Pepper
Black pepper is a tropical plant (liana) from the Piperaceae family, whose fruits (berries) are probably the most widespread spice worldwide.
It comes from Southeast Asia, was brought to Europe by Alexander the Great and travelled to the Czech lands through German merchants. Berries are harvested from the black pepper tree, which are further processed to produce several types of pepper (black, green, red and white).
✅Black pepper is green unripe berries soaked in boiling water and then dried.
✅Green pepper is created by quickly drying unripe berries and then putting them in vinegar or salty pickles.
✅Red pepper is created by loading already ripe berries
✅White pepper, these are peeled and dried ripe fruits.
Fruits left on the plant will overripen, turn brown, lose their sharpness and fall off. Pepper berries contain resins that give the typical peppery taste, aromatic essential oils and piperine. Furthermore, they (just like the leaves) contain flavonoids, terpenoids and sterols.
USE:
✅Pepper is considered one of the oldest spices ever,
✅It has stimulating effects on the organism and is considered an aphrodisiac.
✅It has antioxidant effects (contains a high amount of vitamin C).
✅It acts as a diuretic, helps detoxify the body and aids weight loss.
✅Positively affects digestion, stimulates appetite and helps against flatulence.
✅Thanks to pepper, heavy, fatty foods become more digestible.
✅Besides the kitchen, pepper is also used in folk medicine, aromatherapy and cosmetics and perfumery.