The Modern Farmer Guide to Peppercorns

You almost certainly have at least one kind of peppercorn in your house right now; it is, after all, the world's most popular spice. But do you know where it comes from? What those pink peppercorns are for? Or, if you're in a pinch, the weird stuff you can use as a pepper substitutes? We've got you covered.

First, a little background

Peppercorn, in its various forms, is the world’s most traded spice. It was once even used in its native South and Southeast Asia as currency. It is not in any way related to the New World’s many varieties of chili pepper, though it does have a sort of spiciness that comes from a totally different compound than what you’d find in a chili.

While there are a whole bunch of different products referred to as pepper or peppercorns, only a few of them are technically peppercorns. True peppercorns come from the Piper nigrum plant, a lush, tropical-looking vine that produces long strands of small fruits. Each fruit—technically a drupe, sort of like the individual segments of a raspberry or blackberry—contains one seed. Peppercorn was not, as a common myth goes, used either as a preservative or to disguise the flavor of spoiled meat in antiquity; it’s not a very good preservative, and it was too expensive to waste on spoiled meat. (Besides, people knew even then that eating spoiled meat was dangerous.) Instead it’s likely always simply been a prized flavoring, loved for its bite and punch.

Now let’s get into the different types!

Black Peppercorn

The most common preparation of pepper, black peppercorn is created by taking all those tiny fruits while still unripe and green and quickly cooking them, often by boiling. The heat releases enzymes that discolor the fruit, turning it a kind of deep brown color which is deepened further through the next process, drying. Drying can be done either mechanically or by the sun, and basically disintegrates the pulp of the fruit, wrinkling and cementing the skin to the seed within.

This preparation is by far the most popular way to treat the fruit, showing up in cuisines from China to Vietnam to Western Europe.

Tellicherry Black Peppercorn

You might see this one at fancy spice markets or name-checked at restaurants. The Tellicherry black peppercorn doesn’t refer to quality or place of origin, but instead to size: Tellicherry peppercorns are larger than regular black peppercorns, and the size difference affects flavor—Tellicherry peppercorns are renowned for being less spicy but more complex, with distinct citrus notes.

White Peppercorn

White peppercorn is created by removing the skin and the pulp from the fruit and using only the seed. Usually, this is done by submerging the fruit in water for a few days, after which it swells and separates from the seed. White peppercorn is spicier but less fruity than black, and it’s commonly used in Chinese cuisine (or if you’re cooking something white, like mashed potatoes, and don’t want to see flecks of black in there).