*casper*
9 Sep 2004, 11:48 AM
Black pepper is such a common pantry item these days, it may be hard to believe it was once so valuable that it was used as currency. We take it for granted, but the vast majority of savory recipes include some form of black pepper as an ingredient. Pepper is ranked the third most added ingredient to recipes, with water and salt leading the race. To get basic ground black pepper, one must begin with whole peppercorns, not as commonly used nowadays, but definitely a culinary experience extraordinaire. Before trying the recipes, take a look at...
Peppercorn history
Peppercorns are the seed berries of the Piper nigrum (piper being Latin for plant, and nigrum meaning black) vine originating on the Malabar coast of India. Peppercorns are not only the oldest used spice, but also the most widely-used. Said to be found more than 4,000 years ago, it was cultivated as long ago as 1000 B.C. Pepper was considered so valuable that unscrupulous suppliers often mixed in mustard husks, juniper berries, and even floor sweepings and ground charcoal to stretch its value. In 1875, the British Sale of Food and Drugs Law imposed restrictions against the selling of adulterated pepper. Today, pepper, known as the King of Spices and the Master Spice, still accounts for one-fourth of the world's spice trade. Tunisians lead in pepper consumption with half a pound per person per year, whereas Americans consume about one-quarter pound per year.
Although always prized as a flavor-enhancing spice, the peppercorn first gained fame for medicinal purposes as a digestive stimulant and expectorant. Its hot and pungent flavor causes the membranes inside the nose and throat to exude a lubricating secretion, helpful to those in respiratory distress as an aid to cough up offending phlegm and mucus. Pepper was also used in an external ointment to relieve skin afflictions and hives.
Black pepper is also an effective deterrant to insects. A solution of one-half teaspoon freshly ground pepper to one quart of warm water sprayed on plants can be toxic to ants, potato bugs, silverfish, and even roaches and moths. A sprinkling of ground pepper will also deter insect paths in non-garden areas.
Pepper lore and legend
During the Middle Ages, peppercorns were worth their weight in gold. Wealthy aristocrats kept stores of peppercorns as collateral, since all recognized their value as currency. Peppercorns were accepted as payment for rents and debts. Original exploration voyages to the Far East were initiated in search of valuable spices such as pepper. Pepper was considered one of the five essential luxuries upon which foreign trade with the Roman empire was based, the others being African ivory, Chinese silk, German amber, and Arabian incense. The term "peppercorn rent" is often used to denote a pittance, but in medieval times, a pound of pepper was the equivalent of a pound of gold or up to three weeks' labor for trade purposes. When the king of the Visigoths put forth his demands for release of the city of Rome in 408 A.D., three thousand pounds of pepper were on his ransom note.
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for the rest of the story (:D ) go here
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa091100a.htm?nl=1
Some of this information is really cool!!!
Peppercorn history
Peppercorns are the seed berries of the Piper nigrum (piper being Latin for plant, and nigrum meaning black) vine originating on the Malabar coast of India. Peppercorns are not only the oldest used spice, but also the most widely-used. Said to be found more than 4,000 years ago, it was cultivated as long ago as 1000 B.C. Pepper was considered so valuable that unscrupulous suppliers often mixed in mustard husks, juniper berries, and even floor sweepings and ground charcoal to stretch its value. In 1875, the British Sale of Food and Drugs Law imposed restrictions against the selling of adulterated pepper. Today, pepper, known as the King of Spices and the Master Spice, still accounts for one-fourth of the world's spice trade. Tunisians lead in pepper consumption with half a pound per person per year, whereas Americans consume about one-quarter pound per year.
Although always prized as a flavor-enhancing spice, the peppercorn first gained fame for medicinal purposes as a digestive stimulant and expectorant. Its hot and pungent flavor causes the membranes inside the nose and throat to exude a lubricating secretion, helpful to those in respiratory distress as an aid to cough up offending phlegm and mucus. Pepper was also used in an external ointment to relieve skin afflictions and hives.
Black pepper is also an effective deterrant to insects. A solution of one-half teaspoon freshly ground pepper to one quart of warm water sprayed on plants can be toxic to ants, potato bugs, silverfish, and even roaches and moths. A sprinkling of ground pepper will also deter insect paths in non-garden areas.
Pepper lore and legend
During the Middle Ages, peppercorns were worth their weight in gold. Wealthy aristocrats kept stores of peppercorns as collateral, since all recognized their value as currency. Peppercorns were accepted as payment for rents and debts. Original exploration voyages to the Far East were initiated in search of valuable spices such as pepper. Pepper was considered one of the five essential luxuries upon which foreign trade with the Roman empire was based, the others being African ivory, Chinese silk, German amber, and Arabian incense. The term "peppercorn rent" is often used to denote a pittance, but in medieval times, a pound of pepper was the equivalent of a pound of gold or up to three weeks' labor for trade purposes. When the king of the Visigoths put forth his demands for release of the city of Rome in 408 A.D., three thousand pounds of pepper were on his ransom note.
*********************
for the rest of the story (:D ) go here
http://homecooking.about.com/library/weekly/aa091100a.htm?nl=1
Some of this information is really cool!!!