who suffer from weak digestion ”

“ Although the white pepper has the name of being a superior article, it is not. It is very true that only the marrow of the black pepper berries can be used to make white pepper, and the product does have an exquisite flavor; but since the greater strength lies in the outer cover, there is some doubt as to the quality of the white pepper. Moreover, the real goodness of the pepper is, in fact, not improved by this process, as the water injures its strength, the outer husk contains more of the aroma, and the quality of the pepper removed is almost proportionate to the weight of the pepper corn. ”

“ If the berries are left too long on the vines they lose part of their aromatic, pungent hot taste, and if gathered too soon they become broken and dusty in drying. After drying, when they become black and shriveled up, they are cleaned and winnowed. Good black pepper is firm and not too deeply wrinkled, does not easily crumble or break in the hand, it is also heavy and readily sinks in water. The inner seed should be hard, round and smooth and of a grayish-brown color. ”

“ Black pepper is the fruit of a shrubby creeping plant, which grows wild in the East Indies, and is cultivated, with much advantage, for the sake of its berries, in Java and Malabar. The berries are gathered before they are ripe, and are dried in the sun. They become black and corrugated on the surface. ”

“ The ash in black peppers does not exceed from 4-10 to 7-10 per cent., and in white, 4-10 per cent.; it is fair to believe that anything above 5 per cent. for black and 2 per cent. for white is suspicious. The volatile oil, to which pepper owes its flavor, varies in black pepper from 1.69 to .70, and in white 1.26 to .57 are found, but this determination is not of great value as a means of detecting adulterations.
Piperine, which is a neutral crystalline substance, and resin, to which the pepper owes its pungency, of which it yields about two per cent. ”

“ The black pepper is not as simple in its arrangement as the white, the maturity of the white giving it distinctness, while the shrunken character of the black berry makes the recognition of its various tissues difficult. ”

“ The pepper-tree is a tall bush-like plant, that, when trained and supported with props, will attain a height varying from fifteen to eighteen feet. The pepper grows in small, grape-like bunches, which are first red, then green, and lastly, nearly black. The plant begins to bear in the second year.
White pepper is not a natural production, but is obtained by dipping the black pepper several times in sea-water: this causes it to lose its colour, and become a dirty white. The price of a pikul of white pepper is six dollars (24s.) , whereas that of a pikul of black is only three dollars (12s.) ”

“ Long pepper, referred to by the Greeks as piperi macron, is the unripe fruit of a species of pepper, an inch or more in length and and shaped like a spike. The flavor is similar to that of ordinary black pepper. African pepper is another variety. Those best known to the western markets are Penang, Tellicherry and Malabar.
Cumin or cummin is a small herbaceous plant, native to Egypt and very early cultivated in the Mediterranean countries. It is now grown in India, Sicily and Malta, the seeds only being valuable. ”

“ The long pepper men clepe Sorbotin, and the black pepper is clept Fulfulle, and the white pepper is clept Bano. The long pepper cometh first when the leaf beginneth to come, and it is like the cats of hazel that cometh before the leaf, and it hangeth low. And after cometh the black with the leaf, in manner of clusters of raisins, all green. And when men have gathered it, then cometh the white that is somedeal less than the black. And of that men bring but little into this country; for they beyond withhold it for themselves, because it is better and more attempre in kind than the black. ”

“ In the next class may be mentioned black pepper, the same as from the East Indies, long pepper, Malaguetta, or grains of Paradise, red pepper of various sorts, but particularly the Cayenne, a species of ginger, cardamums, wild nutmegs, and cinnamon. ”

“ The ground black pepper of the shops is universally adulterated; in fact, the public taste and judgment are so vitiated that the pure spice is unsaleable. A most respectable London firm, on commencing business, supplied their customers with unadulterated ground pepper, but in 3 cases out of every 4 it was returned on their hands and objected to, on account of its dark colour and rich pungency, which had induced the belief that it was sophisticated. ”

“ The pungent taste and peculiar smell of pepper are familiar to all. [Pg 580]
Microscopic Structure—The transverse section of a grain of black pepper exhibits a soft yellowish epidermis, covering the outer pericarp. This is formed of a closely-packed yellow layer of large, mostly radially arranged, thick-walled cells, each containing in its small cavity a mass of dark brown resin. The middle layer of the pericarp consists of soft, tangentially-extended parenchyme, containing an abundance of extremely small starch granules and drops of oil. ”

“ The pepper-corns grow in bunches close to each other. They are first green, but afterwards turn black. When dried they are separated from the dust and partly from the outward membranous coat by means of a kind of winnow, and are then laid up in warehouses. The white pepper is the same production as the black. ”

“ The fruit grows so close together on the spike that when ripe they become one solid mass. There is also a variety of long pepper called elephant pepper. Long peppers are mostly used for pickles. A medium, called Pippua moola, is made from the roots and stems; it is very stimulating.
Cubeb peppers are the berries of the vine Cubeb officinalis, a product of Java, Borneo and Sumatra, but mostly imported by way of Batavia and Canton. They are of a gray color, about the size of black pepper, somewhat longer, more wrinkled and with a short slender stalk. They have a hot, camphor taste. ”

“ So far as I know the spices most commonly used are white pepper, paprika, cassia, mace, cloves, bay leaves, and celery salt. Black pepper should not be used at it makes black specks in the soup which are apt to be mistaken for dirt. About 7 oz. of white pepper to 100 gallons of finished soup will give it sufficient spiciness. If paprika is used this can be cut down somewhat. Cassia, mace or cloves are used in small amount, 1 oz. ”

“ Sometimes a mixture of about equal parts of black and red pepper helps very much to impart a good flavor to the meat. It was thought formerly that black pepper, applied to meat before smoking it, would keep the bacon bug (Dermestes) “skippers” from being troublesome. But it is now known that the skipper skips just as lively where the pepper is. The meat is hung upon sticks or on hooks overhead very close together, without actually touching, and is ready for smoking. ”

“ The original of this word, Skt. pippali, means not the ordinary pepper of commerce ('black pepper') but long pepper, and the Sanskrit name is still so applied in Bengal, where one of the long-pepper plants, which have been classed sometimes in a different genus (Chavica) from the black pepper, was at one time much cultivated. There is still indeed a considerable export of long pepper from Calcutta; and a kindred species grows in the Archipelago. Long pepper is mentioned by Pliny, as well as white and black pepper ”

“ Why, would you believe it, this must be the little paper of black pepper I had in my pack. Lub was asking for some this morning, while cooking breakfast; and when he handed it back to me I must have dropped it in my pocket without thinking what I was doing, meaning to put it on the shelf when I stood up. Hurrah! if ever a pinch of pepper was worth its weight in gold that time is now. ”

“ This plant has a red fibrous bark, of which as much use is made in manufacturing cordage as of the embira branca; but the bark ought not be permitted to be gathered, for the tree produces seeds, of which the capsules have the taste and the pungency of black pepper. Many persons make use of them as a spice in cooking, and some even prefer them to pepper; they are carminative. If the bark is taken off, the tree dies; the seeds are worthy of becoming an article of trade as a spice. ”

“ As in the case of black pepper, the fruit is collected before maturity and dried. The fruit is about the size of the pepper, but has a stalk-like prolongation which distinguishes it. The pericarp becomes much shriveled and wrinkled on drying.
Cubebs are cultivated in special plantations or with coffee for which they provide shade by spreading from the trees which serve as their support. Their cultivation is said to be easy.
Cubebs have a pungent, bitter taste and a characteristic aromatic odor. It cannot readily be confounded with any of the other more common spices. ”

“ For Piles in aged and debilitated persons the following Confection is often of great service: Take {124} of Black Pepper in fine powder, 1 ounce; Caraway fruit in fine powder, 11⁄2 ounce; Honey, 71⁄2 ounces. Rub them well together in a mortar, and give from one to two drachms twice or thrice daily. It proves useful also in the case of old and weak people suffering from Descent of the Rectum. An infusion of Black Pepper (2 drachms of bruised Pepper to 1 pint of Boiling Water) forms a useful stimulant gargle in Relaxed Sore Throat, and Hoarseness dependent thereon. ”

“ All the species of pepper possess a strongly aromatic smell, and a hot, pungent taste. The long sort, being the most powerful, is generally employed for medicinal purposes: the black is chiefly used in culinary preparations. On account of their heating and stimulating properties, however, the use of every sort requires some circumspection.
Pepper is an excellent spice, which should always be coarsely ground, and eaten only with fat, smoked, or tough animal food ”

“ If the berries be left on the vines until over-ripe they lose their pulpy husk by natural decay and thus become actually white pepper, altho in reality they are the kernels of black pepper.
Singapore white are berries cultivated in the neighboring islands and the husks are removed at Singapore by hand and friction before the berries are fully dried. Penang white is really grown at Sumatra, but imported into Penang in a dried state. There the berries are soaked in lime and water for several weeks, until the pulp is soft, when it is rubbed off by hand and washing ”

“ The white pepper is merely the black deprived of its outside skin. For this purpose the finest red berries are selected, and put in baskets to steep, either in running water, or in pits dug for the purpose, near the banks of rivers. Sometimes they are only buried in the ground. ”

“ The black, or white pepper of to-day, was then so costly that "to promise a saint yearly a pound of it was considered a liberal bequest." And therefore the leaves of wild Cresses were eaten as a substitute for giving pungency to the food. Remarkable among these was the Dittander Sativus, a species found chiefly near the sea, with foliage so hot and acrid, that the plant then went by the name of "Poor-man's Pepper," or "Pepper Wort." Pliny said, "It is of the number of scorching and blistering Simples." "This herbe," says Lyte, "is fondly and unlearnedly called in English Dittany. ”

“ The products are manifold—guavas, mangoes, lemons, oranges, bananas, plantains, shaddocks, bread-fruit, etc.; and sugar, rice, sweet potatoes, ginger, areca, and cocoa-nuts, coffee, cloves, some nutmegs, and black and white pepper. My gharrie driver took me to see a Chinese pepper plantation—to me the most interesting thing that I saw on a very long and hot drive. Pepper is a very profitable crop. The vine begins to bear in three or four years after the cuttings have been planted, and yields two crops annually for about thirteen years. ”

“ Drinking, however, is on the decline amongst them of late years, since "it has been fully demonstrated that men can endure the chilling hardships of river-driving quite as well, and indeed far better, without the stimulus of ardent spirits, and perform more and better-directed labour." Black pepper tea is drunk on cold nights when camping in the open air, and is found a warming and comfortable beverage. Both in drink and diet the loggers look more to strength than to delicacy. Salt pork, ship bread, and molasses, compose the staple of their consumption. ”

“ In a short time, boil up the vinegar again, add pepper and ginger in the above proportion, and instantly cover them up. Tie them down with bladder, and in a few days they will be fit for use.
[Illustration: LONG PEPPER.]
LONG PEPPER.—This is the produce of a different plant from that which produces the black, it consisting of the half-ripe flower-heads of what naturalists call Piper longum and chaba. It is the growth, however, of the same countries; indeed, all the spices are the produce of tropical climates only. ”