Before making its way to European tables,has had quite the adventurous journey. Ships sank due to storms and pirate attacks, and many lives were lost transporting it across seas and deserts. Because of this, pepper was counted grain by grain, often serving as a form of currency in trade. It was used to purchase land, homes, and valuable goods. Merchants of that era were frequently referred to as “bags of pepper,” a term that implied wealth.
The first European “pepper lovers” had no idea that the famous spice had over 900 relatives, thriving in the tropical belt, particularly in Southeast Asia and tropical America. These plants can be herbaceous or shrubby, with many being vines that cling with their roots. Pepper was used in various products and even in traditional Eastern medicine. Betel pepper is a key ingredient in a mixture chewed by many Eastern cultures, while the long pepper (Piper longum) is used to make sticks and handles for umbrellas, among other things.
However, the most culturally significant variety is black pepper (Piper nigrum), native to the tropics of India. This perennial shrub has a creeping stem that can reach up to 26 feet (8 meters). Its heart-shaped leaves are dark green and slightly wrinkled, while the small white flowers cluster together. The fruits are juicy drupes that start off red and eventually turn yellow. The spice we know is made from the dried unripe fruits. Lower-grade black pepper is used to produce essential oil, which is utilized in the production of liqueurs and for preserving various foods. From the fruits, piperonal is extracted, which is used in perfumery and medicine for its stimulating, fever-reducing, toning, and irritant properties. The fruits contain 1-1.5% essential oil and 5-9% of the alkaloid piperine, which gives pepper its spicy flavor.
Members of the pepper genus (Piper) are often found in greenhouses and homes as decorative plants. This includes the forest pepper and long pepper. In our country, all members of the pepper family are warm greenhouse and house plants. They propagate through cuttings and require frequent misting during the summer. They should be planted or repotted in spring in a substrate made of leafy soil, greenhouse soil, peat, and sand (2:2:1:1). Bright lighting is not desirable.
Black pepper has “doppelgängers” that are often considered its close relatives due to their bitter taste and unique aroma. This includes red or chili pepper, which belongs to a completely different family—the nightshades, making it a relative of tomatoes and potatoes. These plants are primarily herbaceous, annuals with simple leaves and small white flowers. Red pepper is cultivated for its fruits, which are popular vegetables high in vitamin C. In some countries, like Bulgaria, sweet pepper is one of the leading vegetable crops, with a significant amount exported. In the southern regions of our country, sweet pepper is grown in open fields, especially high-yield varieties like Rotunda, Adyghe, Astrakhan, and many others. Sweet pepper requires bright sunlight and consistent watering. It is propagated from seeds, and seedlings should be planted in prepared beds after the last frost, spaced 16 inches (40 cm) apart.
Among the members of the Capsicum genus (the name for red pepper), there are many decorative species grown indoors.
The miniature bright fruits of some Capsicum varieties stand out beautifully against the lush green leaves. In indoor conditions, this pepper can be cultivated as a perennial plant, but it’s better to renew it annually from seeds. Seeds of decorative pepper should be sown in March at a depth of 0.2-0.4 inches (0.5-1 cm) in small pots filled with nutrient-rich loose soil. Seedlings will appear in 10-15 days. When the seedlings become crowded, they should be transplanted. During the growing season, the plants should be fed every 10-15 days with a solution of mineral fertilizers. For those looking to maintain a perennial pepper culture, it’s advisable to repot the plants in fresh soil each spring. It’s also beneficial to provide winter lighting with regular lamps (75-100 watts), placing them 27-31 inches (70-80 cm) above the tops of the plants. Under these conditions, the plants will bloom and bear fruit abundantly for a long time. The fruits of decorative indoor pepper are edible but very bitter, used as a spice.