A pinch of pepper is added to almost every type of recipe imaginable. Once used as currency and presented to the gods as a sacred offering, it is fortunate that this most popular of spices is available throughout the year.

Pepper comes from the pepper plant, a smooth woody vine that can grow up to 33 feet in hot and humid tropical climates. They begin to bear small white clustered flowers after 3 to 4 years and develop into berries known as peppercorns.

Ground peppercorns produce the spice we call pepper. 

Whole Black Pepper – Black Peppercorns are actually the berries of the pepper plant, which are picked when they are half ripe and just about to turn red.  They are then left to dry which causes them to shrivel and become dark in colour.

Ground Black Pepper – Ground Black Pepper is the world’s most traded spice and is derived by grounding whole black peppercorns.  Its spiciness is due to the natural chemical piperine found in the pepper plant.

Whole White Pepper – White Peppercorns are picked when the berries of the pepper plant are very ripe and subsequently soaked in brine to remove their dark outer shell leaving just the white pepper seed.

Ground White Pepper - Ground White Pepper is less aromatic than ground black pepper and has a somewhat musty flavour. It is generally spicier than ground black pepper.