GLOSSARY: POTATOES

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family (also known as the nightshades). The word potato may refer to the plant as well as the tuber. Potatoes are believed to be from Peru where it was cultivated as long as 10,000 years ago. Potatoes are the world's fourth largest food crop, after rice, wheat and maize. The name Potato comes from the Spanish word ‘patata’ which is compounded from two south american words (of different dialects) – papa and batata.


Although Peru is the birthplace of the potato, over 99 per cent of all cultivated potatoes worldwide are descendants of a subspecies indigenous to south-central Chile.


The potato was introduced to Europe in 1536 and subsequently by European mariners to the rest of the world. Once established in Europe, the potato soon became an important food staple and field crop. Lack of genetic diversity, due to the fact that very few varieties were initially introduced elsewhere in the world, left the crop vulnerable to diseases in the introduced countries. In 1845, a plant disease known as late blight, spread rapidly through western Ireland, resulting in crop failures that led to the Great Irish Famine.


China is now the world's largest potato producing country, and nearly a third of the world's potatoes are harvested in China and India. Potatoes are now a staple in nearly all cuisines throughout the world.

TYPES OF POTATOES AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA AND COOKING GUIDES

ATLANTIC:
An attractive potato with white skin and flesh. Good for boiling and baking, superb for frying and chips.

BANANA:
Yellow, banana-shaped, waxy-type tubers with firm texture that have wonderful flavour baked, boiled and steamed. Perfect for salads.

BINTJE:
A waxy potato from the Netherlands. It is creamy with a yellow flesh and ideal for potato salads.


BISMARK:
Ideal for roasting or frying when you want crispy skins. Available only around mid Summer.

BROWNELL:
Brownish-pink tubers and white flesh. It is excellent for boiling, especially when new, and for mashing and chips when more mature. Not recommended for baking. Stores very well.

COLIBAN:
A white potato ideal for mashing or roasting.

DELAWARE:
A white potato ideal for roasting and chipping.

DESIREE:
A pink skin and yellow flesh potato ideal for boiling.


DUTCH CREAMS:
Originally from Holland but grown widely in Australia; the best hailing from Tasmania. Best boiled and eaten with a little salt.

RUSSET BURBANK:
White fleshed potato good for chips, roasting and mashing.

JERSEY ROYAL:
Cream skined and white flesh potao great for boiling whole or in potato salads.

KENNEBEC:
Creamy skin and white flesh - the old staple potato.

KING EDWARD:
White flesh. Great for roasting, boiling and mashing.

KIPFLER (OR GERMAN FINGER POTATO):
A waxy, finger shaped with creamy-coloured flesh. Great boiled, steamed and in potato salads and for presentation purposes.

LATONA:
Yellow skin and flesh. Good for boiling and mashing.

LUSTRE:
An oval, white-skinned and white-fleshed potato. Excellent flavour. Good for baking and roasting, makes great chips. Especially recommended for boiling. Very similar to Kennebec.

NADINE:
Creamy-coloured skin and flesh. A general purpose potato except for chips.

NICOLA:
Yellow flesh. Excellent for mashing and gnocchi and good for boiling, chips and roasting. It has a very buttery flavour.

OTWAY REDS:
Good all rounder.

PATRONE:
Ideal for roast or salads. Waxy, very firm and never fall apart. Light yellow flesh and skin. Great for curries.

PINK EYE (OR SOUTHERN GOLD):
A cold climate potato, so those from Southern Tasmania are usually the best. A very nutty flavour. Good for roasting, boiling and salads.

PINK FIR:
The ultimate salad potato. They are very waxy and very firm.

PONTIAC:
Pink skin and white flesh A good general purpose spud.

PURPLE CONGO:
Originating from Peru, it has a subtle lavender flesh which can add a decorative touch to potato salads or gnocchi. No need to peel.

RED NORLAND:
Early red potato with excellent flavoured white flesh. A very versatile potato, best for salad, boiling and mashing.

ROYAL BLUE:
Purple skin and yellow flesh. Good for roasting, mashing and chips.

RUBY-LOU:
Creamy texture, white flesh, rosy skin.

RUSSET BURBANKS (IDAHO):
A good frying potato and good all-rounder. Used by McDonald's throughout the world for its French fries.

SAPPHIRE:
A spectacular purple potato with rich purple flesh that maintains its colour when cooked. Makes the most striking mashed potato.

SEBAGO:
Cream skin and white flesh. Good for chips, mashing and general purpose.

SOUTHERN GOLD:
A waxy potato with a yellow flesh.

SPUNTA:
A yellow fleshed potato that is a good all rounder and good for potato salads.

SYMFONIA:
Red skin and yellow flesh. Good for roasting, mashing and chips.

TASMAN:
Tasman is a useful all-purpose with white flesh. Great for boiling, salad, mashing, chips and baking.

TOOLANGI DELIGHT:
With a pure white flesh and a creamy texture they are a very good general purpose spud.

Named after the Department of Agriculture's potato research station. Good mashed or in their jackets in oven. The purple skin will rub off with water.

UP-TO-DATE:
An heirloom Scottish variety, introduced in 1894, with a high reputation for its baking quality. It's also good for boiling, mash and chips. The tubers are flat and oval, with creamy-white skin and cream flesh.


YUKON GOLD:
Developed in Canada and not readily available in Australia, the Yukon Gold is a yellow potato similar to the Bintje but not quite as flavourful. A useful general purpose potato.



IN SUMMARY:

For mashing: Nicolas, Desirees, Bintjes, King Edwards, Russet Burbanks and Toolangi Delight.

For potato salads: waxy varieties such as Pink Fir, Kipfler, Patrone and Pink Eyes.

For roasting or baking: King Edwards, Delaware and Up-To-Date.

For chips (or French Fries): low sugar and floury varieties such as Sebago, Russet Burbanks and Bintje.

For boiling, steaming stews and curries: waxy varieties such as Patrone and Desiree.

For gnocchi: Nicolas.

All purpose: Tasman, Russet Burbanks and King Edward.

Source: Wikipedia, White Hat Cookbook and Tasmania Gourmet Potatoes

GLOSSARY: CHILLIES

Chillies (or chilli peppers, chilli, chile) originated from Mexico in Central America and there are several species, all belonging to the capsicum genus.


Chillies have been a part of the human diet in the Americas since at least 7500 BC. There is archaeological evidence at sites located in southwestern Ecuador that chillies were domesticated more than 6000 years ago, and is one of the first cultivated crops in the Americas that is self-pollinating. Chillies are members of the solanaceae family, along with cousins potatoes, eggplants and tomatoes.

Christopher Columbus was one of the first Europeans to encounter chillies (in the Caribbean), and called them "peppers" because of their similarity in taste (though not in appearance) with the Old World black peppers of the Piper genus.


Chillies can be red, green, orange, purple or almost the colour of chocolate. They can be pointy, round, small, club like, long, thin, globular, tapered, or bell shaped. Their skin may be shiny, smooth or wrinkled and their walls may be thick or thin. They range from extremely hot to sweet and mild. Be assured that only a few varieties of chillies are as mild as capsicums.

The colour of chillies is no guide to the intensity of their flavour. Nor is the size. Yet they are utterly delicious and an essential part of the cuisine so many parts of the world. Some people (myself for one) believe they are mildly addictive in a nice and harmless way.


Chillies grow in a range of areas. They are short lived perennials in subtropical and tropical areas, but are normally grown as annuals in colder regions because the cold weather causes them to die off.

In Australia, most fruit is produced from December through to April. chillies like a warm, sunny spot, well drained soil and regular watering during dry weather. Over fertilising can lead to excessive foliage and fewer fruit, just like with tomatoes. I have grown chillies successfully in a hot house throughout the Canberra winter. Ensure that you do not over water during the winter period as the roots may freeze if the ground is too wet.

The substances that give chillies their intensity when ingested or applied topically are capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonenamide) and several related chemicals, collectively called capsaicinoids. Capsaicin is the primary ingredient in pepper spray.

When consumed, capsaicinoids bind with pain receptors in the mouth and throat that are normally responsible for sensing heat. Once activated by the capsaicinoids, these receptors send a message to the brain that the person has consumed something hot. The brain responds to the burning sensation by raising the heart rate, increasing perspiration and release of endorphins.

The "heat" of chillies is measured in Scoville heat units (SHU), which is the number of times a chilli extract must be diluted in water for it to lose its heat. Bell peppers rank at 0 SHU, New Mexico green chillies at about 1,500 SHU, jalapeños at 3,000–6,000 SHU, and habaneros at 300,000 SHU. The record for the hottest chilli was assigned by the Guinness Book of Records to the Naga Jolokia, measuring over 1,000,000 SHU. Pure capsaicin, which is a hydrophobic, colorless, odorless, and crystalline-to-waxy solid at room temperature, measures 16,000,000 SHU.

It is amazing how Capsaicin can get around; therefore care should be taken when handling chillies. Capsaicin can damage your eyes so always prepare chillies by wearing disposable gloves and by thoroughly washing all knives, cutting boards and anything else that has come into contact with a cut chilli. Also, do not allow chillies to come in contact with a cut or graze as it can burn the skin.

Most of chilli’s heat is in its seeds and membrane. You can ‘tone’ down the chilli’s heat by discarding these.


COMMON TYPES OF CHILLIES

 Sweet Chilli: A mild chilli that can be eaten even by children. About 6-8 cm long, bright yellow-lime green skin and pointed at one end.

 Bell Chilli Red/Green: This chilli is shaped like a bell. The red ones are hot the green variety can be medium to hot and are excellent for pickling.

 Green Chilli: A long slender green chilli, 6-8 cm long, pointed at one end. It has a medium flavour that is easily eaten by most people who are not use to chilli. Around 1,000 and 2,000 Scoville units on the heat index.

 Red Chilli: Similar in size and shape to the green chilli, but with more sting to its flavour. Good idea to mix the red and green chillies together in any dish.

 Thai Hot/Bird’s eye chilli: A very hot tiny chilli 1-2 cm long. The skin colour can range from green, lime yellow to orange and red. Most people will find these very hot even without the seeds. Used mainly in Thai, Chinese, Indonesian, Malaysian, Indian or Spanish dishes.

 Mexican Hot Chilli: One of the hottest chillies. It has a bright green skin, is 6 - 8 cm long and is pointed at one end.

 Jalapeño Chilli: This fiery hot chilli is the one by which all other chillies are judged. Ripened they can be dark green or red. They have a very thick fleshy skin and are sausage shaped with a blunt end. The Jalapeño rates between 3,000 and 8,000 Scoville units on the heat index.

 Serrano Chilli: It has thin walls and the Serrano chilli is green in colour at first, and ripens to red, brown, orange, or yellow. It is said to be about 5 times hotter than the Jalapeño and rates between 8,000 and 22,000 Scoville units on the heat index.

 Cayenne Chilli: This chilli is generally dried and ground, or pulped and baked into cakes, which are then ground and sifted to make the powdered spice known as Cayenne pepper. It is generally rated at 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville Units.

COMMON FORMS OF CHILLIES

Chillies are normally sold commercially in the following forms:

 Fresh whole
 Fresh minced
 Dried whole
 Dried flakes
 Dried flakes in oil
 Powdered/Ground
 Pickled in a variety of vinegars or wines and in brine
 Infused in a variety of oils
 Chilli Sauces and Sambals

COOLING DOWN REMEDIES

If you have been unfortunate and suffer from ‘chili burns’ to the mouth, don't be tempted to drink cold water as this can intensify the effect in the short term. Instead, have one of the following:

• Salt – put some common table salt on your tongue
• Milk
• Yoghurt
• Cucumber
• A couple of mint leaves
• Yoghurt with chopped mint

Source: Wikipedia, ABC Gardening and Apex

GLOSSARY: CORIANDER

Coriander (Coriandrum sativum) is an annual herb in the family Apiaceae. It is also known as cilantro, particularly in the Americas. Coriander is native to southwestern Asia right to the west to North Africa.

The name coriander derives from French coriandre through Latin “coriandrum” and in turn from the Greek “κορίαννον”. All parts of the plant are edible, but the fresh leaves and the dried seeds are the most commonly used in cooking. Coriander is commonly used in Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Indian, South Asian, Mexican, Latin American, Chinese, African and Southeast Asian cuisine.

Originally grown around present day Greece, coriander has been used as a culinary herb since at least 5,000 B.C. It is mentioned in Sanskrit text and the Bible. Pliny the Elder (23-79 A.D.) used the name Coriandrum after "coris", the Greek word for "bedbug" as it was said they both emitted a similar odour. Coriander is one of the herbs thought to have aphrodisiac qualities; the Chinese used it in love potions and in “The Thousand and One Nights” a man who had been childless for 40 years is cured with a coriander concoction. Spanish conquistadors introduced it to Mexico and Peru where it now commonly paired with chillies in the local cuisine.

The coriander leaves have a very different taste from the seeds, with citrus-like overtones. Some people perceive an unpleasant "soapy" taste or a rank smell and avoid eating the leaves. The fresh leaves are an essential ingredient in many South Asian foods (particularly chutneys), in Chinese dishes and in Mexican salsas and guacamole.


Chopped coriander leaves are also used as a garnish on cooked dishes such as dhal and many curries. As heat diminishes their flavour quickly, coriander leaves are often used raw or added to the dish right before serving. The leaves also spoil quickly when removed from the plant, and lose their aroma when dried or frozen.

The dry fruits are known as coriander seeds. In some regions, the use of the word coriander in food preparation always refers to these seeds (as a spice), rather than to the plant itself. The seeds have a lemony citrus flavour when crushed. It is also described as warm, nutty, spicy, and orange-flavoured. It is commonly found both as whole dried seeds and in ground form. Seeds can be roasted or heated on a dry pan briefly before grinding to enhance and alter the aroma. Like most spices, ground coriander seed loses its flavour quickly in storage and is best when ground as needed. For optimum flavour, whole coriander seed should be stored in a tightly sealed container away from sunlight and heat.


Coriander seed is a key in garam masala and Indian curries, which often employ the ground fruits in generous amounts together with cumin. Roasted coriander seeds, called dhana dal, are also eaten as a snack. It is also the main ingredient of the two south Indian gravies, sambhar and rasam.

Outside of Asia, coriander seed is an important spice for pickling vegetables, and making sausages in Germany and South Africa. In Russia and Central Europe coriander seed is an occasional ingredient in rye bread as an alternative to caraway. Coriander seeds are also used in brewing certain styles of beer, particularly some Belgian wheat beers. The coriander seeds are typically used in conjunction with orange peel to add a citrus character to these styles of beer. Having said this, it is not a common spice in Western cuisine.

Coriander roots have a deeper, more intense flavour than the leaves. They are used in a variety of Asian cuisines. They are commonly used in Thai dishes, including soups and curry pastes. In Malaysia, it is usually ground to make curry paste.

Coriander is considered an aid to the digestive system. It is an appetite stimulant and aids in the secretion of gastric juices. The essential oils of the cilantro leaves contain antibacterial properties and can be used as a fungicide. It is rich in vitamin C.

NAMES

Coriander - Europe, Asia, Australasia
Cilantro - Latin America and United States

French: coriandre
German: Koriander
Italian: coriandolo
Spanish: cilantro, culantro
Arabic: kizbara
Burmese: nannambin (leaves), nannamzee (seed)
Chinese: hsiang tsai, yen-sui, yuen sai, yuin si tsoi (leaves)
Indian: dhanyia, dhuniah, kothimbir, kotimear, kotimli (seed)
dhania patta, dhania sabz, hara dhania (leaf)
Indonesian: ketumbar
Lao: phak hom pom
Malay: daun ketumba(r) (leaves), ketumba(r) (seed)
Sinhalese: kottamalli (seed), kottamalli kolle (leaves)
Tamil: kothamilee
Thai: pak chee (met)

Source: Wikipedia and The Epicentre

GLOSSARY: MANGOES

Mangoes belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous species of tropical fruiting trees in the flowering plant family Anacardiaceae.

The mango is indigenous to the Indian Subcontinent and has been cultivated in the Indian subcontinent for thousands of years. It reached East Asia between the 5th and 4th century BC and by the 10th century AD, they were transported to East Africa and subsequently introduced to Brazil, the West Indies and Mexico, through the slave trade.

In tropical parts of Asia, mangoes are grown in household plots. Nearly half of the world's mangoes are cultivated in India. Though India is the largest producer of mangoes in the world, it accounts for less than one per cent of the global mango trade.


Mango trees are evergreens that will grow to 60 feet tall. The mango tree will fruit 4 to 6 years after planting. Mango trees require hot, dry periods to set and produce a good crop.


Mango cultivars are classified into two groups – monoembryonic (where only one seedling emerges from a single seed) or Indian type; and polyembronic (where multiple seedlings emerges from a single seed) or Indo-Chinese type. The Indian type is intolerant of humidity, has flushes of bright red new growth that are subject to mildew, and bears fruit of rich colour and regular form. The Indo-Chinese type tolerates excess moisture, has a pale green or red new growth and is mildew resistant. Its polyembryonic fruit is pale green and elongated kidney-shaped. Today there are over 1,000 different varieties of mangos throughout the world.

A ripe mango is sweet, with a unique taste and flesh that nevertheless varies from variety to variety. In some cultivars, the flesh has a fibrous texture.

Apart from being consumed as is as a fruit, mangoes are used in various forms – unripe, ripe, dried, pickled and powdered. For example, in western recipes, ripe mangoes are used to make 'chutneys' which are usually very sweet; whereas in Indian ‘chutneys’, unripe sour mangoes are used along with spices. The Indians also pickle unripe mangoes. In South-East Asia, green (unripe) mangoes are used in salads and a popular Malaysian dish called Rojak. Malaysians also eat green mangoes sliced, very thinly, with soy sauce mixed with chilli.

Dried and powdered unripe mango, known as amchur (sometimes spelled amchoor) in India and ambi in Urdu, is used in cooking.


In Mexico, mango is used to make juices, smoothies, ice cream, fruit bars, raspados, aguas frescas, pies and sweet chili sauce, or mixed with chamoy, a sweet and spicy chili paste. It is popular on a stick dipped in hot chili powder and salt or also as a main ingredient in fresh fruit combinations.

Pieces of mango can be mashed and used as a topping on ice cream or blended with milk and ice as milkshakes. In Thailand and other South East Asian countries, sweet glutinous rice is flavored with coconut then served with sliced mango as a dessert.

In other parts of South-east Asia, mangoes are pickled with fish sauce and rice vinegar. Green mangoes are also used in mango salad with fish sauce and dried shrimps.

MANGO NUTRITION INFORMATION

Mango is rich in a variety of phytochemicals and nutrients that qualify it as a model "super fruit", a term used to highlight potential health value of certain edible fruits. In all, mangoes contain over 20 different vitamins and minerals.The fruit is high in prebiotic dietary fiber (up to 40% of your daily fiber requirement), vitamins B6, A and C, polyphenols and carotenoids. Mangoes are a great way to replenish potassium lost through physical activity.

Apart from being full of nutrition, mangoes contain an enzyme with stomach soothing properties similar to papain found in papayas. These enzymes act as a digestive aid.

HOW TO CUT A MANGO

The easiest way to cut a mango is the "Inside Out" method.


* Ensure your hands, utensils, work surface and fruit is clean.

* Stand the mango on your cutting board stem end down and hold. Remember, the mango has one long, flat seed in the centre of the fruit.

* Place your knife about 1/4" from the widest centre line and cut down through the mango.

*Flip the mango around and repeat this cut on the other side. The resulting ovals of mango flesh are known as the "cheeks". What's left in the middle is mostly the mango seed.

* Cut parallel slices into the mango flesh, being careful not to cut through the skin. Turn the mango cheek 1/4 rotation and cut another set of parallel slices to make a checkerboard pattern.

* Turn the scored mango cheek inside out by pushing the skin up from underneath.

* Scrape the mango chunks off of the skin, using the knife or a spoon.

The result: Beautiful cubes of fresh mango.

Source: Wikipedia, Current Science 2004, Organic Food.Com.Au and Indiamarks.com

GLOSSARY: PORCELAIN

Porcelain or fine china is one of the earliest artworks introduced to the western world through the Silk Road. It is one of three types of pottery - the other two being earthenware and stoneware.

Porcelain is made by firing a type of clay known as kaolin, as well as other materials, in a kiln. Temperatures between 1,200°C and 1,400°C are required for this process. The toughness, strength, and translucence of porcelain arise mainly from the formation of glass and mullite within the fired porcelain.

Kaolinite is a type of clay which includes silicate, oxygen and alumina. Rocks that are rich in kaolinite are known as china clay or kaolin.


Porcelain, as we know it today, is believed to have originated in China, over 2000 years ago, in the late Eastern Han period. However, the earliest crude Chinese ceramic, made of kaolin, was found dating back to the Shang Dynasty (16th - 11th century BC). To read more on Chinese ceramic, check out this article on Wikipedia.

But most fascinatingly, porcelain, in its primitive clay form, is said to have been made by man some 27,000 to 31,000 years ago, dated with the discovery of the oldest piece of ceramic art sculpture in the world - The Venus of Dolní Vestonice, in the Czech Republic. She dates back to the Stone Age (see figure below).


Porcelain derives its present name from the Italian word ‘porcellana’ or cowrie shell, because of its resemblance to the translucent surface of the shell. Porcelain can informally be referred to as "china" in some English-speaking countries, as China (the country) was the birth place of porcelain making.

Porcelain is used to make table, kitchen, sanitary, and decorative wares such as objects of fine art and tiles. Its high resistance to the passage of electricity makes porcelain an excellent insulator. Dental porcelain is used to make false teeth, caps and crowns.

Porcelain can be divided into the three main categories: hard-paste, soft-paste and bone, depending on the composition of the paste (i.e. the material used to form the body of a porcelain object).

Hard-paste porcelain or ‘real’ porcelain (as this is the technique used by the Chinese porcelain makers) is made from a very pure mixture of kaolin and petuntse (also known as feldspar or China stone). Sometimes flint is added to the mixture.

The oldest Chinese dictionary, the Erya, defines porcelain as ‘fine, compact pottery’. The Chinese tradition recognizes two primary categories for its ceramics – high-fired and low-fired. Chinese ceramic are also classified as being either ‘northern’ or ‘southern’, depending on the source of the raw materials. If it is sourced from the Yellow River region (geographically placed in the north of China), it is ‘northern’; and it is categorized as ‘southern’ if the materials are from the surrounding Yangtze River area in southern China.

The downfall of hard porcelain is, despite its strength, it chips fairly easily and is tinged naturally with blue or grey (maybe this is the reason why most Chinese porcelain is painted blue?). It is fired at a much higher temperature than soft-paste porcelain and therefore is more difficult and expensive to produce.

ENGLISH PORCELAIN/CHINA


The first English porcelain or china was the soft-paste china and was developed by Thomas Briand at a Chelsea factory in 1742. This was the first attempt by the English to emulate the hard-paste process perfected by the Chinese.

Soft paste porcelain contains kaolin, petuntse and 'frit' - a glassy substance that is a mixture of white sand, nitre, alum, salt and gypsum. Unfortunately, soft-paste porcelain is unable to hold liquids unless it is glazed. This however does not make the medium inferior but actually works very well for decorative art. When painted, the colours merge with the glaze to produce a wonderful silk-like effect that is very appealing to the eye and collectors.

In 1749, Thomas Frye, a painter, took out a patent on porcelain containing cattle bone ash (and yes, all fine bone china contains bone! Bet you did not know that…..hmmm…maybe this was one of the reasons why fine bone china did not take off in India!!!!). This was the first recorded reference to bone in porcelain making history, hence the term ‘bone china’. For whatever reason, when it was first tried, it was found that adding bone-ash to clay produced a white, strong, translucent porcelain. Bone china was developed as a substitute for hard-paste china.

In the late 18th century (around 1799), Josiah Spode II undertook further developments and subsequently popularized it, by mixing it with kaolin and china stone to compete with the fragile, imported Oriental porcelain. Bone china is extremely hard, intensely white and will allow light to pass through it. Josiah Spode II is unquestionably the most pre-eminent figure in bone china history.

Ironically, English bone china was intended to be a cheaper substitute for the hard-paste porcelain but by 1800, its quality had surpassed that of hard-paste and soft-paste china, due to its resistance to damage and its fine translucence. Ever since then, bone china has been synonymous with fine dining and artistic excellence.

For a list of English past and present china manufacturers, visit the La Galerie Celine Serrano, Paris website. The list is not exhaustive, but it provides a good source to start your ‘china’ research.

GLOSSARY: CHERRIES

The cherry is a fleshy fruit that contains a single stony seed. It belongs to the Rosaceae family, along with almonds, peaches, plums and apricots.

The cherry as we know today are thought to have come from a wild cherry which grows in areas spanning from the United Kingdom to western Asia. Since ancient times, the trees with the sweetest fruit have been selected for cultivation and from these, the modern varieties have arisen.


The cherry is generally understood to have been brought to Rome from northeastern Anatolia, historically known as the Pontus region, in 72 BC. The Romans are thought to have taken their preferred varieties to Britain when occupying the country in the 1st century AD.

In Australia the first commercial cherry orchard was planted at Young in New South Wales in 1878. Young has continued to grow cherries since then and today, Young and Orange are the major cherry growing areas of Australia. However, South Australia and Tasmania also produce a lot of the cherries that are found in the shops today.

A breakdown of the world cherry produces, Australian cherry growing regions and Australian cherry seasons are provided below.






STORING CHERRIES

Here are some instructions for storing cherries to maximise their lifespan…..that is, if you can stop yourself from eating them all!!!

* Cherries are picked ripe and sweet from the tree, so there is no need to ripen them.

* Keep the cherries cool, ideally in the fridge, to keep them fresh for longer.

* Store dry and loosely packed in a covered container in the fridge until needed.

* Leave the stems on - they help keep the cherries fresh.

HEALTH BENEFITS

Cherries have a unique combination of vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds which act together to deliver health benefits not available in supplements. Fresh foods not only retain more of their nutrients than processed foods or supplements, but these act together to naturally provide the body with a more complex and potent mix of the compounds it requires to prevent disease.

Vitamins E and C and the flavonoids found in cherries and other fruits may slow ageing and they may slow or even reverse the symptoms of neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Cherries also contain compounds that can help to slow or inhibit the progression of cancer (Polyphenolics Egallic acid and Lignans).

Antioxidants are necessary to clear the body of damaging free radicals and they are most effectively acquired through diet. If we don’t consume enough antioxidants, damage can occur, leading to degeneration and disease including cardiovascular disease, arthritis, cancer, inflammatory conditions and neurological diseases. Cherries contain 16 antioxidants, plus a suite of other compounds with beneficial health benefits.

Cherries may benefit people suffering from chronic inflammatory conditions such as gout, pancreatitis, or prostitis, as well as allergic conditions including asthma, hay fever, eczema and hives because they contain the compounds cyanidin and quercetin.

So cherry lovers can indulge to their heart’s content, because cherries have significant health benefits in slowing or inhibiting the progression of cancer, ageing, neurological diseases, cardiovascular disease and inflammatory conditions. They may also aid in detoxification of foreign substances.

And to top this off – cherries have only 224 kilojoules (54 calories) per 100 grams and virtually no fat!

Source: Wikipedia, Victorian Cherry Association and Fresh for Kids

GLOSSARY: EGGS (POULTRY)

Eggs are one of the most common and versatile cooking ingredients. The most commonly used are poultry eggs from chicken, followed by duck, goose and quail. Other more exotic eggs from the bird family include ostrich, gull, guinea fowl, pheasant and emu eggs.


Chicken eggs (hereby referred to as eggs) are widely used in many types of dishes, both sweet and savoury. Eggs can be pickled, hard-boiled, soft-boiled, scrambled, fried and refrigerated. They can also be eaten raw, though this is not recommended for people who may be especially susceptible to salmonella, such as the elderly, infirm or pregnant women. In addition, the protein in raw eggs is only 51 per cent bio-available, whereas that of a cooked egg is nearer 91 per cent bio-available; meaning the protein of cooked eggs is nearly twice as absorbable as the protein.

Eggs have been a valuable source of food since prehistory, when our ancestors were hunter gatherers. In Thebes Egypt, the tomb of Haremhab, built about 1420 BC, shows a depiction of a man carrying bowls of ostrich eggs and other large eggs as offerings. In ancient Rome, eggs were preserved and meals often started with an egg course. In the middle ages, eggs were forbidden during Lent because of their richness.

Eggs supply essential amino acids for humans, and provide 11 different vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, D, E, riboflavin, folic acid, vitamin B12, choline, iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. They are also an inexpensive single-food source of high quality protein, healthy fats (including omega-3) and important antioxidants.

All of the egg's vitamin A, D and E is in the egg yolk. The egg is one of the few foods which naturally contain Vitamin D. A large egg yolk contains approximately 60 Calories (250 kilojoules); the egg white contains about 15 Calories (60 kilojoules). A large yolk contains more than two-thirds of the recommended daily intake of 300 mg of cholesterol (although one study indicates that the human body may not absorb much cholesterol from eggs). The yolk makes up about 33 per cent of the liquid weight of the egg. It contains all of the fat, slightly less than half of the protein and most of the other nutrients. It also contains all of the choline, and one yolk contains approximately half of the recommended daily intake. Choline is an important nutrient for development of the brain, and is said to be important for pregnant and nursing women to ensure healthy fetal brain development.

Recent research shows eating eggs has very little, if any, effect on blood cholesterol levels with the real culprit being saturated fat. In addition, chicken eggs that are high in Omega 3 fatty acids have come on the market. These eggs are made by feeding laying hens a diet containing polyunsaturated fats and kelp meal. Nutrition information on the packaging is different for each of the brands.

In Australia, the Australian Egg Corporation Limited (click HERE for the website) defines the sizes of eggs sold in Australia. The following table shows Australian egg sizes.


According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the ABS), Australia produced 236.4 million eggs (from 440 producers) in 2006/07. Average retail prices for one dozen eggs (March quarter, 2008) sold in Australia is $4.51. A breakdown of the grocery/retail production share of these eggs is presented below.


Eggs should be considered in a similar way as other protein-rich foods and included as part of a varied diet that's low in saturated fat and contains a variety of cardio-protective foods (such as fish, wholegrains, fruit, vegetables, legumes and nuts).

There is little research to guide recommendations for egg consumption for people at high risk of heart disease (e.g. with diabetes or high cholesterol). However, prudent advice is that the inclusion of eggs in the context of a diet low in saturated fat, and containing known cardio-protective foods, is not associated with increased risk.

As eggs provide a great source of high quality protein, a relatively low amount of kilojoules and 11 different vitamins and minerals, they are an excellent inclusion in a healthy, well balanced diet:

* Boil eggs and pack for lunch with wholegrain bread and salad.

* Scramble eggs with grated or finely chopped vegetables and serve with ham, tomato and mushrooms for a great Sunday morning ‘pick-me-up.'

* Mash boiled egg with canned salmon and ricotta cheese for a high calcium sandwich filling or as a topping for wholegrain crackers.

* Mix beaten eggs with grated reduced fat cheese, cracked pepper and parsley and stir through cooked wholemeal pasta for a quick and easy dinner or lunch. Serve with a green side salad.

* Make a healthy fried rice by mixing cooked, chopped vegetables, ham, and chopped boiled egg with cooked rice. Stir fry in sesame oil, add a splash of soy sauce and cook until heated through.

Source: Wikipedia, Australian Egg Corporation, Australian Bureau of Statistics, AC Nielsen and Eggs.Org.Au

GLOSSARY: HONEY

Since antiquity, honey has been a source of food and energy. From the first hunter gatherers, to the ancient civilizations of the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans; records show the value of the bees and their honey.

If we journey back 4000 years to ancient Egypt, hieroglyphics show the story of the bee’s life. So primitive man had discovered the delight of honey — for centuries it was the only sweetener available.

In the 4th century BC, Aristotle wrote of the bee. Three hundred years later, Virgil the poet and Pliny the naturalist, carried the story further.

In England under Saxon rule, honey was accepted by some landlords as part-payment for rent from tenants. The bee had truly earned a valuable place in society.

In 1792 a blind naturalist, Huber, published a book in Geneva on bees and honey. The honey industry that we know today began to grow.

Honey that is sold in shops comes from honeybees (Apis mellifera). Honey produced by other bees or other insects has very different properties.

Honey is created by bees as a food source. In cold weather or when food sources are scarce, bees use their stored honey as their source of energy. By contriving bee swarms to nest in artificial hives, people have been able to semi-domesticate the insects, and harvest excess honey.

Generally, honey is classified by the floral source of the nectar from which it was made. Honeys can be from specific types of flower nectars, from indeterminate origin or can be blended after collection.

The bee's value however is not confined to making honey. Honeybees also help our fruit and vegetables grow. When the bee gathers nectar, her body becomes dusted with pollen. As she moves from flower to flower, the pollen passes from male to female stigma and cross-pollination (or fertilization) takes place which leads to new seeds and plant regeneration. Without bees, trees and flowers may not make fruit, nuts or seeds and there would be no honey.

The honeybee is not native to Australia. The colonists who came to Australia in its early days missed many of the comforts and treats of “home” (England) that they tried to introduce many of them to their new country. Plants, trees, animals, birds and many other reminders of home were introduced during those early years. One of these treats were honey. In 1810, Samuel Marsden brought the first honeybees to Australia but the attempt to start a bee colony failed. In the early 1820’s, a second shipment of honeybee was brought to Australia aboard the ship Isabella. She arrived in our waters in 1822 and adapted so successfully that other bee species were introduced from Italy, Yugoslavia and North America (thankfully the bees are one of the few introduced species that did not wipe out our unique eco system!)

Typically, honey is made up of:
~ 80 per cent natural sugars (mainly levulose, dextrose and glucose)
~ 17 per cent moisture
~ 3 per cent mineral traces


The honeybee is a most amazing insect. Its family (hive) consists of workers, drones and a Queen Bee. The bees collect nectar, pollen and water each day to take back to the hive so that future generations can live. The raw nectar comes from flowers. They mix this with secretions from their glands, thereby transforming it. It is then deposited in the comb where it ripens into honey.

In a day’s work, bees produce:

~ Honey – to provide food reserves for the hive (which we use as a sweetener)
~ Bees wax – to make honeycomb (traditionally used for candles and cosmetics)
~ Pollen – to nurture their young (which when dried and preserved is a valuable nutrient)
~ Propolis – to seal their hive from wind and rain (which can be used as an antiseptic)
~ Bee venom – to protect itself (which can be used to relieve arthritic and rheumatic pains)

Source: Wikipedia, Honeybee.com.au and Honeybee.org.au

GLOSSARY: CHINESE FIVE SPICE POWDER

The Chinese five spice powder is a mixture of five spices used in Chinese cuisine. Although the exact origins of five-spice powder are lost to history, there is some thought that the Chinese were attempting to produce a "wonder powder" encompassing all of the five elements. All of the five flavours - sour, bitter, sweet, pungent, and salty - are found in five-spice powder. Then again, it's possible that a cook accidentally stumbled upon this particular combination of spices, and realized its power to enliven the blandest dish. Whatever the case, there is no doubt that five spice powder is unique.

This spice blend is a staple in Chinese cooking, and is often used in a technique called "flavour potting", where meat is steeped in a rich sauce and cooked for long hours. The spices and volumes used in five spice powders may differ slightly between recipes. However, the main ingredients are star anise, cloves, cassia, Szechwan pepper and fennel seeds. Some recipes use them in equal proportions, whilst others use more of one to heighten a specific flavour. Generally though, Chinese five spice powder is dominated by the aroma and flavour of the star anise.


It is used in many Asian recipes, its sweet tangy flavour going well with greasy meats like pork and duck. Stir-fried vegetables are enhanced by sprinkling about a teaspoon of the powder over the vegetables when cooking. Add a little salt to the powder, and it makes an excellent spice rub for chicken, duck, pork and seafood.

Here’s a recipe that I usually use (courtesy of the Epicentre)

1 1/2 tbsp star anise
2 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 1/2 tsp cassia
1/2 tsp Szechwan pepper
1/2 tsp cloves

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon white pepper and/or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger. Both will give added bite and depth to the flavour

Method

In a frying pan, over medium heat, dry roast the Szechuan pepper until aromatic. Ensure that the pepper is evenly roasted by continually shaking the pan. This should take about 3 minutes.

Add the roasted Szechuan pepper to a spice/coffee grinder along with the star anise, fennel seeds, cassia and cloves. Grind to a fine powder. Add in the white pepper and ground ginger. Store in an airtight container.


Source: Wikipedia, Chinesefood.About.Com and The Epicentre

GLOSSARY: CHINESE FERMENTED BLACK BEANS OR DOUCHI

Chinese fermented black beans or Douchi is a popular Chinese flavouring that is used in cooking and to make black bean sauce.

Douchi is made by salting and fermenting soybeans. The process turns the beans black, soft and quite dry. It has a spicy smell, with a taste that is salty and somewhat bitter and sweet.

Douchi should not be confused with black turtle beans, that are commonly used in Central American, South American and Caribbean cuisines.

Douchi is usually used to flavour fish or stir-fried vegetables (particularly bitter melon and leafy vegetables). Unlike some other fermented soybean-based foods such as natto (a Japanese speciality made from soybeans fermented with Bacillus subtilis) or tempeh (Javanese fermented soybean cake), douchi is used only as a seasoning, and is not meant to be consumed in large quantities, being typically much more salty.

Small packets of douchi are available wherever Chinese groceries are sold. Use according to packet or recipe instructions.

BLACK BEAN SAUCE/PASTE


In Chinese cuisine, condiments such as black bean paste, black bean sauce or black bean garlic sauce is made from douchi, with garlic and soy sauce usually added to the beans. This paste is commercially available in glass jars from companies such as Lee Kum Kee. Use as a marinade, stir-fry seasoning or sauce over rice, noodles and all kinds of dishes such as my CHICKEN AND CHILLI BLACK BEAN SAUCE.

GLOSSARY: BANANAS

Banana is the common name for a type of fruit of the genus Musa. They are native to the tropical region of Southeast Asia. It is believed that bananas are likely to have first been domesticated in Papua New Guinea. Today, they are cultivated throughout the tropics.


Bananas are cultivated primarily for their fruit and to a lesser extent for the production of fibre and as ornamental plants. As the banana plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy they are often mistaken for trees, but their main or upright stem is actually a pseudostem (literally "fake stem"). For some species this pseudostem can reach a height of up to 2 to 8 m, with leaves of up to 3.5 m in length. Each pseudostem can produce a bunch of yellow, green or even red bananas before dying and being replaced by another pseudostem. Therefore, the banana plant is actually the world's largest herb!

The banana fruit grow in hanging clusters, with up to 20 fruit to a tier (called a hand), and 3 to 20 tiers to a bunch. The total of the hanging clusters is known as a bunch, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh from 30 to 50 kg. The fruit averages around 125 grams, of which approximately 75 per cent is water. Each individual fruit (known as a banana or 'finger') has a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with a fleshy edible inner portion. Bananas are a valuable source of vitamin A, vitamin Bs (such as B6, Thiamine, Riboflavin, Niacin, Folic Acid), vitamin C, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium Iron and Zinc. It carries around 140 calories, averaging about 2 grams of protein, 4 grams of fibre, 2 mgs of sodium and 36 grams of carbohydrate.


It is said that the true origin of bananas is found in the region of present day Malaysia. Bananas are said to travel from there to India where they are mentioned in the Buddhist Pali writings dating back to the 6th century BC. In his campaign to India in 327 BC, Alexander the Great relished his first taste of the banana. He is even credited with bringing the banana from India to the Western world. According to Chinese historian Yang Fu, China was tending plantations of bananas in 200 AD. These bananas grew only in the southern region of China and were considered exotic, rare fruits that never became popular with the Chinese masses until the 20th century.

Eventually, this tropical fruit reached Madagascar, an island off the south-eastern coast of Africa. Beginning in 650 AD, Islamic warriors travelled into Africa and were actively engaged in the slave trade. Along with the thriving business of slave trading, the Arabs were also trading ivory along with abundant crops of bananas. Through their numerous travels westward via the slave trade, bananas eventually reached Guinea, a small area along the West Coast of Africa. By 1402, Portuguese sailors discovered the luscious tropical fruit in their travels to the African continent and populated the Canary lslands with their first banana plantations.

Continuing the banana's travels westward, the rootstocks were packed onto a ship under the charge of Tomas de Berlanga, a Portuguese Franciscan monk who brought them to the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo from the Canary Islands in the year 1516. It wasn't long before the banana became popular throughout the Caribbean as well as Central America.

Arabian slave traders are credited with giving the banana its popular name. The bananas that were growing in Africa as well as Southeast Asia were not the eight-to-twelve-inch giants that have become familiar in the supermarkets today. They were small, about as long as a man's finger. Ergo the name banan, Arabic for finger. The Spaniards, who saw a similarity to the plane tree that grows in Spain, gave the plantain its Spanish name, platano.

Putting all of the nutritional figures together clearly shows the banana is among the healthiest of fruits. Not only delicious eaten as is, The banana can also be cooked in breads, cakes and muffins, fried as a snack either battered or made into chips and cooked in curries.

Source: Wikipedia, Banana.com

GLOSSARY: SESAME

Sesame is one of the oldest seeds known to man and is an essential ingredient for Middle Eastern, South Asian and Oriental cooking. Thought to have originated in India or Africa, sesame (Sesamum indicum) is a flowering plant in the genus Sesamum. It is widely naturalized in tropical regions around the world and is cultivated for its edible seeds, which grow in pods. The flowers of the sesame seed plant are yellow, though they can vary in colour with some being blue or purple.

The word sesame is derived from the Latin word sesamum, when traced back in ages, comes from the Assyrian word shaman shammī or "plant oil". In India, where sesame has been cultivated since the Harappan period, there are two independent names for the seed: tila or til in northern parts of India and ellu or nuvvulu in southern India.

Despite the fact that the majority of the wild species of the genus Sesamum are native to sub-saharan Africa, it is said that sesame was first domesticated in India, with archaeological evidence showing that it was cultivated at Harappa in the Indus Valley between 2250 and 1750 BC, and more recently, charred sesame seeds were found in Miri Qalat and Shahi Tump in the Makran region of Pakistan.

However, the first written record of sesame dates even further back to 3,000 BC to Assyria. In the Assyrian text, according to its mythology, sesame's origins go back even farther - of the Gods imbibing sesame seed wine the night before they created the earth. References can be found to Babylonians using sesame oil, and to Egyptians growing their own sesame to make flour. Of course Persia, birthplace of the 1001 Arabian Nights, has long been savvy to sesame's benefits. Who could forget “Ali Baba and the 40 thieves” and the incantation “Open Sesame”. Ancient Persians relied on sesame as a food source and for its medicinal qualities.

Farther east, it's unclear when sesame first found its way to China. Some sources claim the Chinese were using sesame oil in their lamps as far back as 5,000 years ago, while others state sesame seeds were introduced into China about 2,000 years ago. It's probably true that the ancients first relied on the sesame plant to provide oil, and only later discovered its value as a food source. However, first firm evidence of it in China dates from the end of the 5th century AD.

While the exact circumstances surrounding sesame's arrival in China may be lost to history, there's no doubt that today it is a mainstay of Chinese cuisine. Toasted sesame seeds are sprinkled on salads, sesame paste is added to sauces, and delightfully aromatic sesame oil is used to flavour everything from dips to marinades.

SESAME SEEDS


The seeds of the sesame plant are featured in many Asian cuisines. Spice paste concoctions made with sesame seeds enhance Indian dishes, and sesame seeds play a role in Japanese vegetarian cooking. In China, sesame seeds are used to flavor cakes, cookies, and popular desserts such as sesame seed balls and fried custard. You'll also find them in savory dishes.

Both black and white sesame seeds are used in Chinese cooking. (A third variety of beige colored sesame seeds is not as popular). Like sesame oil, white sesame seeds have a nutty flavor, while black sesame seeds taste more bitter. However, whether a recipe calls for white or black seeds often has more to do with the appearance of a dish rather than flavour.

White sesame seeds are nearly always toasted before using. There are differing opinions over the value of toasting black sesame seeds, as it can accentuate the bitter flavour - let your taste buds make the decision. Because sesame seeds contain a high percentage of oil, it's best to store them in the refrigerator if you plan on keeping them for more than two or three months. Otherwise, they can be kept in a covered jar at room temperature. In any event, check and make sure they don't smell rancid before using.

Sesame seeds are a nutritional goldmine - high in mineral content, and containing two proteins that are not normally found in other vegetable proteins. For people with milk allergies, sesame seeds provide an alternative source of calcium.

SESAME OIL


Sesame oil (also known as gingelly oil or til oil) is derived from sesame seeds. Besides being used as a cooking oil in South India, it is often used as a flavour enhancer in Chinese, Korean, and to a lesser extent Southeast Asian cuisine.

Prior to 600 BC, the Assyrians used sesame oil as a food, salve and medication, primarily by the rich, as the difficulty of obtaining it made it expensive. Hindus use til oil in votive lamps, and consider the oil sacred. According to Hindu belief, lighting lamp filled with til oil in front of Lord Hanuman removes obstacles and difficulties in life.

Sesame Seed Oil has been used as a healing oil for thousands of years. Sesame oil is mentioned in the Vedas as excellent for humans. It is naturally antibacterial for common skin pathogens, such as staphylococcus and streptococcus as well as common skin fungi, such as athlete's foot fungus. It is naturally antiviral. It is a natural anti inflammatory agent.

It has been used extensively in India as a healing oil, including in experiments which showed it was useful in unblocking arteries. In recent experiments in Holland by Ayurvedic physicians, the oil has been used in the treatment of several chronic disease processes, including hepatitis, diabetes and migraines.

This amber coloured aromatic oil, made from pressed and toasted sesame seeds, is a popular ingredient in Chinese cooking. It is not used as a cooking oil, as the flavour is too intense and it burns quite easily, but rather as a flavour enhancer to marinades, salad dressings, or in the final stages of cooking. Recipes often call for a few drops of sesame oil to be drizzled on a dish just before serving.

SESAME PASTE


Another popular sesame by product is the sesame paste or tahini, which is commonly sold in glass jars. Middle Eastern tahini is made of hulled, lightly roasted seeds. East Asian sesame paste is made of unhulled seeds.

Tahini is a major component of hummus and other Middle Eastern foods. It is sold fresh or dehydrated. Sesame paste is an ingredient in some Chinese, Korean, and Japanese dishes. As East Asian sesame paste is made from unhulled seeds, it is more bitter than tahini.

Source: Wikipedia, You Things and About.com

GLOSSARY: SZECHUAN PEPPER

Szechuan or Sichuan pepper is native to the Szechwan province of China. Though they bear some resemblance to black peppercorns, they are not actually of the pepper family, but the dried berry i.e. the outer pod of the tiny fruit of a number of species in the genus Zanthoxylum (most commonly Z. piperitum, Z. simulans, and Z. schinifolium). It is widely grown and consumed in Asia as a spice. It is widely used in Chinese Szechuan cuisine, from which it takes its name, as well as Tibetan, Bhutanese, Nepalese and Japanese cuisines

Szechuan pepper has a unique aroma and flavour and is not hot or pungent like black or white pepper or chillies. It has lemony overtones and creates a tingly numbness in the mouth when consumed. Recipes often suggest lightly toasting and then crushing the tiny seedpods before adding them to food. Only the husks are used; the shiny black seeds are discarded or ignored as they have a very gritty sand-like texture. It is generally added at the end of the cooking process.

Szechwan pepper are rust coloured with hair-thin stems and open ends. The dried berries resemble tiny beechnuts measuring 4 - 5 mm in diameter. The rough skin splits open to reveal a brittle black seed, about 3 mm in diameter; however the spice mainly consists of the empty husks. It is available whole or ground. In Japan the leaves are used as spice — the ground dried leaves are known as sansho and the whole leaves, kinome, are fresh, vacuum-packed or pickled.

The berries should be gently roasted to release aromatics before crushing with a mortar and pestle or electric coffee grinder. If a fine powder is desired, sieve to remove the husks and stalks. Store in airtight containers, out of sunlight.

Other Names

Anise Pepper, Chinese Pepper, Fagara, Japan Pepper, Sichuan Pepper, Suterberry, Szechuan pepper, Toothache Tree, Yellow Wood
French: poivre anise
German: Szechuan-Pfeffer
Italian: pepe d’anise
Spanish: pepe di anis
Chinese: chuan-chiao, chun-chiu, shun-tsin, fa-chin, hua-chiao, hua jiao, jiao, ta-liao
Japanese: kinome (fresh leaves), sancho (powdered dried leaves)

Source: Wikipedia and Epicentre.com

GLOSSARY: BLACK PEPPER

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. In dried form, the fruit is often referred to as peppercorns. Peppercorns, and the powdered pepper derived from grinding them, may be described as pepper and depending on the colour of the powdered pepper, as black pepper, white pepper, red/pink pepper, and green pepper, though the terms pink peppercorns, red pepper, and green pepper are also used to describe the fruits of other, unrelated plants.


Black pepper is native to South India, particularly the Malabar Coast, in what is now the state of Kerala. It is still extensively cultivated there and in the tropical South-East Asia regions. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe about five mm in diameter, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed.

Black pepper has been known to Indian cooking since at least 2000 BC. Peppercorns were (and still is) a much prized trade good, often referred to as "black gold" and used as a form of commodity money. The term "peppercorn rent" still exists today.


Black peppercorns were found stuffed in the nostrils of Ramesses II, placed there as part of the mummification rituals shortly after his death in 1213 BC. Little else is known about the use of pepper in ancient Egypt, nor how it reached the Nile from India.

It is possible that black pepper was known in China in the 2nd century BC, if poetic reports on an explorer named Tang Meng are correct. Sent by Emperor Wu to what is now south-west China, Tang Meng is said to have come across something called “jujiang” or "sauce-betel". The traditional view among historians is that "sauce-betel" is a sauce made from betel leaves, but arguments have been made that it actually refers to black pepper.

In the 3rd century AD, black pepper made its first definite appearance in Chinese texts, as “hujiao” or "foreign pepper". However, it does not appear to have been widely known at the time. By the 12th century however, black pepper had become a popular ingredient in the cuisine of the wealthy and powerful, sometimes taking the place of China's native Sichuan pepper (the tongue-numbing dried fruit of an unrelated plant).

Black pepper is one of the most common spices in European cuisine, having been known and prized since antiquity. It is found on nearly every dinner table in the world, often alongside table salt.
It is the black pepper, along with other spices from India and lands farther east, that changed the course of world history. It was in some part the preciousness and exorbitant price of this spice that led to the European efforts to find a sea route to India and consequently to the European colonial occupation of India, South-East Asia and the Far East, as well as the European discovery and colonization of the Americas.

The monopoly on the spice trade held by Italy was one of the inducements which led to the Portuguese to seek a sea route to India. In 1498, Vasco da Gama became the first European to reach India by sea (via the Cape of Good Hope) and soon the Portuguese had exclusive rights to the spice trade between the East and Europe. However, by the 17th century, the Portuguese lost almost all of their valuable Indian Ocean possessions to the Dutch and the English.

Black pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The berries are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean and to prepare for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the fruit, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the fruit around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer. Once dried, the fruits are called black peppercorns.

White pepper consists of the seed only, with the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by allowing fully ripe berries to soak in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the fruit softens and decomposes. Rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Alternative processes are used for removing the outer fruit from the seed, including removal of the outer layer from black pepper produced from unripe berries.
FYI, Sichuan peppercorn is another "pepper" that is botanically unrelated to black pepper and used mainly in Sichuan style Chinese cooking.

Peppercorns are often labeled by their region or port of origin. Two well-known types come from India's Malabar Coast: Malabar pepper and Tellicherry pepper. Tellicherry is a higher-grade pepper, made from the largest, ripest 10 per cent of berries from Malabar plants grown on Mount Tellicherry. Sarawak pepper is produced in the Malaysian sovereignty of Borneo and Lampong pepper on Indonesia's island of Sumatra. White Muntok pepper is another Indonesian product, which hails from Bangka Island (just off the Sumatran coast).


Pepper gets its spicy heat mostly from the piperine compound, which is found both in the outer fruit and in the seed. Pepper loses flavour and aroma through evaporation, so airtight storage helps preserve pepper's original spiciness longer. Pepper can also lose its flavour when exposed to light and also once ground, pepper's aromatics evaporate quite quickly. Most culinary sources recommend grinding whole peppercorns just before use for this reason. Pepper grinders and mortar and pestle are the commonly used implements.

Peppercorns are, by monetary value, the most widely traded spice in the world, accounting for 20 per cent of all spice imports in 2002. The price of pepper can be volatile, and this figure fluctuates a great deal year to year. The International Pepper Exchange is located in Kochi, India.

Vietnam has recently become the world's largest producer and exporter of pepper (82,000 tons in 2003). Other major producers include Indonesia (67,000 tons), India (65,000 tons), Brazil (35,000 tons), Malaysia (22,000 tons), Sri Lanka (12,750 tons), Thailand, and China. Vietnam dominates the export market, using almost none of its production domestically. In 2003, Vietnam exported 82,000 tons of pepper, Indonesia 57,000 tons, Brazil 37,940 tons, Malaysia 18,500 tons, and India 17,200 tons.

Source: Wikipedia