Can anyone give me a COMPREHENSIVE list of peppers and spices by how spicy they are?

Answer 1

While not a comprehensive list, this will explain how spices and peppers are rated, using a measure of heat called a Scoville. It does have a great list of examples of each level and links to other sites.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville_scale#List_of_Scoville_ratings

Answer 2

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Answer 3

I think this is what you're talking about... chili peppers, right?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scoville

Answer 4

The hottest one known to man is the scotch bonnet....you have to wear those plastic gloves to cut it up, if you don't, it can burn your hands....what ever you do, DON'T ever wipe your eyes with your hands after handeling one of them!

Answer 5

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[ Plant part | Family | Aroma | Chemistry | Origin | Etymology | Discussion | Bottom ]
[ History of Pepper | Pepper Types | Pepper in the Kitchen ]
Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)
View the names of this plant in 77 languages

General synonyms

AlbanianPiper
Amharicቁንዶ ብርብሪ
Kundo berbere
Arabicفلفل
فُلْفُل, فِلْفِل
Fulful, Filfil
ArmenianՊղպեղ
Bghbegh, Pghpegh
AssameseJaluk
AzeriBibər, İstiot
Бибәр, Истиот
BasquePiper
BelarusianПерац
Perac
BengaliGolmarich, Kalomarich
BulgarianПипер, Пиперени зърна
Piper, Pipereni zurna
BurmeseNayukon, Nga-youk-kuan, Ngayok-kaung
CatalanPebre
Chinese
(Cantonese)胡椒 [wùh jìu]
Wuh jiu
Chinese
(Mandarin)胡椒 [hú jiāo]
Hu jiao, Hu-chiao
CroatianBiber, Papar
CzechPepř
Dhivehiއަސޭމިރުސް
Aseymirus
DanishPeber
DutchPeper
EsperantoPipro
EstonianPipar
Farsiفلفل
Felfel
FinnishPippuri
FrenchPoivre
FrisianPiper
GalicianPementa
Georgianპილპილი
Pilpili
GermanPfeffer
GreekΠιπέρι, Κοινό πιπέρι
Piperi, Koino piperi
Greek (Old)Πέπερι
Peperi
GujaratiMari
Hebrewפלפל, פילפיל
פִּלְפֵּל, פִּלפֵּל, פִּילפִּיל
Pilpel, Pilpil
HindiGol mirch, Gulki
HungarianBors
IcelandicPipar
IndonesianMerica
ItalianPepe
Japanese胡椒
こしょう
コショウ, ペッパー
Koshō, Kosho, Peppa
Kannadaಮೆಣಸು
Menasu
KazakhБұрыш
Burış
KhmerMrech
Korean후추, 페퍼
Huchu, Pepeo, Pepo
LaotianMak phik noi, Phi noi, Phik noy, Phik thai
LatvianPipari
LithuanianPipirai
MalayLada, Biji lada
MalayalamMulagu, Mulaku
MalteseBżar
Marathiमिरे
Mire
NorwegianPepper
OriyaGola maricha
PolishPieprz
PortuguesePimenta, Pimenta-do-reino, Pimenta-da-índia
ProvençalPebre, Peure
Punjabiਕਲੀ ਮਿਰਚ
Kali mirch
RomanianPiper
RussianПерец
Perets
SanskritMarica, Vella, Krishnan, Krishnadi
SerbianПапар, Бибер
Papar, Biber
SinghaleseGammiris, Miris
SlovakPeprovník
SlovenianPoper
SpanishPimienta
SrananPepre
SwahiliPilipili
SwedishPeppar
TagalogPaminta
Tamilமிளகு, யவனப்பிரிதம்
Milagu, Yavanappiriyam
Teluguమిరియాలు, మిరియము
Miriyalu, Miriyamu, Savyamu
Thaiพริกไท
Prik thai
TibetanFowarilbu, Pho ba ril bu
TurkishBiber
UkrainianПерець
Perets
Urduگول مرچ
Gol mirch
VietnameseCây tiêu, Hạt-tiêu, Hồ tiêu, Tiêu
Cay tieu, Hat-tieu, Ho tieu, Tieu
Yiddishפֿעפֿער
Fefer
Special synonyms for Black pepper

pharmFructus Piperis nigri
Arabicفلفل أسود
فُلْفُل أَسْوَد, فِلْفِل أَسْوَد
Fulful aswad, Filfil aswad
AzeriQara istiot
Истиот
BulgarianПипер черен
Piper cheren
CatalanPebre negre
Chinese
(Cantonese)黑胡椒 [hàk wùh jìu]
Hak wuh jiu
Chinese
(Mandarin)黑胡椒 [hēi hú jiāo]
Hei hu jiao
CroatianCrni papar
CzechČerný pepř
DanishSort Peber
DutchZwarte peper
EsperantoNigra pipro
EstonianMust pipar
Farsiفلفل سیاه
Felfel Siah
FinnishMustapippuri
FrenchPoivre noir
GalicianPementa Negra
GujaratiKalomirich
GermanSchwarzer Pfeffer
GreekΠιπέρι μαύρο
Piperi mauro
Hebrewפלפל שחור
פִּלְפֵּל שָׁחוֹר
Pilpel shahor
HindiKali mirch
HungarianFeketebors
IcelandicSwartur pipar
IndonesianMerica hitam
ItalianPepe nero
Japaneseブラックペッパー
Burakku-peppa
Kannadaಕರಿ ಮೆಣಸು
Kari Menasu
Korean블랙 페퍼, 페퍼블랙
Pullaek pepo, Pepeo-bullaek
LatvianMelnie pipari
LithuanianJuodieji pipiriai
MalayLada hitam
MalayalamKuru-mulagu, Kurumulaku
Marathiकाली मिरे
Kala mire
PolishCzarny pieprz
PortuguesePimenta-preta, Pimenta-negra
Punjabiਕਲੀ ਮਿਰਚ
Kali mirch
RomanianPiper negru
RussianЧёрный перец, Черный перец
Chyornyj perets, Chernyj perets
SerbianБибер црни
Biber crni
SlovakČierne korenie
SlovenianČrni poper
SpanishPimienta negra
SwedishSvartpeppar
TurkishKara biber, Karabiber
UkrainianПерець чорний
Perets chornyj
Urduکالی مرچ, فلفل سیاہ
Kali mirch, Filfil siah
VietnameseTiêu đen, Hạt tiêu đen
Tieu den, Hat tieu den
Yiddishשװאַרצער פֿעפֿער
Shvartser fefer
Special synonyms for White Pepper

pharmFructus Piperis albi
Arabicفلفل أبيض
فُلْفُل أَبْيَض, فِلْفِل أَبْيَض
Fulful abyad, Filfil abyad
Chinese
(Cantonese)白胡椒 [baahk wùh jìu]
Baahk wuh jiu
Chinese
(Mandarin)白胡椒 [bái hú jiāo], 胡椒面 [hú jiāo miàn]
Bai hu jiao; Hu jiao mian (ground white pepper)
CroatianBijeli papar
CzechBílý pepř
DanishHvid peber
DutchWitte peper
Farsiفلفل سفید
Felfel sefid
FinnishValkopippuri
EsperantoBlanka pipro
EstonianValge pipar
FrenchPoivre blanc
GalicianPementa Branca
GermanWeißer Pfeffer
GreekΠιπέρι άσπρο
Piperi aspro
Hebrewפלפל לבן
פִּלְפֵּל לָבָן
Pilpel lavan
HungarianFehérbors
IcelandicHvítur pipar
IndonesianMerica putih
ItalianPepe bianco
LatvianBaltie pipari
LithuanianBaltieji pipiriai
MalayLada putih
NorwegianHvitpepper
PolishBiały pieprz
PortuguesePimenta-branca
Punjabiਸਫ਼ੈਦ ਮਿਰਚ
Safaid mirch
RomanianPiper alb
RussianБелый перец
Belyj perets
SerbianБибер бели
Biber beli
SlovakBiele korenie
SlovenianBeli poper
SpanishPimienta blanca
SwedishVitpeppar
Tamilவெள்ளைமிளகு
Vellaimilagu
TurkishBeyaz biber
UkrainianПерець білий
Perets bila
Urduدکھنی مرچ
Dakhni mirch
VietnameseTiêu trắng, Hạt tiêu trắng
Tieu trang, Hat tieu trang
Yiddishװײַסער פֿעפֿער
Vayser fefer
Special synonyms for Green Pepper

Arabicفلفل أخضر
فُلْفُل أَخْضَر, فِلْفِل أَخْضَر
Fulful akhdar, Filfil akhdar
CroatianZeleni papar
CzechZelený pepř
FinnishViherpippuri
EsperantoVerda pipro
EstonianRoheline pipar
FrenchPoivre vert
GermanGrüner Pfeffer
Hebrewפלפל ירוק
פִּלְפֵּל יָרוֹק
Pilpel yarok
HungarianZöldbors
IcelandicGrænn pipar
IndonesianMerica hijau
ItalianPepe verde
LatvianZaļie pipari
LithuanianŽalieji pipirai
MalayLada hijau
PortuguesePimenta-verde
Punjabiਹਰੀ ਮਿਰਚ
Hari mirch
RussianЗелёный перец, Зеленый перец
Zelyonyj perets, Zelenyj perets
SerbianБибер зелени
Biber zeleni
SlovakZelené korenie
SlovenianZeleni poper
SwedishGrönpeppar
TurkishYeşil biber
UkrainianПерець зелений
Perets zelenyj
Yiddishגרינער פֿעפֿער
Griner fefer
Piper nigrum: Dried peppercorns: Green, black, red and white
Dried peppercorns: Green, black, red and white

Piper nigrum: Pickled peppercorns: Green and red
Pickled peppercorns: Green and red
Used plant part

Dried fruits, usually known as peppercorns. Depending on harvest time and processing, peppercorns can be black, white, green and red (actually, reddish brown). The traditional types are black and white; dried green peppercorns are a more recent innovation, but are now rather common in Western countries. Red peppercorns, however, are still a very rare commodity. See below for details.

Peppercorns are also available pickled in brine or vinegar. This is the traditional form of preserving green peppercorns, but in recent years, preserved red peppercorns have become increasingly popular. There is no pickled black or white pepper.
Plant family

Piperaceae (pepper family).
Sensory quality

Pungent and aromatic. The pungency is strongest in white pepper and weakest in green pepper, while black and green peppercorns are more aromatic than the white ones. Green peppercorn have a somewhat immature, herbaecous fragrance. Red peppercorns combine a sugary-sweet taste with the mature pungency and flavour of black pepper.
Piper nigrum: Unripe pepper infrutescense
Unripe pepper fruits
Main constituents

Black pepper contains about 3% essential oil, whose aroma is dominated (max. 80%) by monoterpenes hydrocarbons: sabinene, β-pinene, limonene, furthermore terpinene, α-pinene, myrcene, Δ3-carene and monoterpene derivatives (borneol, carvone, carvacrol, 1,8-cineol, linalool). Sesquiterpenes make up about 20% of the essential oil: β-caryophyllene, humulene, β-bisabolone and caryophyllene oxide and ketone. Phenylether (eugenol, myristicin, safrole) are found in traces. Loss of monoterpenes due to bad storage conditions (especially for ground pepper) should be avoided.

The most important odorants organoleptically in black pepper are linalool, α-phellandrene, limonene, myrcene and α-pinene; furthermore, branched-chain aldehydes were found (3-methylbutanal, methylpropanal). The musty flavour of old pepper is attributed to the formation of heterocyclic compounds (2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine) in concentrations of about 1 ppb. (Eur. Food Res. Technol., 209, 16, 1999)

The essential oil of white pepper has received less attention; the content of essential oil is lower (1%), and the most abundant compounds are monoterpene hydrocarbons: limonene, β-pinene, α-pinene and α-phellandrene. Organoleptically most important are linalool (although occurring as a minor component), limonene, α-pinene and phenylpropanoids (eugenol, piperonal); furthermore, short-chain aldehydes and carboxylic acids have been found important. In overstored white pepper, scatole is formed (2 ppm) and imparts an disagreeable, faecal flavour. (Eur. Food Res. Technol., 209, 27, 1999)

The pungent principle in pepper is an alkaloid-analog compound, piperine; it is the amide of 5-(2,4-dioxymethylene-phenyl)-hexa-2,4-dienoic acid (piperinic acid) with azinane (piperidine); only the trans,trans conformer contributes to pepper's pungency. Several piperine-analogs have been isolated from black pepper where the acid carbon backbone is partially hydrogenated (piperanine) or two carbon atoms longer (piperettine); amides of piperinic acid with pyrrolidine (piperyline) or isobutylamine (piperlongumine) have also been isolated. Total content of piperine-analogs in black pepper is about 5%.
Origin

Black pepper is native to Malabar, a region in the Western Coast of South India; today, this region belongs to the union state Kerala. Pepper is cultivated since millennia. The wild form has not yet been unambiguously identified, but there are closely related pepper species in South India and Burma. While black and white pepper were already known in antiquity, but green pepper (and even more, red pepper) is a recent invention.

Pepper reached South East Asia more than two thousand years ago and is grown in Malaysia and Indonesia since about that time. In the last decades of the 20.th century, pepper production increased dramatically as new plantations were founded in Thailand, Vietnam, China and Sri Lanka. In the New World, Brazil is the only important producer; pepper plantations there go back to the 1930s.
Piper nigrum: Black pepper leaf and unripe fruits
Black pepper leaf and unripe fruits

The most important producers are India before Indonesia, which together account for about 50% of the whole production volume.

In trade, the pepper grades are identified by their origin. The most important Indian grades are Malabar and Tellicherry (Thalassery). The Malabar grade is regular black pepper with a slightly greenish hue, while Tellicherry is a special product (see below). Both Indian black peppers, but especially the Tellicherry grade, are very aromatic and pungent. In the past, Malabar pepper was also traded under names like Goa or Aleppi. Cochin is the pepper trade center in India.

In South East Asia, the most reputed proveniences for black pepper are Sarawak in insular Malaysia and Lampong from Sumatra/Indonesia. Both produce small-fruited black pepper that takes on a grayisch colour during storage; both have a less-developed aroma, but Lampong pepper is pretty hot. Sarawak pepper is mild and often described fruity. Black pepper from other countries where it has been introduced to more recently is named after the trade center (Bangkok, Saigon); these proveniences are less valued, as they vary in heat and lack the complex aroma found in Indian and (to lesser degree) Malesian cultivars.

The most important source of white pepper is the small Indonesian island Bangka, south east of Sumatra. The peppercorns are named Muntok after the island's main port. Smaller amounts of white pepper are produced in Sarawak, which is particularly light-coloured; the best quality is known as Sarawak Cream Label. There is also Brazil white pepper, but it has a poorer flavour and is, therefore, less reputated in the international trade.

Brazil produces black, white and green peppercorns; the pepper is grown along the Amazon river in the state of Pará, whence the paracress originates. Brazil almost holds a monopoly for green pepper as the original production in Madagascar has declined. Brazil black and white pepper qualities are quite mild. All Brazil pepper is named after its main port, Belém.
Piper nigrum: Black pepper leaves
Black pepper, sterile plants
Etymology

The name Pepper is derived from the Sanskrit name of long pepper, pippali [पिप्पलि, पिप्पली]. That word gave rise to Greek peperi [πέπερι] and Latin piper, which both became chiefly to mean “black pepper” instead of “long pepper”. See long pepper for details.

From Latin piper, the names of pepper in almost all contemporary European languages are derived, directly or indirectly. Examples include, besides pepper (Old English pipor), Czech pepř, French poivre, German Pfeffer, Finnish pippuri, Ukrainian perets [перець] and Yiddish fefer [פֿעפֿער]. Of all European languages, only some Iberic names (Spanish pimienta, Portuguese pimenta, but not Catalan pebre which is piper-derived) have a different origin, which is discussed under allspice.

Greek has loaned the word piperi to several Semitic languages of Western Asia: Thus we find filfil [فلفل] in Arabic, and in Hebrew pepper is called pilpel [פלפל, sometimes written with vowels as פילפיל]. Since it arrived comparatively late (end of 4.th century) in the Mediterranean region, pepper is not named in the Old Testament. Non-Semitic languages of Western Asia often have similar names for pepper, which were probably derived from Greek without Latin intermediate: Examples include Turkish biber, Kurdish bibari [بیباری], Georgian pilpili [პილპილი] and Armenian bghbegh [պղպեղ].

The names of several other spices have in turn be influenced by pepper. While paprika is an adaption from a Serbian word meaning “pepper”, others have names indicating that they are seen as similar to pepper or even as pepper variants. The following list includes names not only from English, but also from various European languages: peppermint, water pepper, chile (“red pepper”), savory (“pepper herb”), allspice (“Jamaica pepper”), chaste tree (“monk's pepper”), cress (“pepper grass”), horseradish (“pepper-root”) and ginger (also “pepper-root”). In Chinese, many spices are named similarly as variants of the native sichuan pepper.
Piper nigrum: Sterile black pepper plant
Sterile black pepper shoot

The most common name of black pepper in Sanskrit language is maricha [मरिच or मरीच], which might be a Dravidian loan; cf. modern Tamil milagu [மிளகு] and Telugu miriyalu [మిరియాలు] “pepper”. Ironically, maricha has not only left much less traces than pippali in non-Indic languages, but it has also changed its meaning in modern descendants of Sanskrit tongue: Words derived from marichan, e.g., Punjabi mirch [ਮਿਰਚ], Malayalam mulaku [മുളക്] or Dhivehi mirus [މިރުސް], have taken on the meaning “chile” throughout, but the original meaning “pepper” is retained only in combination with qualifying adjectives (the exception to this is Tamil milago [மிளகு] “black pepper”). Examples are provided by Hindi and Urdu names of black pepper, kali mirch [काली मिर्च, کالی مرچ] and gol mirch [गोल मिर्च, گول مرچ], which literally mean “black chile” and “round chile”, respectively. A rather absurd example is Malayalam velutha kurumulaku [വെളുത്ത കുരുമുളക്‌] “white pepper”, literally “white blackchile”. That pepper is named after chile in Indian languages is quite ironic as pepper is native to India, whereas chile has been introduced only 500 years ago.

Sanskrit marichan is also the source of modern Indonesian merica, which has conserved the original meaning “pepper”; supposedly, that word has been transferred to Malayic languages at the same time when pepper cultivation started in Malesia, about 2000 years ago.

Sanskrit is rich in synonyms and has many more names for black pepper, some of which derive from the adjective krishna [कृष्ण] “black” (see nigella). Yet another name is yavanapriya [यवनप्रिय] conserved in Modern Tamil as yavanappiriyam [யவனப்பிரிதம்]. The meaning of this compound is “dear to the Greeks”, hinting at the high commercial value of pepper. See ajwain for the first element in that name.

Chinese hu jiao [胡椒], which literally means “wild pepper”, is the source of Japanese koshō [胡椒, こしょう] and Korean huchu [후추]. See Sichuan pepper about the origin of the Chinese name.
Selected Links

Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Pfeffer Plant Cultures: Black Pepper A Pinch of Pepper (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Pepper Medical Spice Exhibit: Black Pepper chemikalienlexikon.de: Linalool Transport Information Service: Pepper Spice Profile: Peppercorns (fiery-foods.com) Sorting Piper names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) The Economist: A Taste of Adventure Along the Peppertrail The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea Pepper Product Information (spizes.com) Gewürzamt: Telicherry-Pfeffer Gewürzamt: Pondicherry-Pfeffer Altes Gewürzamt: Pfeffer verschiedener Herkunftsländer Dried Red Peppercorns (allkoshys.com) Product Profile Pepper (sica.gov.ec) (PDF) Recipe: Tik Marij (Cambodian Pepper Sauce) (1worldrecipes.com) Recipe: Panforte (Siena spiced fruit bread) (joyofbaking.com) Recipe: Panforte (Italian fruitcake) (recipegoldmine.com)

[ Plant part | Family | Aroma | Chemistry | Origin | Etymology | Discussion | Bottom ]
[ History of Pepper | Pepper Types | Pepper in the Kitchen ]
History of Pepper
Piper nigrum: Pepper berries
Plant with ripening pepper berries
Black pepper, grown in Southern India since more than two thousand years, has always been much valued all over the world. After Alexander the Great had warred upon Central Asia, and indeed even reached India (4.th century BC), new trading routes were established that brought, for the very first time, pepper into the West. Within short time, pepper's growing popularity made it a most important item of commerce. Soon, Arabic traders established a pepper monopoly and transferred the spice via the spice route through the Arab peninsular and Egypt to their European customers, whom they denied any knowledge about the actual origin of pepper.

In spite of its astronomical price, pepper has been much used by the Romans (see Silphion on Roman cuisine) and became, in the Early Middle Ages, a status symbol of fine cookery. At this time, the Italian town of Venezia had monopolized trade with the Arabs to the same extent as the Arabs theirs with the Indian producers. Due to this double monopoly, comparatively few cooks in Europe could afford pepper at all; but when Europe's economical situation stabilized in the 15.th century, increasing demand for pepper led to the Age of Exploration. European sailors then tried to reach India and to obtain the spice directly from the producers, bypassing both the Arab and the Venetian monopolists.

At the end of the 15.th century, Portuguese seafarers changed the medieval view of the world: In 1487, Bartholomeu Diaz surrounded the Cape of Good Hope, thereby proving that Africa was not an impregnable obstacle on the Way to the East; only eleven years later, his countryman Vasco da Gama reached India, founded several Portuguese outposts and established permanent trade relations to local rulers. From this moment on, Lisboa, not Venezia, was the spice metropolis of Europe; of course, prices were not reduced but the profit just shifted to another country (100 years later, profits shifted again, this time to Amsterdam). Portugal's colonies in South and Southeast Asia persisted until the second half of the 20.th century, even after the spice business had been lost to England and the Netherlands.
Piper nigrum: Pepper with unripe fruits
Pepper with unripe fruits

pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de

In the meantime, the Spaniards also tried their luck in seafaring: Cristoforo Colombo, an Italian who found support for his unconventional plans at the Spanish court, discovered what he had not searched for in 1492 and again eleven years later Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the American continent at the Isthmus of Panamá, thereby reaching the Pacific Ocean. Consequently, it was also a Spanish enterprise to explore this new ocean and thereby to circumvent the earth: Fernão de Magalhães, Portuguese by birth, is usually given credit for this task, although he himself did not survive the journey, but was slain in a conflict with natives of the Philippines. After all, Spanish success was poor in Asia (the Philippines remained the only Spanish colony in the East), and although the larger part of America quickly fell under Spanish dominion, Spain could never assume a significant rôle in the spice trade, allspice and vanilla being the only profitable spices from the New World.

Pepper production was long confined to a small region in India (Malabar, in the South of India's West coast). Because of the expensive transport, but even more because of the effective monopoly first of Arabs and Venetians, then of the Portuguese and at last of the British, price remained rather high, and consumers in Europe were sometimes forced to use pepper substitutes. Of these, the Mediterranean chaste tree berries and the two African spices grains of paradise and ***** pepper have lost all importance and are rarely traded at all in our days; similarly, the Mediterranean myrtle berries did not meet much approval. In Central Europe, the native water pepper has occasionally been used to substitute pepper in times of economic shortage, but it is not grown and produced any longer. As a side note on history, German cooks resorted to savory during the years of World War II, when import of tropical spices faded.

In centuries past, long pepper, a close relative of black pepper from India, and cubeb pepper from Jawa, have been common in European cooking; today, they have fallen into oblivion in Western countries, but are still much in use in India and Northern Africa, respectively. Sichuan pepper from China and Japan and pink pepper from South America, although still not too common, have become more popular in the last decades in Western cookery; maybe, the same will happen to Tasmanian pepper.

Another pungent spice, chiles from Central and South America, was first introduced as a pepper substitute in European cuisine, but has now gained much popularity all over the world, because of its stronger pungency and easy growing. Today, chiles are the prototypical “hot spice”, and their production, usage and trade exceed those of real pepper. See also ***** pepper for a comparison between several hot and pungent spice.

[ Plant part | Family | Aroma | Chemistry | Origin | Etymology | Discussion | Bottom ]
[ History of Pepper | Pepper Types | Pepper in the Kitchen ]
Types of Peppercorns: Black, White, Green, Red
Piper nigrum: Pickled red and green pepper corns
Pickled red and green pepper corns
Piper nigrum: Dried peppercorn in four colours: white, black, green and red
White, black, green and red dried peppercorns (300 dpi scan)

Pepper is unique in the spice universe as the pepper fruits are marketed in four different versions: They can be processed to give black, white, green and red peppercorns. By choosing time of harvest and postprocessing method carefully, all four types could, in principle, be produced from the same pepper plant.

Black pepper is the fruits of pepper harvested unripe but not far from ripeness, and dried at moderate temperature. A typical scheme is plucking the whole pepper spike in the moment when the very first berry starts turning red and storing the berries over night at room temperature; in some places, the berries are dipped into boiling water to provide a quick surface disinfection. Under these circumstances, fermentation takes place, and the formerly green pepper fruits turn black, similar to the fermentation of tea leaves (oxidation of tannins by phenoloxidases). With the next day, the drying procedure starts, still often in direct sunlight without the help of electric dehydrators. Black pepper is produced in all pepper producing countries.

The later pepper is picked, the better its flavour will become; pungency, however, does not increase much in the last days of ripening. Waiting too long, however, is not an option, because ripe pepper fruits cannot be let fermented in the usual way, as their sugar content would allow for rotting. The latest moment to produce black pepper is when the fruits turn yellow-orange; pepper made from these almost ripe berries has a particularly good flavour. Such black pepper is produced only in India, and it is traded as Tellicherry pepper. Its corns are larger than typical black pepper corns, and their colour is not so much black than a dark and warm brown. They are slightly more expensive to compensate for the increased risk of loss to hungry birds or unfavourable weather.

Fully ripened pepper fruits are used to make white pepper. For that purpose, the outer hull (exocarp, mesocarp) must be removed. Note that the mesocarp not only contains the sugar, but also a part of the volatile aroma compounds; the pungency is located in the endocarp only. The usual way of processing is soaking the berries for about one week, preferably in slow-running water. After that time, the mesocarp disintegrates and can be separated mechanically from the kernel (endocarp). The remainder, mainly the seed grain, is then dried and sold as white pepper. White pepper retains the full pungency of black pepper, but it has an altered flavour due to partial loss of aroma compounds. White pepper is significantly more expensive than black pepper, on one hand in compensation of the high risk to lose an entire harvest to changing weather, and on the other hand for the extra work involved.

In Madagascar, another way of processing pepper was developed: Green pepper is early-harvested pepper, far from ripening, that is processed in a way to exclude fermentation. This is achieved by pickling the freshly harvested pepper corns in salt or vinegar, or by quick drying at elevated temperature or in a vacuum (lyophilization). Because of its unripeness, green pepper has only small pungency and a fresh, herbal, “green” flavour.

The same kind of pickling procedure can also be applied to ripe pepper fruits; in that case, their colour is retained, and one arrives at red pepper. This kind of pepper (red peppercorn) is a rather rare item; it is considerably more pungent and aromatic than green pepper, and it combines the spicy, mature flavour of black pepper with the fresh notes of green pepper. The natural sweetness of fresh red peppercorns is lost in the process of pickling, though.

Dried red peppercorns are even harder to find, and are to my knowledge, only produced by one single company in Kerala (Southern India). With respect to pungency and fragrance, they are similar to good black pepper, but they also feature a sugary sweet taste, which makes them unique in the pepper world. To produce them, the ripe peppercorns have to be harvested at the right time, and the drying procedure must be fast and suppress fermentation to preserve the colour. Another goal is to to prevent the separation of the outer hull from the kernel (which would give white pepper plus brown rubbish). Red pepper must not be confused with pink pepper, which stems from an entirely different plant and has little peppery quality; it is available both dried and (more rarely) pickled.
Piper nigrum: Pepper plantation
Pepper plantation

pharm1.pharmazie.uni-greifswald.de
Piper nigrum: Unripe Pepper fruits
Unripe Pepper fruits and leaf

www.botany.hawaii.edu © Gerald Carr

It is quite remarkable that, although four different colours of peppers are in existence, black pepper still dominates in production and consume. Red pepper has no importance whatsoever; it is mainly an exotic curiosity. Green pepper is used mostly in Western cooking, where it often goes into mustard (white mustard) or bottled condiments. It is the pepper to use for pepper steak and several sauces to accompany broiled or fried meats. Pickled green peppercorns are often used as a spicy garnish to cold foods. Dried green peppercorns are very aromatic, but at the same time have less pungency; this makes them useful for delicate dishes for which the heavy pungency of black pepper would be disastrous. For my feeling, they are sadly underrated among European cooks.

Fresh green pepper, which is not always easy to come by in Western countries, enjoys increasing popularity in pepper producing countries, particularly in Thailand. It is very good in Thai stir fries, and can be used in Thai curry pastes (see coconut). Pickled green peppercorns are too acidic to be used as substitute, but soaked dried green peppercorns can be used if the fresh are unavailable.

Also white pepper is mainly used in Western cooking. It is often suggested for white (cream-based) sauces where black pepper could spoil the colour; sauce Béchamel is a typical example (see nutmeg). It is also used whenever pungency takes predominance over pepper flavour; for example, ground white pepper is well suited to adjust a taste in the last moment, as it can give certain pungency without marked changes in aroma and fragrance; black pepper may be unsuited because of its intensive fragrance which reduces only after a prolonged cooking time.

An example of a traditional European dish that uses white pepper is gefilte fish [געפֿילטע פֿיש] “stuffed fish”, which is a specialty of the now almost extinct Yiddish cooking (Germany, Poland and Ukraine). The original recipe was complicated and reserved for festive occasions: Deboned fish meat (commonly carp), boiled onions and hard boiled eggs were ground to a smooth paste and seasoned with white pepper. The fish farce was then carefully stuffed back into the fish skins, and the “re-filled fish” boiled cautiosly in a flavourful broth made from fish bones, carrots and onion, often augmented with some herbs (parsley, celery). In our days, the recipe is usually simplified, and the fish farce is just shaped into balls and cooked in the broth. Gefilte fish is usually served cold, together with the gelatinized broth and sometimes a pungent paste made from red beets and horseradish.

Due to the price drops in the pepper trade of the late 20.th century, pepper has become available in several Far Eastern kitchens. While black pepper dominates the (still small) pepper market in South East Asia, the East Asian countries often have a preference for white pepper. Its only mildly aromatic pungency has become popular in Japan, where white pepper is often used as an alternative to the local variety of sichuan pepper in marinades for meats. Chinese cooking does not use pepper much (except black peppercorns to flavour stocks), yet there is a handfull of recipes with a strong pepper flavour. An example of the latter type is hot and sour soup (suanla tang [酸辣湯]) (see sesame). For these pepper-accented dishes, white pepper is used if available.

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Culinary Usage of Black Pepper
Piper nigrum: Pepper inflorescence
Pepper flower

perso.wanadoo.fr

Black pepper is by far the most used type of peppercorns. It is widely employed in almost all cuisines of the world. Since pepper cultivation has much increased lately and new plantations spread to remote locations, black pepper is constantly introduced into cooking styles that did not use much pepper before, mainly for reasons of expense. For example, Thai cooking has not only developed a likening for fresh unripe pepper berries, but also uses black pepper to a larger extent that before when it was an expensive import commodity. Black pepper is particularly popular for comparatively mild stews as preferred in the cuisine of the Royal Thai Court.

Also the Vietnamese use now much more black pepper than a few decades ago, since Vietnamese pepper production is now well-established. It is added to long-simmered soups (see Vietnamese cinnamon for North Vietnamese and Vietnamese coriander for South Vietnamese soups) and appears quite often as a table condiment. In Cambodia, black pepper is part of the ubiquitous table condiment tik marij, a mixture of lime juice, salt and freshly ground pepper. Ironically, black pepper is little used in the cuisines of Malaysia and Indonesia, although these are the oldest production areas outside of India.

Black pepper can be used for nearly every kind of dish – some even like it for sweets! The combination of ripe strawberries and green pepper is almost a classic in European cooking, but a pinch of pepper can well be used for other mild fruits, and results in a particularly “exotic”, special touch. Fruits salads are a good field to play with pepper; you need not go as far as the Indonesians, who prepare a chile-hot fruit salad called rujak (see mango). High-quality dark chocolate enhanced with a dash of black pepper has recently appeared on the European market, and I find this a very attractive combination. Peppered sweetmeats were pretty common in ancient Greece and Rome, at least for those who could afford (see also poppy); a few such recipes are still found in current European cuisines, e.g., Italian panforte or some variants of German Lebkuchen.
Piper nigrum: Pepper plants
Pepper plants, sterile

perso.wanadoo.fr

Pepper appears in several well-known or not-so-well-known spice mixtures. In West Asia, it is used cautiously, as in Georgian khmeli-suneli (see marjoram), but the cuisines get more spicy when one moves East (as an example, Iraqi baharat can be named, see paprika). In its native home, India, pepper is used abundantly: The Anglo-Indian curry powder (see curry leaves) contains black pepper as well as Northern Indian garam masala and South Indian sambaar podi (see cumin for both).

The Arabs had monopolized pepper trade for millennia; it is not surprising, thus, that pepper is popular in Arab cooking and figures prominently in several Arabic spice mixtures. From the West of the Arab peninsular, from Yemen, comes zhoug, a fiery relish and condiment (see coriander); further East, at the coast of the Gulf, cooks use baharat (see paprika) to season rice, mutton and vegetables. Spice mixtures in Arabic tradition are found in Morocco (ras el hanout, see cubeb pepper), Tunisia (gâlat dagga, see grains of paradise) and Ethiopia (berbere, see long pepper).

Black pepper has found friends in the New World, and subsequently entered traditional cooking styles in Latin America; see paprika for its usage in Mexican mole sauces. In the USA, pepper (particularly white pepper) is common in the Creole cuisine of New Orleans (see sassafras about New Orlean cooking styles in general and thyme about “blackening”).

Pepper is still popular in Europe and is a main constituent of the French creation quatre épices (see nutmeg). Alone or in combination with other spices, pepper is much loved all over the world for spicy meat stews, steaks, sauces and all kind of vegetable dishes. Pepper may be cooked for quite a long time without losing its flavour. Sauce béarnaise (see tarragon), a celebrated French invention, owes part of its spicy flavour to black peppercorns simmered in vinegar.

Pepper pungency goes well with sour flavours (see mango on acidity). In Europe and the USA, mixtures of coarsely ground black pepper with desiccated lemon juice are popular to flavour poultry and fish. This so-called “lemon pepper” must not be confused with exotic Indonesian lemon pepper, a variety of sichuan pepper.

Personally, I generally prefer whole spices over pre-ground products in most cases – but few other spices (e.g., cardamom and some herbs) deteriorate that quickly as ground pepper. Both black and green pepper lose their aroma fully, and white pepper even acquires a moldy, earthy taste that can easily spoil a meal. Therefore, I strongly recommend a pepper mill to have always fresh and aromatic pepper at hand.

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