White Pepper
(Piper Nigrum)
White pepper – Ingl., Echter Pfeffer– Ted., Poivre blanc– Fr, Pimenta blanca – Sp., Белый перец - Russ.
White pepper is prepared from the berries of Piper nigrum harvested when fully ripe (when red colored). Often peasants harvest it in the same period of pepper bound to become black. The traditional process consists in the immersion of fresh pepper in water for a period of about a week.
During this time, there is natural enzymatic process and fermentation phenomena which alter the taste and smell of pepper; this characteristic aroma makes it unique. Next step, pepper is peeled by a gentle rubbing- the pericarp is nearly completely detached by maceration- and finally put lying on the ground for drying in the sun. There are also chemical, mechanical and biological agents methods to decompose pulp from the seed. The difference between the price of black pepper and white pepper is explained by the 30% of yield for the production of white pepper, against 70% yield for the production of black pepper.
Food Composition
The typical smell of manure of white pepper produced with “traditional”methods is due to some of the components of its volatile oil. On a total amount of 22, only few are directly responsible for strong odors:
- The 3-Methylindole reminds of the smell of pig manure
- The 4-methilfenolo – an odor of feces and/or horse sweat, as well as the skatole (whose pungency is increased by the simultaneous presence of p-cresol).
These aromatic compounds are developed by the biochemical processes that occur during fermentation. Not to get too strong or altered aromas, it is necessary to change frenquently the water used for soaking, then quickly dry the product.
