Peppers, called the king of spices, are the dried berries of a tropical vine native to Kerala, which is India’s major producer ^ Hajeski, Nancy J (2016).
This of course begs the question “Where does pepper seeds come from?”
One thought is that Pepper, as just said, comes from a vine native of the Malabar coast, in the current state of Kerala, India. This land, just between the Ocean and the mountain range of the Western Ghats, is one of the most biodiversity-rich places in the world (also the cardamom plant have its origins here).
These fragrant, spicy, and wrinkly kernels come from a plant called Piper nigrum and taste anything like what they really are—fruit! Surprisingly, peppercorns are the fruit of Piper nigrum or the “black pepper plant”.
A frequent question we ran across in our research was “Which country is the largest producer of pepper?”.
Piper nigrum belongs to the Piperaceae family and is a climbing vine indigenous to the Malabar Coast of India. Today, however, Vietnam has made huge efforts to become the largest producer of pepper and is responsible for almost one third of the total pepper production worldwide. India, Brazil, and Indonesia produce the remaining two thirds.
Another common question is “Where do spices come from?”.
Where do spices come from? Most spices are grown in the tropical regions of the world, with some thriving in the cool misty highlands.
Where does peppers originate?
Pepper is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. J. Innes Miller notes that while pepper was grown in southern Thailand and in Malaysia, its most important source was India, particularly the Chera dynasty, in what is now the state of Kerala.
Some think that Capsicum annuum, the ancestor to most of the peppers commonly consumed today, was grown in pre-hispanic times in parts of the arid Southwest, and Texas, as well as in Mexico. But first: why does eating chili peppers make your mouth burn?
Here is what our research found. Something like the bell pepper and hot peppers have been cultivated for more than 9000 years, with the earliest cultivation having taken place in South and Central American civilizations. The earliest fossil traces so far are from southwestern Ecuador, where families grew their own peppers about 6,100 years ago.
You could be wondering “Is the heat in chile peppers found in the seeds?”
One article stated that If you are looking for the source of heat, which comes from the chemical capsaicin in chile peppers, the statement that you will most often find goes something like this: The source of heat in a chile pepper is not the outer flesh of the chile, but rather the inner membranous ribs and the seeds.
Where does black pepper come from?
Until well after the Middle Ages, almost all of the world’s black pepper travelled from the Malabar Coast, in India. From there it was traded via the Levant and the merchants of Venice to the rest of Europe — that is, until the Ottoman empire cut off the trade route in the mid 1400s.
The next thing we asked ourselves was: why is black pepper so spicy?
The answer is that black pepper is the world’s most traded spice, and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine, which is a different kind of spicy from the capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers.
Another popular question is “What is black pepper (black pepper)?”.
Some think that Black pepper ( Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, known as a peppercorn, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit is drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed.
How long do pepper seeds last?
When perfectly stored, pepper seeds can be viable for up to 25 years, but generally 2-5 years is more realistic for good germination rates. The older the seeds get, the less likely they will sprout. Store seeds in a cool, dark, dry environment. Remember, seeds are meant to be grown, so plant them!