Black Pepper (Kali Mirch)
Black Pepper (Kali Mirch)
Short Description:
Black Pepper is the dried mature berry of Piper nigrum, a climbing perennial shrub grown mostly in hot, moist regions of Southern India. The vines climb supports 5–6 m tall with woody stems having swollen nodes and clinging roots. Inflorescences are pendent spikes 3–15 cm long with 50–150 small white to pale yellow flowers. The fruit is a single-seeded, spherical drupe, green turning red when ripe.
Foreign Name:
Spanish : Pimienta French : Poivre German : Pfeffer Swedish : Peppar Arabic : Filfil Aswad Dutch : Peper Italian : Pepe Portuguese : Pimenta Russian : Pyerets Japanese : Kosha Chinese : Hu-Chiao
Uses:
Pepper is widely used in meat packing, canning, pickling, and baking for its preservative and seasoning qualities, often added at the end of cooking to enhance flavor. It is a key ingredient in culinary seasonings, spice mixes, and products like pepper oil, oleoresin, and white pepper (used where black specks are unwanted). Black pepper is important in Indian medicine, with piperine enhancing bioavailability in pharmaceuticals. Its major properties include analgesic, anti-pyretic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial effects.