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Black peppercorns are the dried fruit of the almost-mature pepper berry (in fact all pepper is from the same plant, piper nigrum).
Is black pepper a seed or a berry?
Description. Black pepper is obtained from the small dried berries (peppercorns) of the vine Piper nigrum. The name pepper is derived from the Sanskrit name of long pepper, pippali.
Are black peppercorns fruit?
Black, white, and green peppercorns are all the same fruit but treated differently. Black peppercorns are dried, unripe fruits that have been cooked. White peppercorns are only the seeds of the dried, ripe fruits.
Are pepper berries?
In the World of Botany, Peppers are Fruits
Classified as berries, peppers fit all the botanical criteria of any other fruit. For starters, peppers have seeds. Formed in the plant’s flower, the fruit evolved to bear the seeds of a plant.
What type of fruit is black pepper?
drupe
The fruit is a drupe (stonefruit) which is about 5 mm (0.20 in) in diameter (fresh and fully mature), dark red, and contains a stone which encloses a single pepper seed.
Is black pepper and peppercorn the same?
When you think of pepper, you likely envision the black variety. In reality, black peppercorns are green peppercorns that have been cooked and dried out. Black pepper is most commonly used as a seasoning or crust that adds a robust spice to some of our favorite foods: meats, eggs, salads, fries, soups and more.
What plant does black pepper come from?
Piper nigrum
black pepper, (Piper nigrum), also called pepper, perennial climbing vine of the family Piperaceae and the hotly pungent spice made from its fruits. Black pepper is native to the Malabar Coast of India and is one of the earliest spices known.
Are peppercorns seeds?
Peppercorns are actually a tiny fruit, the drupe (a fruit with a single seed in the middle) of a flowering vine known as piper nigrum, grown in tropical regions, native to the Indian subcontinent and in Southeast Asia.