Station: [8] Pepper
“Geh dahin, wo der Pfeffer wächst” - „Go where the pepper grows” is a German proverb meaning in English “jump in the lake”, go far away and never come back.
Here we are in the “pepper area”. Pepper is ever still by far the favourite spice of the Germans. Inofficial records claim that each German consumes on average about 250 g per year.
Most probably, pepper originates from the woods of the Malabar coast in India. It was discovered about 4.000 years ago. Today’s main areas of cultivation are India, Indonesia, Vietnam and Brazil.
The ancient Indians had an almost incredible knowledge about its healing effects. The genious plant tinkerers not only knew much about its most important pharmacological quality: the anti-inflammatory, fever-reducing and immune-strengthening effect of the ingredient piperin which has even found its way into contemporary medications. They knew as well that black pepper (in particular long pepper) can help effectively against breathing problems.
However, pepper is not the same as pepper. We collected many information about the different kinds of pepper for you. Enjoy studying them. If you like to sample one or another species, help yourself at our testing station.
We recommend our Pfeffermix exklusiv, a tasty mixture of nine different species. You will experience a true taste explosion when enjoying it freshly ground!
Fotos: © Spicy´s - Gewürzmuseum