The three main types of pepper, originating from the same Piper nigrum plant, include:
- Black pepper – is picked shortly before ripe but while the fruit is still green. The peppercorns are sun-dried for about two weeks until becoming dark-brown or black. The outer peel helps preserve the flavour, aroma and nutrients, always making black pepper a spice best ground when consumed.
- White pepper – is picked when fully ripe and when at least some of the berries on the vine have turned red. The fruit is thereafter soaked and gently washed, removing the dark outer peel, leaving only the pale seed. Since the outer peel, containing much of the spicy compounds, is removed, white pepper becomes less hot.
- Green pepper – is picked before becoming fully ripe and when its fruit-pulp still has a slight eucalyptus-like quality. Green pepper has a milder taste than other peppers. Green pepper is consumed as a fresh product and does not have the same long shelf-life as black and white peppers.
While pepper is mainly used for seasoning, it can have various health benefits. Piperine, the active property in pepper responsible for its hotness, is an antioxidant and can help digestion. Pepper’s antibacterial effects can help treat coughs and colds and the spice is frequently used in traditional Malagasy medicine.
Peppercorn, being the most commonly used spice in the world, is a commodity traded on stock markets by container loads. As a commodity can change hands while traders await the right times to sell, pepper is often stored in warehouses before reaching supermarkets. Pepper traded in bulk will likely lose much of its nutritional values and certainly flavours before being consumed.
To bypass the unnecessary trading routes, we offer high quality and fresh peppers directly from the farmers to retailers, chefs, catering services or even to consumers who appreciate quality pepper from Madagascar.