Question for Ultimate_Writer

The use of the black pepper has been present in the Indian cooking since two thousand BC. Though there is widespread evidence that the same plant was also grown in Thailand and Malaysia, the major source of the plant was from the Malabar Coast of India. The region is the current state of Kerala. Also, the history of black pepper has a close correlation with what the ancient Romans referred to as the long paper (Nunn, 2009). Without taking a keen interest in their differences, the Romans referred to the plants as generally ‘piper.'

Both the long and the black pepper were also known to the Greece as early as the fourth century. It was a rare and expensive commodity that only the rich would access. The two commodities were just obtained from India. The Indians grew the long paper in the North Western parts of the country while the black pepper originated from the further south. With the long distance from the south and the postulated spiciness of the long paper, the black pepper became less popular at that time.

Black pepper as a commodity

The peppercorn was first deemed as a commodity in the Coast of Malabar. It was a top-notch trade good that was high valuation regarding its monetary value. The most common term used at that particular time was the black gold. At the edge of the 16th century, the black pepper acquired a lot of recognition in many societies. It was predominantly grown in the regions of Java, Sunda, Sumatra, and Madagascar. There were also some regions in the South East Asia that cultivated the plant. Most of the named regions traded the commodity with China or consumed the product locally. For the commodities that got traded in the Middle East, the port of Malabar acted as a resting destination on one’s way to Europe through the Indian Ocean.

Influence of the Human Diet

The black pepper has its primary use as a spice and a food additive. Most people use other substances because of their sweetness. In the case of peppercorns, its desirable quality is only some extent of pungency that it is exported all the way to Europe. It is popularly believed that the black pepper fond use in concealing the smell of a partially rotten meat. It is for this reason that the Egyptians and other communities might have used it in the process of mummification.

In many cultures around the world, peppercorns are used as spices and the chief source of a tasty flavor. It has a lot of positive contributions to the normal diet. A tablespoon of black pepper contains significant amounts of vitamin K (Miller, 2005). There are important minerals present in the peppercorns that are noble for the development of the body. The minerals include iron, manganese and calcium. Also, the pepper has some protein content. Most importantly, it gives the diet fiber. Research has proven that dietary fiber is an important component that helps a lot in digestion.

Pepper has some magnificent heat derived from piperine present in the seed. Terpenes like pinene. The content of the pipeline is around 9.7 percent by mass. The outer fruit layer contains the odor producing terpenes like the sabinene and pinene. We should note that paper may lose its flavour and aroma through evaporation. For this reason, the grains are ground and then stored in airtight conditions.

References

Nunn, N. (2009). The importance of history for economic development (No. w14899). National Bureau of Economic Research.

Miller, B. (2005). Cancer: We Can Win The War Against Cancer By Aggresively pursuing Prevention. Oak Publication Sdn Bhd.