Hot berries
Most of us are so used to sprinkling a little salt and pepper on our food, we don't give it a second thought. Salt, a mineral, has been a food flavouring since the beginning of time. But for much of the world, pepper was not available until ships began crossing the sea to carry out trade.
This is because the pepper plant is native to southern India. It is a flowering vine - in other words, it climbs. Pepper farmers use supports for the vine just like grape growers do. The fruits of a pepper vine are called peppercorns and are green. They turn black after being boiled and dried in the in the sun. White pepper is made from the seeds.
Not to be sneezed at
Black pepper was one of the first spices to make long voyages to the Middle East and Europe. It was known as the 'king of spices' and sometimes even as 'black gold'. In Europe, the Romans were probably the first to begin a regular trade of pepper with India. One ancient Roman wrote that Rome sent around 120 ships a year on a one-year journey to South India and back.
After the fall of Rome, traders in the Middle East took over the pepper trade. It was so expensive it was a luxury item in Europe - the spice of kings. Pepper was so valuable that European powers raced to take control of the trade. Italian traders took the lead. But then the Portuguese sailed to southern India and took control of the ports. Later, they lost control of the trade to the Dutch and the British.
