Black Pepper

From a distance, the big, tall tree appears wrapped in a shimmering garland of yellow and green leaves covering the length and girth of its trunk. Coming closer, you notice that it is a vine that has climbed around the tree’s trunk, encircling it in a colourful envelope while digging roots into the flesh of the tree.The vine is piper nigrum, black pepper or gol morich, which is     consumed more than any other spice in the world.To grow a new black pepper vine, you cut a branch from a mature vine and sow it next to a grown tree. Within a year or two, it finds its foothold on the tree and starts climbing. After a few more years, the flowers appear,       dangling in strands from the climber. Around September, the fruits appear, tiny dots that soon grow into small pellets.In December, this fruit, still mostly green but plump, is collected. It is cooked for a few minutes in boiling water, until it turns dark, and then dried, giving us whole black pepper which, when crushed, add aroma and zing to food.The black pepper plant is a native of the Indian subcontinent, though today it is grown in many countries, notably Indonesia. It has been used as a spice for centuries and was sought after during ancient times. During the Roman Empire, the Arabs traded it by bringing it to Alexandria from where it was distributed throughout the empire. It was valuable enough for the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius to impose customs duty on its import in 176 AD.In the middle ages, black pepper was an important ingredient in European food. Those who could afford to used it abundantly. Food quality, particularly that of meat, was often poor, and pepper helped disguise the otherwise foul taste. A recipe from the seventeenth century indicates the usage of peppers was about ten times what it is today for a sausage, for example.Of course it had arrived halfway around the world, and so black pepper was expensive. In fact, it became like hard currency, with some people  storing it under lock and key for their rainy day. When the Visigoths laid siege to Rome, their demands for  freeing the city included 2500 kg of gold, 15000 kg of silver and 2500 kg of black pepper!It was the most important spice for centuries, and it was pepper trade more than anything else that brought wealth to cities such as Venice, Genoa, Amsterdam and Lisbon.
The plant grows in many parts of Bangladesh, particularly in hilly    terrain. It usually climbs around a support tree and can grow up to 20-30 feet tall. Using plain stakes it can grow up to 8 or nine feet.White pepper also originates in the same plant; the only difference is that the fruit is ripened before being picked.If eaten raw, black pepper fruits taste mildly sweet – and, of course, peppery. Once cracked open, the aroma of black pepper fades quickly. Therefore,    connoisseurs usually grind their    pepper just before eating.