Black Peppercorn
Black pepper is produced from the still-green, unripe drupes or berries of the pepper plant. The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries dry 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. Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn. On some small estates, the berries are separated from the stem by hand and then sun-dried without the boiling process.
White pepper consists solely of the seed of the pepper plant, with the darker-coloured skin of the pepper berry removed. It is less aromatic and less pungent than black pepper and therefore not very well liked by the Creole cooks who very rarely cook with it..
Storage and use
Peppercorn with Mortar and Pestle
Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve its spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose flavour when exposed to light. Once ground, pepper’s aromatics can evaporate quickly; this is why it is recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use. The Creole cook traditionally uses the mortar and pestle to crack his pepper. Handheld pepper mills or grinders are now getting popular.
A little bit of History
Pierre Poivre, who was in the 1760s the Administrator Intendant of Isle de France (present day Mauritius), believed the Seychelles islands had a future as a home for spice gardens, providing a source of income for France and breaking the Dutch monopoly over the spice trade in the process. In order to obtain the spices, Poivre arranged clandestine smuggling forays to obtain plants and seeds from the Dutch Spice Islands in 1769-1770.
It is interesting to note that the name Poivre in English means pepper and this is purely coincidental.
In 1771, Poivre sent Antoine Gillot to Seychelles to establish a spice garden. Gillot worked on at Anse Royale, on Mahé Island, establishing nutmeg, cloves, and cinnamon and pepper plants.
Peppercorn Berries
Unfortunately in 1780, the spice gardens were partly burnt down when Lieutenant Romainville set fire to the plantations after he saw an approaching ship and mistakenly believed that the British were about to invade Mahé. At that time, war was being waged against England and to prevent the plantations from falling into English hands, the plantation was surrounded by flammable materials ready to be fired at any time and the plan worked! The vessel turned out to be a French slaver flying the English flag colours because she feared that the islands were already occupied by the English.
The pepper plants were destroyed and never recovered. Probably, had the garden not been burnt down, the Seychelles would have been one of the major exporters of pepper. To-date only a few pepper plants are planted privately and there is, unfortunately, no plantation as such although the climate is ideal for such a venture.
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