PEPPER

The Black or White powdered pepper used as a condiment is the ground fruit of the Piper nigrum L., a perennial climbing shrub, native to the forests of western and southern India but for centuries cultivated also on the Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra, Java, Ceylon and Siam, and to a limited extent in Borneo and various other tropical countries. The fruit is a small, round berry, the "peppercorn," growing in loosely packed clusters of from twenty to thirty, closely attached to a common fruit stalk, a good vine producing an annual average of from one to two pounds. Pieces of the stalk may often be found in whole black pepper and examination will show the depressions formed where the berries were attached. The shrub or vine grows to a height of eight to twelve feet and is supported either by poles or trees. The peppercorns are exported in bags of 64 or 128 lbs.

Black Pepper: consists of the dried immature berries of the shrub, gathered as soon as one or two on the clusters commence to turn red. After removal from the stem, they are dried in the sun or near a mild fire, the outer fleshy portion of the berry shriveling in the process, turning brown or black and becoming hard, brittle and adherent to the stony, inner portion, thus forming a hardened wrinkled cortex.

Among the principal commercial varieties listed in a recent government report are Malabar (Mangalore, Tellichery, Alleppey, etc.), Singapore, Penang and Trang, Acheen (or Sumatra or West Coast) and Lampong (or East Coast), named either from the place of cultivation or that of shipment.

Malabar Peppers are those from the Malabar Coast of India. "Mangalore" peppercorns are very large, twice the size of ordinary pepper, of a deep black, very clean and uniform, giving when ground a powder of greenish-black appearance. "Tellicherry" and "Alleppey" are sun-dried and light-brown.

Sinapore Pepper is that grown on the Malay Peninsula, principally in the southern extremity known as the State of Johore. It constitutes a considerable portion of all the pepper raised and, because of its dark color and fairly uniform quality, is a product of good appearance. It is not, however, so highly regarded for grinding purposes because of its smoky odor. The pepper and gambier plantations of Johore are usually under one management, and the pepper is dried by placing it on mats suspended over the kettles in which the gambier is boiled down to make the vegetable extract. The smoke from the furnace underneath dries the pepper but at the same time imparts to it a distinctly smoky smell, which is retained to a considerable degree even after the pepper is ground. It is, indeed, one of the tests by which the pepper merchant determines whether a given sample is Singapore or not.

Trang and Penang Pepper, shipped from Penang, is grown in either Java or Sumatra. It is of especially rich color.

Acheen, Sumatra or West Coast, are names applied to the pepper obtained from Acheen, the western extremity of the Island of Sumatra.

Lampong Pepper or East Coast, is grown on the east end of the Island of Sumatra, near the Straits of Sunda.

As a general rule, the heavier the peppercorns for size, the better the grade. They should be firm and round, clean and uniform in appearance and not too much furrowed.

Acheen Pepper has been standardized by general agreement and the four chief grades are now determined by their specific gravity.

"A" grade weighs at least 4 lbs. 13 oz. to the imperial gallon or 481 grams per liter.

"B" grade weighs at least 4 lbs. 5 oz. to the imperial gallon or 431 grams per liter.

"C" grade weighs at least 3 lbs. 13 oz. to the imperial gallon or 381 grams per liter.

"D" grade weighs at least 3 lbs. 5 oz. to the imperial gallon or 356 grams per liter.

(Dust not to exceed 3% in any class.)

The many advantages of this method will probably result in its extension to all Black Peppers in the near future. The other varieties described in this article are generally superior to Acheen and give much higher results on the weight test. Alleppey, for example, sometimes goes as high as 6 lbs. 12 oz. to the Imperial gallon and contains practically no dust; Tellicherry ranges from 6 lbs. to 6 lbs. 12 oz. and is equally clean; Lampong averages about 6 lbs., with a dust percentage of 1 1/2% to 3%, and Singapore from 5 lbs. to 5 oz. to 5 lbs. 8 oz., the dust though ranging up to 4%.

U. S. Standard Black Pepper is black pepper free from added pepper shells, pepper dust and other pepper by-products, and containing not less than 6% of non-volatile ether extract; not less than 25% of starch by the diastase method; not less than 28% of starch by direct inversion; not more than 7% of total ash; not more than 2% of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid, and not more than 15% of crude fibre. One hundred parts of the non-volatile ether extract contain not less than 3.25 parts of nitrogen.

White Pepper: is practically the same product as Black Pepper except that the outer shell or pericarp of the berry is removed to a greater or less extent by friction, following soaking in water. It is sometimes made at the plantations, but just as frequently by manufacturers who buy the peppercorns in open market. Some manufacturers prefer, for White Pepper, berries that have been allowed to ripen before picking as they are more easily decorticated, but this is not an universal rule.

Decorticated White Pepper is the term applied to the product which, in addition to losing the outer dark shell, has also had the seed-coats partly or entirely removed. There are numerous qualities according to the length to which the process has been carried. The most expensive is that from which all three seed-coats have been removed, producing smooth, hard, pearly kernels. Other grades retain one or two seed-coats.

There are several varieties of White Pepper on the market, corresponding in a general way with Black Pepper, such as Singapore, Penang, Tellicherry, Siam, etc.

Coriander White Pepper is a product of especially attractive appearance--screened to uniform size and then bleached.

Pepper Shells is the by-product of external shell or cuticle obtained in the manufacture of White Pepper.

U. S. Standard White Pepper is white pepper containing not less than 6% of nonvolatile ether extract; not less than 50% of starch by the diastase method; not less than 40% of starch by direct inversion; not more than 4% of total ash; not more than .5% of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid, and not more than 5% of crude fibre. One hundred parts of the non-volatile ether extract contain not less than 4 parts of nitrogen.

Ground Pepper: whether black or white, should consist only of whole or hulled peppercorns reduced to proper fineness by grinding and sieving.

Long Pepper: is chiefly derived from wild plants of the genus Chavica Miq. The fruit spikes, gathered when green, are cylindrical in form and covered with closely packed, small round berries. The product is crudely prepared, the berries hardened together and adhering to the woody stem, and generally including a large quantity of dirt and other extraneous matter. It does not possess the fine flavor or strength of true pepper and its addition is rated as adulteration. Its principal use is for pickles.

Red Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Paprika. Red Pepper is the powdered ripe pod, both flesh and seeds, of any variety of capsicum, the plant which gives us the edible fresh "pepper" but which bears no relation to the true pepper-plant. The most noted varieties are the capsicum baccatum, capsicum frutescens and capsicum fastigiatum, all distinguished by very small narrow pods--varying from one-half to one and one-half inch in length--cultivated in the East and West Indies, Mexico and the Southern States.

Cayenne Pepper is, by the ruling of the Board of Food and Drug Inspection, 1906, distinguished from Red Pepper in general as being obtained only from small-fruited varieties of capsicum--the three types named above or similar varieties. It should be of dull red color. The best known commercial varieties are Zanzibar, Mombassa, Sierra Leone and Japan, the last-named being less pungent than the others.

"Nepaul Pepper," from a capsicum grown in Nepaul, India, is a choice variety of Cayenne Pepper, yellowish-red and very pungent but of especially agreeable flavor.

U. S. Standard Cayenne Pepper is cayenne pepper containing not less than 15% of non-volatile ether extract; not more than 6.5% of total ash; not more than .5% of ash insoluble in hydrochloric acid; not more than 1.5% of starch by the diastase method, and not more than 28% of crude fibre.

Cayenne is a powerful stimulant, producing a sense of heat in the stomach and a general glow throughout the body without narcotic effect. In small amounts it is an aid to digestion, particularly of vegetables, which partly accounts for its general use in warm weather.