Organic Ground Black Pepper (Regular)

Our organic black pepper (Regular grind) holds a unique space in the average North American home. After all, whereas other spices live tucked away in dark cupboards black pepper proudly stands in shakers and grinders on the kitchen counter or; holiest of holy places, the dining table in nearly every single home and restaurant. It's the only spice that finds its way into nearly every single dish.

Peppercorns are actually the fruits of a flowering vine in the "Piperaceae" family. The green, wide-leafed vines grow long tendrils where cylindrical clusters of the berries ripen. The fruits are small containing a thin skin, very little actual fruit, and a single large seed. The fruits are picked at varying degrees of ripeness depending on the strength and type of pepper desired and then processed accordingly.

The vine is native to India but is grown in nearly every tropical region. Vietnam currently grows and exports the most black pepper, totaling around 35% of the world’s supply, followed by India, Brazil, China and Sri Lanka. Used in practically every single style of cuisine imaginable pepper is the most traded spice worldwide and makes up 20% of the world’s total spice trade.

It’s not too much of a surprise considering this piquant little spice has been beloved for thousands of years. For a long time, is was primarily utilized as a medicine. The spice was even used in preserving mummies! Ramses the Great’s body had peppercorns stuffed in the nostrils to help keep the body clean and thought by many to cure insomnia and toothaches.

Ancient Romans and Greeks loved pepper. In fact, the ancient Roman cookbook, Apicius, written in 4 AD uses black pepper in 80% of its recipes.

The desire for black pepper was also a driving force for many explorers such as Columbus and Vasco de Gama who set out hoping to find a faster route to India in order to more quickly acquire it for spice-hungry European markets.

Peppercorns get their telltale bite from a chemical called Piperine that is found in the fruit and seed of the peppercorn.

What are your different types of pepper (from coarse to fine)?

• Organic Whole Black Peppercorns:
  • As the name says these are whole black dried berries. The purest form of pepper to use in your own spice grinder to get fresh pepper just how you like it. The berries used to make black pepper are harvested before they are ripe. These unripe green berries are cooked and dried, which causes the skin to blacken and become wrinkly.
• Organic Whole White Peppercorns:
  • Whole white peppercorns are made from fully ripened berries. The ripe berries are soaked and fermented in water, removing the outer skin. Only the inner seed is dried. White pepper has a less pungent heat due to the oils that are stripped away when the skin is removed. At the same time, allowing the berries to fully ripen and ferment results in white pepper's more complex, earthy flavor.
• Organic Cracked Black Peppercorns:
  • These whole black peppercorns are very coarsely cracked into a 6-10 Mesh size.
• Organic Cracked Black Peppercorns (Italian Style):
  • These whole black peppercorns are very coarsely cracked into a 10-16 Mesh size.
• Organic Black Pepper (Butcher's Cut):
  • These whole black peppercorns are coarsely ground into a 16-25 Mesh size. This is the mesh size you normally find on pepper rubbed steaks.
• Organic Black Pepper (Regular):
  • These whole black peppercorns are ground into a 20-28 Mesh size. This is pretty standard table pepper.
• Organic Black Pepper (Fine):
  • These whole black peppercorns are ground into a 32-40 Mesh size. This fine pepper is good for dissolving in sauces.
• Organic White Pepper (Fine):
  • These whole white peppercorns are ground into a 40 Mesh size. This fine pepper is good for dissolving in sauces.
• Organic Black Pepper (Extra Fine):
  • These whole black peppercorns are ground into a 60 Mesh size. This is the finest pepper found commercially.
• Organic White Pepper (Extra Fine):
  • These whole white peppercorns are ground into a 60 Mesh size. This is the finest pepper found commercially.