Jirovetz, L; Buchbauer, G; Ngassoum, M. B.; Geissler, M (2002). "Aroma compound analysis of Piper nigrum and Piper guineense essential oils from Cameroon using solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography, solid-phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and olfactometry". Journal of Chromatography A. 976 (1–2): 265–75. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9673(02)00376-x. PMID 12462618. 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 the items in Rome, and, elsewhere, he cites a figure of 100 million sesterces. [28] Srinivasa Iyengar, P. T. (1912). History of the Indian people. Life in ancient India in the age of the mantras. Madras: Srinivasa Varadachari & Co. p. 8. OCLC 613210854. Finlay, Robert (2008). "The Voyages of Zheng He: Ideology, State Power, and Maritime Trade in Ming China". Journal of the Historical Society. 8 (3): 337. doi: 10.1111/j.1540-5923.2008.00250.x.

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. [37] China edit Siebert, Tracey E.; Wood, Claudia; Elsey, Gordon M.; Alan (2008). "Determination of Rotundone, the Pepper Aroma Impact Compound, in Grapes and Wine". J. Agric. Food Chem. 56 (10): 3745–3748. doi: 10.1021/jf800184t. PMID 18461962. H. J. D. Dorman; S. G. Deans (2000). "Antimicrobial agents from plants: antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils". Journal of Applied Microbiology. 88 (2): 308–16. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2672.2000.00969.x. PMID 10736000. S2CID 21788355. Spices, which are used as integral ingredients in cuisine or added as flavouring agents to foods, are present in insufficient quantities for their antimicrobial properties to be significant. Lawless, Harry T.; Heymann, Hildegarde (2010). Sensory Evaluation of Food: Principles and Practices. Springer. pp. 62–3. ISBN 978-1441964885. February 6). These are the world’s three most traded spices. ITC. https://intracen.org/news-and-events/news/these-are-the-worlds-three-most-traded-spicesWe recommend Tellicherry when you are looking for a more intense flavor. Use it to enhance your soups, stews, and meat dishes. They are also great for use on steaks and in steak blends where the enhanced flavor will stand out. Collings, Emma R.; Alamar Gavidia, M. Carmen; Cools, Katherine; Redfern, Sally; Terry, Leon A. (February 2018). "Effect of UV-C on the physiology and biochemical profile of fresh Piper nigrum berries". Postharvest Biology and Technology. 136: 161–165. doi: 10.1016/j.postharvbio.2017.11.007. PMC 5727672. PMID 29398783.

a b c Harrison, Paul (27 January 2016). "What Are The Different Kinds of Peppercorns?". Food Republic . Retrieved 21 November 2019. Prof. George Menachery; Fr. Werner Chakkalakkal, CMI (10 January 2001). "Cranganore: Past and Present". Kodungallur – The Cradle of Christianity in India . Retrieved 11 May 2016. Pepper harvested for the European trade, from a manuscript Livre des merveilles de Marco Polo (The book of the marvels of Marco Polo) A single stem bears 20 to 30 fruiting spikes. The harvest begins as soon as one or two fruits at 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. [13]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 the city in the fifth century. [31] 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". [32] By the end of the Early Middle Ages, the central portions of the spice trade were firmly under Islamic control. Once into 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. However, the Portuguese proved unable to monopolize the spice trade. Older Arab and Venetian trade networks successfully imported enormous quantities of spices, and pepper once again flowed through Alexandria and Italy, as well as around Africa. In the 17th century, the Portuguese lost almost all 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 the Dutch in the period 1661–1663.

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. [12] Pink pepper and other plants edit Davidson, Alan (2002). Wilder Shores of Gastronomy: Twenty Years of the Best Food Writing from the Journal Petits Propos Culinaires. Berkeley: Ten Speed Press. ISBN 978-1-58008-417-8. Pepper contains phytochemicals, [47] including amides, piperidines, pyrrolidines, and trace amounts of safrole, which may be carcinogenic in laboratory rodents. [48] Hajeski, Nancy J (2016). National Geographic Complete Guide to Herbs and Spices: Remedies, Seasonings, and Ingredients to Improve Your Health and Enhance Your Life. National Geographic Books. p. 236. ISBN 9781426215889.A depiction of Calicut, Kerala, India published in 1572 during Portugal's control of the pepper trade Piper nigrum". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture . Retrieved 2 March 2008. Gibbon, Edward (1873) [1781]. History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Vol. III (New ed.). Philadelphia: Claxton, Remsen & Haffelfinger. p. 272f79. OCLC 669186315. 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 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. [ citation needed]