Pepper- The Black Gold Part i

Thousands of years when the Sun was believed to circle the Earth. Long before Charak, Aryabhatt, Sushruta. In the land of the monsoon, grew a plant. Loved to be bullied by the tall trees of the evergreen forest it sought the Sun, throughout determined roots climbed high. Its pungent aroma announced its presence bold and enticing. It attracted humans who then turned to plants for food, shelter and even healing. Its fame spread across continents. This is the story of Pepper- The undisputed leader of spices.

Existence and its Name

Pepper's impact on the civilization is huge. Wars have been fought, kingdoms have been overthrown, oceans braved, continents discovered, nations colonized all for the sake of Pepper- The Black Gold.

(Western Ghats running along the west coast Hot spot of amazing bio-diversity cradle of spices, pepper grows here in abundance, its humidity and heat making it a perfect home for the pungent spice.)

Black pepper basically grows as green vines curled around coconut and irks trees with large shiny leathery leaves. On these high trees grow clusters of beads hard and green. Bunches of pepper hang like grapes and ripe berries. Black pepper belongs to piperaceae family. The name Pepper comes from a Sanskrit word "Pippali"which means berry.

Cultivation

The Sanskrit roots natural because pepper originated in India. Its cultivation today is confined to 3 southern states of our country (Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala).

The harvesting starts in the cool climate when few berries on the pepper vine have turned red which is a signal for the time to harvest. A single stem bears 20 to 30 fruiting spikes. The berries need to be plucked before the food is fully matured and hard. If allowed to ripen it loses it pungency. Each vine produces around 100 kg pepper each year with picking spread over next three months.

It's History 

There was a time when pepper was so rare that it was worth its weight in gold. So rare that the world was bestowed with flavour and medicinal properties. Counted corn by corn it defined richness. Rents and dowries were paid in pepper. 

• In France just a pound of peppercorns could free a slave. Sailors had to have their pockets stitched least they stole their pocketed spice. Fierce warrior Attila - The Hun (406-453) captured Rome in the fifth century. He demanded 3000 pounds of pepper as ransom; such was its value and demand. 
• In the age of exploration, Spanish monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand commanded Christopher Columbus to sail to the land of pepper, but Columbus sailed westwards and discovered America. 
• Portuguese sailor Vasco Da Gama chooses a different route, he chooses west coast of Africa down the Cape of Good Hope and thus he reached Calicut in 1498. He has found India the land of Pepper. 

The History of India would have been different had Vasco Da Gama not landed in India. In fact this is the singular event that sowed the seeds of Colonization in Asia and many other subsequent African countries for 2 centuries. That allowed this event.

Happy Reading