The Enigma We Call Pepper

Did you know there are over 20 types of table pepper available now? How about that our supermarkets, are selling us the lowest possible quality? Do you know what pepper actually comes from? Well, I wondered about this and found out!

Peppercorn is not actually a type of corn by any means. It is more similar to grapes then anything else we would know of! Small red berries hide the peppercorn itself! This makes harvesting more difficult and considering each vine can have hundreds of bunches of 150+ berries, that is a lot of work just to add some flavor! This is why supermarket pepper is quite inferior! It is all done through machines and is picked too ripe to be truly ready!

Pepper is much like a fine wine, cheese, or chocolate. There are so many different varieties all based on region and growing techniques! Each country has a very unique taste as does each processing method! For instance cheaper pepper is sun dried and losses a lot of its savor to evaporation, whereas expensive pepper is dried inside a sealed area! NOTE: This also applies to pepper you have at home! Don’t buy in bulk and save it as more exposure to air and light diminishes its strength!

How do we have 20 different varieties? Some are crazy different colors like red and green! Well they are simple processed differently, the only type of pepper which is a different color without being processed is cheap and not the proper berry, except for a select few which we won’t get into! You do not have to be a professional to know what REAL pepper tastes like, find it somewhere at a health food store or specialty store and give it a try, you will notice a massive difference!