The companion crops
Black pepper, the other climbing vine
Pepper grows on a vine that climbs a support, just like vanilla. Black, white and green pepper all come from the same berries.
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is a woody climbing vine from the forests of south-west India. It climbs a support tree or post, and its berries grow on hanging spikes. Vines start to bear in their third or fourth year. Black pepper is the green berries picked and dried in the sun until they turn black and wrinkled; white pepper is ripe berries soaked and rubbed to remove the skin.
On this page
What a black pepper plant looks like
A pepper vine has glossy, heart-shaped leaves and clings to its support with short roots that grow from the joints along the stem, much as vanilla climbs with its own aerial roots. The flowers are tiny and grow on hanging spikes, which turn into strings of small green berries: the peppercorns.
How black pepper grows
- Root cuttings from a healthy vine and plant them at the start of the rains, usually two to a support.
- Give it something to climb: a living support tree or a post. Farmers in India use trees such as silver oak, dadap (Erythrina) or jackfruit.
- Keep it warm and wet. Pepper wants heavy rain, 1,500 to 2,500 mm a year, and high humidity.
- Wait for the first crop in the third or fourth year.
- Harvest when one or two berries on a spike turn bright red: the whole spike is picked.
Black, white and green pepper
| Pepper | How it is made | Taste |
|---|---|---|
| Black | Green berries dried in the sun for 7 to 10 days, until black and wrinkled | Hot, aromatic, a little piney |
| White | Ripe berries soaked in water for about a week, rubbed to remove the skin, then dried | Hot and earthy, with less aroma |
| Green | Unripe berries used fresh, in brine or freeze-dried | Fresh and milder |
Why pepper will climb beside our vanilla
Pepper and vanilla grow the same way: both are climbing vines that need a support, warmth, humidity and filtered light, and neither likes wet feet. On our plot, the pepper will climb the same kind of supports as the vanilla.
Thailand has a pepper tradition of its own. Chanthaburi pepper, from the province on the eastern coast, has been a registered geographical indication since 2020.
In the series, Prik is the black pepper trickster. In Thai, พริกไทย (prik thai) is black pepper, while plain พริก (prik) means chilli. Prik would say that is exactly the point.
Questions
How long does black pepper take to grow?
A vine grown from a cutting starts to bear in its third or fourth year, and keeps producing for many years after that.
Is white pepper from a different plant?
No. Black, white and green pepper all come from Piper nigrum. The difference is when the berries are picked and how they are processed.
What is Chanthaburi pepper?
Pepper grown in Chanthaburi province in eastern Thailand, from the Chanthaburi and Kuching varieties. It has been a registered Thai geographical indication since 2020.
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