Black Pepper

BLACK PEPPER

Its taste is pungent and its effect is heating. It can decrease Vata and Kapha and, in excess, can increase and overstimulate Pitta. Black pepper is used as a digestive stimulant to burn up undigested food particles and cleanse the digestive tract of toxins.

From the encyclopedia of spices: http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/pepper.html

The history of the spice trade is, above all, the history of pepper, the ‘King of Spices’. Pepper has been moving westward from India for 4,000 years. It has been used in trading as an exchange medium like money and, at times, has been valued so highly that a single peppercorn dropped on the floor would be hunted like a lost pearl. In classical times ‘tributes’ were paid in pepper, and both Attila the Hun and Alaric I the Visigoth demanded pepper as a substantial part of Rome’s ransom. Since the Middle Ages, pepper was the core of the European spice trade, with Genoa and Venice dominating the market. The Italian ‘pepperers’ monopoly of overland trade routes was the major determining factor in driving the search for an eastern sea route.

From Cook's Thesaurus: http://www.foodsubs.com/SpicePepper.html

black pepper = black peppercorns Substitutes: white pepper (less pungent, more delicate flavor) OR ground papaya seeds OR green peppercorns (softer, fresher tasting)

Also See:

• Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_pepper
• Pepper: The King of Spices: http://www.theepicentre.com/Spices/king.html

IngredientCategory?