Malabar Black Pepper are familiar more common and bold tasting peppercorns with that perfect balance of peppery heat and earthiness. It originated as a chance seedling in the Southern India and was one of the spices traded with Roman and Arab traders, and later with European navigators. It is of extraordinary importance in the international trade and is known as the "King of Spices” or “Black Gold"
The area of production of this variety of pepper spans across the Malabar Coast, Western Tamil Nadu and Southern Karnataka. Malabar Black Pepper plants are cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. The fruit, known as a peppercorn when dried, is a small drupe, dark red when fully mature, containing a single seed.
Malabar Black pepper has got a sharp, hot and biting taste. It is a warming spice. Malabar Black provides a quarter of the world’s supply of pepper. Malabar Black pepper is highly aromatic, with a distinctive, fruity bouquet. It has the perfect combination of flavour and aroma.
Biological classification of Malabar Black Pepper is as given below.
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliphyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Piperales
Family : Piperaceae
Genus : Piper
Species : nigrum
Malabar Black Pepper has been used as a spice in India since prehistoric times. Until well after the Middle Ages, virtually all of the black pepper found in Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa travelled there from India’s region. Ports in the area also served as a stop off point for much of the trade in other spices from farther east in the Indian Ocean
Black Pepper is produced from the still-green unripe berries of the pepper plant. The berries are blanched briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the fruit, speeding the work of browning enzymes during drying. The berries are dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the fruit around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer around the seed.
Malabar Pepper is classified under two grades- garbled and un-garbled. The garbled variety is black in colour nearly globular with a wrinkled surface, the deepest wrinkles forming a network in the dried fruit. The ungarbled variety has a wrinkled surface and the colour varies from dark brown to black
Malabar pepper is not only used to enhance the flavour of your various dishes, but serves largely to benefit health. The active compound found in black pepper, ‘piperine’, has been studied for its antioxidant properties that aid digestion, and maintain a good metabolism.
Incorporating black pepper into your diet can help boost metabolism, and alleviate digestive issues. There are other possible benefits of consuming black pepper like relief from respiratory issues and helping fight cardiovascular diseases.
GI Tag Registration Date : 28 January 2008
GI Tag Number : 49 & 56
Certificate Number : 47
Geographical Area : Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka
Special Cover Release Date : 28 October 2021
Cancellation : Bodinayakanur 625 513
Type : GI Tag Cover
Cover Identification Number : TN/37/2021
Each cover is numbered. Total 2000 covers are issued. This cover is issued by Tamilnadu Postal Circle.
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