Spice of the moment

Pepper

Details: Home »; Spice of the moment; Monday, 16 January 2012 14:52

Pepper (Piper nigrum L.)

Characteristics:

“Pepper, the spice as such.”

The pepper plant is an evergreen creeper that climbs up to a height of 9 meters.
Leaves are dark green, heart-shaped and entire (7-15cm long) with small, inconspicuous white flowers.
After pollination the flowers grow up to 15cm long spikes which change their colour from green to strong orange-red in ripening season.
Each spike produces 20-30 pea-sized berry fruits. They are picked by hand.
Depending on harvest time and processing they are used for various spices: