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87-548: The Keeling family began growing fruit in 1926 and the business continues to be operated by the Keeling family. The brand specialises in strawberries , blueberries and blackberries , with growing capacity for 100 million strawberries annually. Keelings is Ireland’s largest fruit and vegetable distributor. Keelings is a 100% family-owned business and has been producing fruit and salads on its farms in North Dublin since

174-984: A fruit is a ripened ovary or carpel that contains seeds, e.g., an orange, pomegranate, tomato or a pumpkin. A nut is a type of fruit (and not a seed), and a seed is a ripened ovule . In culinary language, a fruit is the sweet- or not sweet- (even sour-) tasting produce of a specific plant (e.g., a peach, pear or lemon); nuts are hard, oily, non-sweet plant produce in shells ( hazelnut , acorn ). Vegetables , so-called, typically are savory or non-sweet produce ( zucchini , lettuce, broccoli, and tomato). but some may be sweet-tasting (sweet potato). Examples of botanically classified fruit that are typically called vegetables include cucumber , pumpkin , and squash (all are cucurbits ); beans , peanuts , and peas (all legumes ); and corn , eggplant , bell pepper (or sweet pepper), and tomato. Many spices are fruits, botanically speaking, including black pepper , chili pepper , cumin and allspice . In contrast, rhubarb

261-564: A risk factor for cardiovascular diseases . Fruit consumption is under preliminary research for the potential to improve nutrition and affect chronic diseases. Regular consumption of fruit is generally associated with reduced risks of several diseases and functional declines associated with aging. For food safety , the CDC recommends proper fruit handling and preparation to reduce the risk of food contamination and foodborne illness . Fresh fruits and vegetables should be carefully selected; at

348-974: A sesquiterpene originally discovered in the tubers of Cyperus rotundus , which can be detected in concentrations of 0.4 nanograms/l in water and in wine: rotundone is also present in marjoram, oregano, rosemary, basil, thyme, and geranium, as well as in some Shiraz wines . Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve its spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose flavour when exposed to light, which can transform piperine into nearly tasteless isochavicine . Once ground, pepper's aromatics can evaporate quickly; most culinary sources recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use for this reason. Handheld pepper mills or grinders, which mechanically grind or crush whole peppercorns, are used for this as an alternative to pepper shakers that dispense ground pepper. Spice mills such as pepper mills were found in European kitchens as early as

435-644: A stone which encloses a single pepper seed . Peppercorns and the ground pepper derived from them may be described simply as pepper , or more precisely as black pepper (cooked and dried unripe fruit), green pepper (dried unripe fruit), or white pepper (ripe fruit seeds). Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India , and the Malabar pepper is extensively cultivated there and in other tropical regions. Ground, dried, and cooked peppercorns have been used since antiquity, both for flavour and as

522-467: A symbiotic relationship that is the means for seed dispersal for the one group and nutrition for the other; humans, and many other animals, have become dependent on fruits as a source of food. Consequently, fruits account for a substantial fraction of the world's agricultural output, and some (such as the apple and the pomegranate ) have acquired extensive cultural and symbolic meanings. In common language and culinary usage, fruit normally means

609-706: A traditional medicine . Black pepper is the world's most traded spice , and is one of the most common spices added to cuisines around the world. Its spiciness is due to the chemical compound piperine , which is a different kind of spiciness from that of capsaicin characteristic of chili peppers . It is ubiquitous in the Western world as a seasoning , and is often paired with salt and available on dining tables in shakers or mills . The word pepper derives from Old English pipor , Latin piper , and Greek : πέπερι . The Greek likely derives from Dravidian pippali , meaning "long pepper". Sanskrit pippali shares

696-478: A "bright aroma." They decay quickly if not dried or preserved, making them unsuitable for international shipping. Red peppercorns usually consist of ripe peppercorn drupes preserved in brine and vinegar. Ripe red peppercorns can also be dried using the same colour-preserving techniques used to produce green pepper. Pink peppercorns are the fruits of the Peruvian pepper tree , Schinus molle , or its relative,

783-450: A blackberry is an aggregate-accessory fruit, and an apple is a simple-accessory fruit. Seedlessness is an important feature of some fruits of commerce. Commercial cultivars of bananas and pineapples are examples of seedless fruits . Some cultivars of citrus fruits (especially grapefruit , mandarin oranges , navel oranges , satsumas ), table grapes , and of watermelons are valued for their seedlessness. In some species, seedlessness

870-531: A burning marrow. I season delicacies, the banquets of kings, and the luxuries of the table, Both the sauces and the tenderized meats of the kitchen. But you will find in me no quality of any worth, Unless your bowels have been rattled by my gleaming marrow. It is commonly believed that during the Middle Ages , pepper was often used to conceal the taste of partially rotten meat. No evidence supports this claim, and historians view it as highly unlikely; in

957-402: A certain pungency; and yet it is for this that we import it all the way from India! Who was the first to make trial of it as an article of food? and who, I wonder, was the man that was not content to prepare himself by hunger only for the satisfying of a greedy appetite? He does not state whether the 50 million was the actual amount of money which found its way to India or the total retail cost of

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1044-453: A certain time, harmful bacteria may grow on them and increase the risk of foodborne illness. Black pepper Black pepper ( Piper nigrum ) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae , cultivated for its fruit (the peppercorn ), which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning . The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains

1131-687: A common commodity. Like many eastern spices, pepper was historically both a seasoning and a traditional medicine . Pepper appears in the Buddhist Samaññaphala Sutta , chapter five, as one of the few medicines a monk is allowed to carry. Long pepper, being stronger, was often the preferred medication, but both were used. Black pepper (or perhaps long pepper) was believed to cure several illnesses, such as constipation , insomnia , oral abscesses , sunburn , and toothaches , among others. Pepper contains phytochemicals , including amides , piperidines , and pyrrolidines . Pepper

1218-522: A head, is produced first. After fertilization , each flower in the cluster develops into a drupe; as the drupes expand, they develop as a connate organ, merging into a multiple fleshy fruit called a syncarp . Progressive stages of multiple flowering and fruit development can be observed on a single branch of the Indian mulberry, or noni . During the sequence of development, a progression of second, third, and more inflorescences are initiated in turn at

1305-644: A new plant some distance away from the parent. Other fruits have evolved flattened and elongated wings or helicopter-like blades, e.g., elm , maple , and tuliptree . This mechanism increases dispersal distance away from the parent via wind. Other wind-dispersed fruit have tiny " parachutes ", e.g., dandelion , milkweed , salsify . Coconut fruits can float thousands of miles in the ocean, thereby spreading their seeds. Other fruits that can disperse via water are nipa palm and screw pine . Some fruits have evolved propulsive mechanisms that fling seeds substantial distances – perhaps up to 100 m (330 ft) in

1392-680: A number of different forms from a wide range of families, including carrot , parsnip , parsley , cumin . An aggregate fruit is also called an aggregation, or etaerio ; it develops from a single flower that presents numerous simple pistils . Each pistil contains one carpel ; together, they form a fruitlet. The ultimate (fruiting) development of the aggregation of pistils is called an aggregate fruit , etaerio fruit , or simply an etaerio . Different types of aggregate fruits can produce different etaerios, such as achenes, drupelets, follicles, and berries. Some other broadly recognized species and their etaerios (or aggregations) are: The pistils of

1479-442: A prominent pointed terminal projection is said to be beaked . A fruit results from the fertilizing and maturing of one or more flowers. The gynoecium , which contains the stigma-style-ovary system, is centered in the flower-head, and it forms all or part of the fruit. Inside the ovary(ies) are one or more ovules . Here begins a complex sequence called double fertilization : a female gametophyte produces an egg cell for

1566-404: A single flower with numerous pistils typically produces an aggregate fruit ; and the merging of several flowers, or a 'multiple' of flowers, results in a 'multiple' fruit. A simple fruit is further classified as either dry or fleshy. To distribute their seeds, dry fruits may split open and discharge their seeds to the winds, which is called dehiscence . Or the distribution process may rely upon

1653-418: Is a perennial woody vine growing up to 4 m (13 ft) in height on supporting trees, poles, or trellises. It is a spreading vine, rooting readily where trailing stems touch the ground. The leaves are alternate, entire, 5 to 10 cm (2.0 to 3.9 in) long and 3 to 6 cm (1.2 to 2.4 in) across. The flowers are small, produced on pendulous spikes 4 to 8 cm (1.6 to 3.1 in) long at

1740-522: Is easily found and readily available. In New Zealand , the seeds of kawakawa ( Piper excelsum ), a relative of black pepper , are sometimes used as pepper; the leaves of Pseudowintera colorata ("mountain horopito") are another replacement for pepper. Several plants in the United States are also used as pepper substitutes, such as field pepperwort , least pepperwort , shepherd's purse , horseradish , and field pennycress . The pepper plant

1827-547: Is known to cause sneezing . Some sources say that piperine, a substance present in black pepper, irritates the nostrils, causing the sneezing. Few, if any, controlled studies have been carried out to answer the question. One tablespoon (6 grams) of ground black pepper contains moderate amounts of vitamin K (13% of the daily value or DV), iron (10% DV), and manganese (18% DV), with trace amounts of other essential nutrients , protein , and dietary fibre . Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from piperine derived from both

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1914-633: Is most closely related to other Asian species such as P. caninum . Wild pepper grows in the Western Ghats region of India . Into the 19th century, the forests contained expansive wild pepper vines, as recorded by the Scottish physician Francis Buchanan (also a botanist and geographer) in his book A journey from Madras through the countries of Mysore, Canara and Malabar (Volume III). However, deforestation resulted in wild pepper growing in more limited forest patches from Goa to Kerala , with

2001-527: Is no year in which India does not drain the Roman Empire of 50 million sesterces ", and further moralizes on pepper: It is quite surprising that the use of pepper has come so much into fashion, seeing that in other substances which we use, it is sometimes their sweetness, and sometimes their appearance that has attracted our notice; whereas, pepper has nothing in it that can plead as a recommendation to either fruit or berry, its only desirable quality being

2088-417: Is often called a fruit when used in making pies , but the edible produce of rhubarb is actually the leaf stalk or petiole of the plant. Edible gymnosperm seeds are often given fruit names, e.g., ginkgo nuts and pine nuts . Botanically, a cereal grain, such as corn , rice , or wheat is a kind of fruit (termed a caryopsis ). However, the fruit wall is thin and fused to the seed coat, so almost all

2175-525: Is possible that black pepper was known in China in the second century BCE, if poetic reports regarding an explorer named Tang Meng (唐蒙) are correct. Sent by Emperor Wu to what is now south-west China, Tang Meng is said to have come across something called jujiang or "sauce-betel". He was told it came from the markets of Shu , an area in what is now the Sichuan province. The traditional view among historians

2262-813: Is pressed for olive oil and similar processing is applied to other oil-bearing fruits and vegetables. Some fruits are available all year round, while others (such as blackberries and apricots in the UK) are subject to seasonal availability. Fruits are also used for socializing and gift-giving in the form of fruit baskets and fruit bouquets . Typically, many botanical fruits – "vegetables" in culinary parlance – (including tomato, green beans, leaf greens, bell pepper, cucumber, eggplant, okra, pumpkin, squash, zucchini) are bought and sold daily in fresh produce markets and greengroceries and carried back to kitchens, at home or restaurant, for preparation of meals. All fruits benefit from proper post-harvest care, and in many fruits,

2349-527: Is that "sauce-betel" is a sauce made from betel leaves, but arguments have been made that it actually refers to pepper, either long or black. In the third century CE, black pepper made its first definite appearance in Chinese texts, as hujiao or "foreign pepper". It does not appear to have been widely known at the time, failing to appear in a fourth-century work describing a wide variety of spices from beyond China's southern border, including long pepper. By

2436-522: Is the result of parthenocarpy , where fruits set without fertilization. Parthenocarpic fruit-set may (or may not) require pollination, but most seedless citrus fruits require a stimulus from pollination to produce fruit. Seedless bananas and grapes are triploids , and seedlessness results from the abortion of the embryonic plant that is produced by fertilization, a phenomenon known as stenospermocarpy , which requires normal pollination and fertilization. Variations in fruit structures largely depend on

2523-505: The pericarp (fruit wall) is fleshy at maturity are termed fleshy simple fruits . Types of fleshy simple fruits, (with examples) include: Berries are a type of simple fleshy fruit that issue from a single ovary. (The ovary itself may be compound, with several carpels.) The botanical term true berry includes grapes, currants, cucumbers, eggplants (aubergines), tomatoes, chili peppers, and bananas, but excludes certain fruits that are called "-berry" by culinary custom or by common usage of

2610-472: The Brazilian pepper tree , Schinus terebinthifolius , plants from a different family ( Anacardiaceae ). As they are members of the cashew family, they may cause allergic reactions , including anaphylaxis , for persons with a tree nut allergy . The bark of Drimys winteri ("canelo" or "winter's bark") is used as a substitute for pepper in cold and temperate regions of Chile and Argentina , where it

2697-483: The Chera Dynasty , famous for exporting black pepper and various other spices, gets mentioned in a number of classical historical sources for its trade with Roman Empire , Egypt , Mesopotamia , Levant , and Yemen . Peppercorns were a much-prized trade good, often referred to as "black gold" and used as a form of commodity money . The legacy of this trade remains in some Western legal systems that recognize

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2784-603: The modes of dispersal applied to their seeds. Dispersal is achieved by wind or water, by explosive dehiscence , and by interactions with animals. Some fruits present their outer skins or shells coated with spikes or hooked burrs; these evolved either to deter would-be foragers from feeding on them or to serve to attach themselves to the hair, feathers, legs, or clothing of animals, thereby using them as dispersal agents. These plants are termed zoochorous ; common examples include cocklebur , unicorn plant , and beggarticks (or Spanish needle) . By developments of mutual evolution,

2871-434: The raspberry are called drupelets because each pistil is like a small drupe attached to the receptacle. In some bramble fruits, such as blackberry , the receptacle, an accessory part, elongates and then develops as part of the fruit, making the blackberry an aggregate-accessory fruit. The strawberry is also an aggregate-accessory fruit, of which the seeds are contained in the achenes . Notably in all these examples,

2958-412: The (deposited) pollen through the stigma down the style into the ovary to the ovule. Two sperm are transferred from the pollen to a megagametophyte. Within the megagametophyte, one sperm unites with the egg, forming a zygote , while the second sperm enters the central cell forming the endosperm mother cell, which completes the double fertilization process. Later, the zygote will give rise to the embryo of

3045-441: The 12th century, however, black pepper had become a popular ingredient in the cuisine of the wealthy and powerful, sometimes taking the place of China's native Sichuan pepper (the tongue-numbing dried fruit of an unrelated plant). Marco Polo testifies to pepper's popularity in 13th-century China, when he relates what he is told of its consumption in the city of Kinsay ( Hangzhou ): "... Messer Marco heard it stated by one of

3132-496: The 14th century, but the mortar and pestle used earlier for crushing pepper have remained a popular method for centuries, as well. Enhancing the flavour profile of peppercorns (including piperine and essential oils), prior to processing, has been attempted through the postharvest application of ultraviolet-C light (UV-C). [REDACTED] Media related to Piper nigrum at Wikimedia Commons [REDACTED] Data related to Piper nigrum at Wikispecies [REDACTED] Pepper at

3219-525: The 16th century. Black peppercorns were found stuffed in the nostrils of Ramesses II , placed there as part of the mummification rituals shortly after his death in 1213 BCE. Little else is known about the use of pepper in ancient Egypt and how it reached the Nile from the Malabar Coast of South Asia. Pepper (both long and black) was known in Greece at least as early as the fourth century BCE, though it

3306-494: The 1930's. Caroline Keeling is the CEO, a part of the 3rd generation of Keelings to run the family business, having taken over from her father in 2006 as CEO after working her way up the ranks from when she first joined the business in 1994 as technical manager. Since 2006, the company has expanded to include 5 divisions (Keelings Retail, Keelings Farm Fresh, Keelings Market, Keelings International and Keelings Solutions) with operations in

3393-760: The Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish Councils of State. Its exorbitant price during the Middle Ages – and the monopoly on the trade held by Venice – was one of the inducements that led the Portuguese to seek a sea route to India. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first person to reach India by sailing around Africa (see Age of Discovery ); asked by Arabs in Calicut (who spoke Spanish and Italian) why they had come, his representative replied, "we seek Christians and spices". Though this first trip to India by way of

3480-491: The Danish-Norwegian flagship, Gribshunden , which sank in the summer of 1495. In 2021, archaeologists recovered more than 2000 peppercorns from the wreck, along with a variety of other spices and exotic foodstuffs including clove, ginger, saffron, and almond. The ship was carrying King Hans to a political summit at the time of its loss. The spices were likely intended for feasts at the summit, which would have included

3567-460: The Dutch in the period 1661–1663.7 As pepper supplies into Europe increased, the price of pepper declined (though the total value of the import trade generally did not). Pepper, which in the early Middle Ages had been an item exclusively for the rich, started to become more of an everyday seasoning among those of more average means. Today, pepper accounts for one-fifth of the world's spice trade. It

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3654-509: The Great Kaan's officers of customs that the quantity of pepper introduced daily for consumption into the city of Kinsay amounted to 43 loads, each load being equal to 223 lbs." During the course of the Ming treasure voyages in the early 15th century, Admiral Zheng He and his expeditionary fleets returned with such a large amount of black pepper that the once-costly luxury became

3741-798: The Greek geographer Strabo , the early empire sent a fleet of around 120 ships on an annual trip to India and back. The fleet timed its travel across the Arabian Sea to take advantage of the predictable monsoon winds. Returning from India, the ships travelled up the Red Sea , from where the cargo was carried overland or via the Nile-Red Sea canal to the Nile River, barged to Alexandria , and shipped from there to Italy and Rome. The rough geographical outlines of this same trade route would dominate

3828-660: The Malabar area also served as a stop-off point for much of the trade in other spices from farther east in the Indian Ocean. The Maluku Islands, historically known as the "Spice Islands," are a region in Indonesia known for producing nutmeg, mace, cloves, and pepper, and were a major source of these spices in the world. The presence of these spices in the Maluku Islands sparked European interest to buy them directly in

3915-523: The Mediterranean, the trade was largely monopolized by Italian powers, especially Venice and Genoa . The rise of these city-states was funded in large part by the spice trade. A riddle authored by Saint Aldhelm , a seventh-century Bishop of Sherborne , sheds some light on black pepper's role in England at that time: I am black on the outside, clad in a wrinkled cover, Yet within I bear

4002-425: The Middle Ages, pepper was a luxury item , affordable only to the wealthy, who certainly had unspoiled meat available, as well. In addition, people of the time certainly knew that eating spoiled food would make them sick. Similarly, the belief that pepper was widely used as a preservative is questionable; it is true that piperine , the compound that gives pepper its spiciness, has some antimicrobial properties, but at

4089-581: The New World and of chili peppers . Chili peppers—some of which, when dried, are similar in shape and taste to long pepper—were easier to grow in a variety of locations more convenient to Europe. Before the 16th century, pepper was being grown in Java , Sunda , Sumatra , Madagascar , Malaysia, and everywhere in Southeast Asia. These areas traded mainly with China, or used the pepper locally. Ports in

4176-476: The Roman Empire , that pepper was "a favorite ingredient of the most expensive Roman cookery". Pepper was so valuable that it was often used as collateral or even currency. The taste for pepper (or the appreciation of its monetary value) was passed on to those who would see Rome fall. Alaric , king of the Visigoths , included 3,000 pounds of pepper as part of the ransom he demanded from Rome when he besieged

4263-634: The UK, Europe and Asia. During the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland the company gained widespread controversy over its decision to hire seasonal workers from Bulgaria and elsewhere in Eastern Europe during the government-mandated lockdown . The company indicated that it had problems recruiting sufficient pickers locally, and that the skilled workers flown in would start work only after

4350-408: The attachment of other floral parts – there are parts (including petals, sepals, and stamens) that fuse with the ovary and ripen with it. For such a case, when floral parts other than the ovary form a significant part of the fruit that develops, it is called an accessory fruit . Examples of accessory fruits include apple, rose hip, strawberry, and pineapple. Because several parts of the flower besides

4437-403: The base of the spikes begin to turn red, and before the fruit is fully mature, and still hard; if allowed to ripen completely, the fruits lose pungency, and ultimately fall off and are lost. The spikes are collected and spread out to dry in the sun, then the peppercorns are stripped off the spikes. Black pepper is native either to Southeast Asia or South Asia . Within the genus Piper , it

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4524-446: The berries, which may also yield an essential oil by extraction . White pepper consists solely of the seed of the ripe fruit of the pepper plant, with the thin darker-coloured skin (flesh) of the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting , where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week so the flesh of the peppercorn softens and decomposes ; rubbing then removes what remains of

4611-890: The case of the sandbox tree – via explosive dehiscence or other such mechanisms (see impatiens and squirting cucumber ). A cornucopia of fruits – fleshy (simple) fruits from apples to berries to watermelon; dry (simple) fruits including beans and rice and coconuts; aggregate fruits including strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, pawpaw; and multiple fruits such as pineapple, fig, mulberries – are commercially valuable as human food. They are eaten both fresh and as jams, marmalade and other fruit preserves . They are used extensively in manufactured and processed foods (cakes, cookies, baked goods, flavorings, ice cream, yogurt, canned vegetables, frozen vegetables and meals) and beverages such as fruit juices and alcoholic beverages (brandy, fruit beer , wine). Spices like vanilla, black pepper, paprika, and allspice are derived from berries. Olive fruit

4698-622: The city in the fifth century. After the fall of Rome, others took over the middle legs of the spice trade , first the Persians and then the Arabs ; Innes Miller cites the account of Cosmas Indicopleustes , who travelled east to India, as proof that "pepper was still being exported from India in the sixth century". By the end of the Early Middle Ages , the central portions of the spice trade were firmly under Islamic control. Once into

4785-400: The concentrations present when pepper is used as a spice, the effect is small. Salt is a much more effective preservative, and salt-cured meats were common fare, especially in winter. However, pepper and other spices certainly played a role in improving the taste of long-preserved meats. Archaeological evidence of pepper consumption in late medieval Northern Europe comes from excavations on

4872-490: The decay and degradation of the fruit to expose the seeds; or it may rely upon the eating of fruit and excreting of seeds by frugivores – both are called indehiscence . Fleshy fruits do not split open, but they also are indehiscent and they may also rely on frugivores for distribution of their seeds. Typically, the entire outer layer of the ovary wall ripens into a potentially edible pericarp . Types of dry simple fruits, (with examples) include: Fruits in which part or all of

4959-401: The edible grain-fruit is actually a seed. The outer layer, often edible, of most fruits is called the pericarp . Typically formed from the ovary, it surrounds the seeds; in some species, however, other structural tissues contribute to or form the edible portion. The pericarp may be described in three layers from outer to inner, i.e., the epicarp , mesocarp and endocarp . Fruit that bears

5046-492: The fermentation and other processing removes the fruit layer (which also contains some of the spicy piperine). Other flavours also commonly develop in this process, some of which are described as off-flavours when in excess: Primarily 3-methylindole (pig manure-like), 4-methylphenol (horse manure), 3-methylphenol (phenolic), and butyric acid (cheese). The aroma of pepper is attributed to rotundone (3,4,5,6,7,8-Hexahydro-3α,8α-dimethyl-5α-(1-methylethenyl) azulene -1(2H)-one),

5133-477: The fleshy produce of fruits typically appeals to hungry animals, such that the seeds contained within are taken in, carried away, and later deposited (i.e., defecated ) at a distance from the parent plant. Likewise, the nutritious, oily kernels of nuts typically motivate birds and squirrels to hoard them, burying them in soil to retrieve later during the winter of scarcity; thereby, uneaten seeds are sown effectively under natural conditions to germinate and grow

5220-429: The fruit develops from a single flower, with numerous pistils. A multiple fruit is formed from a cluster of flowers, (a 'multiple' of flowers) – also called an inflorescence . Each ('smallish') flower produces a single fruitlet, which, as all develop, all merge into one mass of fruit. Examples include pineapple , fig , mulberry , Osage orange , and breadfruit . An inflorescence (a cluster) of white flowers, called

5307-529: The fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Sometimes the outer layer is removed from the seed through other mechanical, chemical, or biological methods. Ground white pepper is commonly used in Chinese , Thai , and Portuguese cuisines . It finds occasional use in other cuisines in salads, light-coloured sauces, and mashed potatoes as a substitute for black pepper, because black pepper would visibly stand out. However, white pepper lacks certain compounds present in

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5394-416: The fruits develop, but they are not evolutionarily relevant as diverse plant taxa may be in the same group. While the section of a fungus that produces spores is called a fruiting body, fungi are members of the fungi kingdom and not of the plant kingdom . Simple fruits are the result of the ripening-to-fruit of a simple or compound ovary in a single flower with a single pistil . In contrast,

5481-419: The head of the branch or stem. Fruits may incorporate tissues derived from other floral parts besides the ovary, including the receptacle, hypanthium, petals, or sepals. Accessory fruits occur in all three classes of fruit development – simple, aggregate, and multiple. Accessory fruits are frequently designated by the hyphenated term showing both characters. For example, a pineapple is a multiple-accessory fruit,

5568-572: The items in Rome, and, elsewhere, he cites a figure of 100 million sesterces. Black pepper was a well-known and widespread, if expensive, seasoning in the Roman Empire. Apicius ' De re coquinaria , a third-century cookbook probably based at least partly on one from the first century CE, includes pepper in a majority of its recipes. Edward Gibbon wrote, in The History of the Decline and Fall of

5655-496: The latter term meaning the fleshy part is derived not from the plant's ovaries but from the receptacle that holds the ovaries . Numerous dry achenes are attached to the outside of the fruit-flesh; they appear to be seeds but each is actually an ovary of a flower, with a seed inside. Schizocarps are dry fruits, though some appear to be fleshy. They originate from syncarpous ovaries but do not actually dehisce ; rather, they split into segments with one or more seeds. They include

5742-588: The leaf nodes, the spikes lengthening up to 7 to 15 cm (2.8 to 5.9 in) as the fruit matures. Pepper can be grown in soil that is neither too dry nor susceptible to flooding, moist, well-drained, and rich in organic matter. The vines do not do well over an altitude of 900 m (3,000 ft) above sea level. The plants are propagated by cuttings about 40 to 50 cm (16 to 20 in) long, tied up to neighbouring trees or climbing frames at distances of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in) apart; trees with rough bark are favoured over those with smooth bark, as

5829-512: The most widely traded spice in the world, accounting for 20% of all spice imports. Black pepper is native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BCE. J. Innes Miller notes that while pepper was grown in southern Thailand and in Malaysia , its most important source was India, particularly the Malabar Coast , in what is now the state of Kerala . The lost ancient port city of Muziris of

5916-445: The number of fertilized ovules. The pericarp typically is differentiated into two or three distinct layers; these are called the exocarp (outer layer, also called epicarp), mesocarp (middle layer), and endocarp (inner layer). In some fruits, the sepals , petals , stamens or the style of the flower fall away as the fleshy fruit ripens. However, for simple fruits derived from an inferior ovary – i.e., one that lies below

6003-548: The outer fruit and the seed. Black pepper contains between 4.6 and 9.7% piperine by mass, and white pepper slightly more than that. Refined piperine, by weight, is about one percent as hot as the capsaicin found in chili peppers . The outer fruit layer, left on black pepper, also contains aroma -contributing terpenes , including germacrene (11%), limonene (10%), pinene (10%), alpha-phellandrene (9%), and beta-caryophyllene (7%), which give citrusy, woody, and floral notes. These scents are mostly missing in white pepper, as

6090-530: The outer layer of the drupe, resulting in a different overall flavour. Green pepper, like black pepper, is made from unripe drupes. Dried green peppercorns are treated in a way that retains the green colour, such as with sulfur dioxide , canning , or freeze-drying . Pickled peppercorns, also green, are unripe drupes preserved in brine or vinegar . Fresh, unpreserved green pepper drupes are used in some cuisines like Thai cuisine and Tamil cuisine . Their flavour has been described as "spicy and fresh", with

6177-437: The ovary may contribute to the structure of a fruit, it is important to understand how a particular fruit forms. There are three general modes of fruit development: Consistent with the three modes of fruit development, plant scientists have classified fruits into three main groups: simple fruits, aggregate fruits, and multiple (or composite) fruits. The groupings reflect how the ovary and other flower organs are arranged and how

6264-640: The pepper plants climb rough bark more readily. Competing plants are cleared away, leaving only sufficient trees to provide shade and permit free ventilation. The roots are covered in leaf mulch and manure , and the shoots are trimmed twice a year. On dry soils, the young plants require watering every other day during the dry season for the first three years. The plants bear fruit from the fourth or fifth year, and then typically for seven years. The cuttings are usually cultivars , selected both for yield and quality of fruit. A single stem bears 20 to 30 fruiting spikes. The harvest begins as soon as one or two fruits at

6351-494: The pepper trade into Europe for a millennium and a half to come. With ships sailing directly to the Malabar coast, Malabar black pepper was now travelling a shorter trade route than long pepper, and the prices reflected it. Pliny the Elder 's Natural History tells us the prices in Rome around 77 CE: "Long pepper ... is 15 denarii per pound, while that of white pepper is seven, and of black, four." Pliny also complains, "There

6438-416: The pepper, accelerating enzymes that cause browning during drying. The pepper drupes can also be dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper skin around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer containing melanoidin . Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn. After the peppercorns are dried, pepper powder for culinary uses is obtained by crushing

6525-614: The plant hormone ethylene causes ripening . Therefore, maintaining most fruits in an efficient cold chain is optimal for post-harvest storage, with the aim of extending and ensuring shelf life. Various culinary fruits provide significant amounts of fiber and water, and many are generally high in vitamin C . An overview of numerous studies showed that fruits (e.g., whole apples or whole oranges) are satisfying (filling) by simply eating and chewing them. The dietary fiber consumed in eating fruit promotes satiety , and may help to control body weight and aid reduction of blood cholesterol ,

6612-401: The purpose of fertilization. (A female gametophyte is called a megagametophyte , and also called the embryo sac .) After double fertilization, the ovules will become seeds. Ovules are fertilized in a process that starts with pollination , which is the movement of pollen from the stamens to the stigma-style-ovary system within the flower-head. After pollination, a pollen tube grows from

6699-403: The required self-isolation period was completed. Fruit In botany , a fruit is the seed -bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering (see Fruit anatomy ). Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propagated using the movements of humans and other animals in

6786-582: The same meaning. In the 16th century, people began using pepper to also mean the New World chili pepper (genus Capsicum ), which is not closely related. Processed peppercorns come in a variety of colours, any one of which may be used in food preparation, especially common peppercorn sauce . Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in

6873-401: The seed, and the endosperm mother cell will give rise to endosperm , a nutritive tissue used by the embryo. As the ovules develop into seeds, the ovary begins to ripen and the ovary wall, the pericarp , may become fleshy (as in berries or drupes ), or it may form a hard outer covering (as in nuts). In some multi-seeded fruits, the extent to which a fleshy structure develops is proportional to

6960-504: The seed-associated fleshy structures (or produce) of plants that typically are sweet (or sour) and edible in the raw state, such as apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, and strawberries. In botanical usage, the term fruit also includes many structures that are not commonly called as such in everyday language, such as nuts, bean pods, corn kernels, tomatoes, and wheat grains. Many common language terms used for fruit and seeds differ from botanical classifications. For example, in botany,

7047-471: The southern tip of Africa was only a modest success, the Portuguese quickly returned in greater numbers and eventually gained much greater control of trade on the Arabian Sea. The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas granted Portugal exclusive rights to the half of the world where black pepper originated. However, the Portuguese monopolized the spice trade for 150 years. Portuguese even became the lingua franca of

7134-730: The store, they should not be damaged or bruised; and precut pieces should be refrigerated or surrounded by ice. All fruits and vegetables should be rinsed before eating. This recommendation also applies to produce with rinds or skins that are not eaten. It should be done just before preparing or eating to avoid premature spoilage. Fruits and vegetables should be kept separate from raw foods like meat, poultry, and seafood, as well as from utensils that have come in contact with raw foods. Fruits and vegetables that are not going to be cooked should be thrown away if they have touched raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs. All cut, peeled, or cooked fruits and vegetables should be refrigerated within two hours. After

7221-409: The term " peppercorn rent " as a token payment for something that is, essentially, a gift. The ancient history of black pepper is often interlinked with (and confused with) that of long pepper , the dried fruit of closely related Piper longum . The Romans knew of both and often referred to either as just piper . In fact, the popularity of long pepper did not entirely decline until the discovery of

7308-417: The term – such as strawberries and raspberries. Berries may be formed from one or more carpels (i.e., from the simple or compound ovary) from the same, single flower. Seeds typically are embedded in the fleshy interior of the ovary. Examples include: The strawberry, regardless of its appearance, is classified as a dry, not a fleshy fruit. Botanically, it is not a berry ; it is an aggregate-accessory fruit,

7395-624: The then known world. The spice trade made Portugal rich. However in the 17th century, the Portuguese lost most of their valuable Indian Ocean trade to the Dutch and the English , who, taking advantage of the Spanish rule over Portugal during the Iberian Union (1580–1640), occupied by force almost all Portuguese interests in the area. The pepper ports of Malabar began to trade increasingly with

7482-549: The wild source gradually decreasing as the quality and yield of the cultivated variety improved. No successful grafting of commercial pepper on wild pepper has been achieved to date. In 2020, Vietnam was the world's largest producer and exporter of black peppercorns, producing 270,192 tonnes or 36% of the world total (table). Other major producers were Brazil , Indonesia , India , Sri Lanka , China , and Malaysia . Global pepper production varies annually according to crop management, disease, and weather. Peppercorns are among

7569-536: Was probably an uncommon and expensive item that only the very rich could afford. By the time of the early Roman Empire , especially after Rome's conquest of Egypt in 30 BCE, open-ocean crossing of the Arabian Sea direct to Chera dynasty southern India 's Malabar Coast was near routine. Details of this trading across the Indian Ocean have been passed down in the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea . According to

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