subject: The King Of Spices Black Pepper [print this page] Black pepper is known as the king of spices and it is widely exported from India to a large number of countries worldwide. Black pepper is not only one of the oldest but also extremely popular and is used extensively in practically all types of cooking that one think of. Black pepper exporters are aware of different qualities of black pepper that are available and they are ideally demarcated on the basis of grading methods. Some of the well- known commercial grades include
Mg-1 Malbar Garbled Grade 1
TGEB Tellicherry Garbled Extra Bold
TGSEB Tellicherry Garbled Special Extra Bold
Black pepper is obtained from a plant called peppercorn and can be found in the south western regions of India such as Kerala, Goa and parts of Tamil Nadu. Black pepper comes from the family of piperaceae and is known scientifically as piper nigrum. Ideally, different colors of peppercorns can be found but they are all from the same fruit, but have been plucked from the plant at different stages of maturity and are processed through different methods. When peppercorns are just about to turn red and are half-matured, it is then they are harvested. The peppercorns are kept under the sun so that they get dried and turn black. While, the green peppercorns are plucked from the plant when they are green in color and completely unripe.
Black peppers are known for their strong and pungent spicy flavor that is derived from volatile oil such as piperine. Black pepper is called the king of spices not only because the flavor and taste it adds to any dish but also because it has many health benefits and some of these benefits include:
Black pepper is known to possess chemical compounds that have qualities to prevent disease and promote good health. Since ancient times, pepper has known for its anti-flatulent and anti-inflammatory properties.
Black pepper also possesses a number of minerals such as potassium, calcium, zinc, manganese, iron and magnesium. Potassium helps with controlling blood pressure and heart rate while iron helps in blood cell production and respiration.
Black pepper is also extremely good source for vitamins such as riboflavin, pyridoxine and thiamin. Black pepper is also rich in antioxidant vitamin that includes Vitamin A and Vitamin C.
Black pepper is also known to offer relief from nasal congestion and sinusitis and therefore in ayurveda it is often included as an ingredient to tonics.
Foods prepared with sufficient amount of pepper also helps in losing weight because the outer layer of the pepper helps with the breakdown of fat cells.
Black pepper is also good for skin because it can assist in curing the skin disease called vitiligo, which causes certain skin areas to lose its pigmentation. The piperine that the black pepper contains can help in stimulating the skin to produce pigment.
These are just some of the health benefits that highlight on how popular black pepper is and why even today it is so abundantly exported by agro products exporters worldwide.
