My hubby just asked me if it's possible to grow the black peppercorns that you use in a pepper grinder at the table. I don't know so I thought I'd ask. They are kinda expensive to buy.
I'm sorry if this is in the wrong category but I wasn't sure if it was considered a spice or a vegetable or something else.
Possible to grow black peppercorns?
valrita
Mar 14, 2009
Grown in Southern India in extreme heat & humidity they are vines that can reach 33 feet. Very sensitive to temp changes and cold.
http://companionplants.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=304&osCsid=jq339ggtib42ldk897h2ee6mb0
valrita
Mar 14, 2009
Bummer. No wonder they're so expensive.
I have a black pepper vine that I grow as a houseplant. Although it has flowered and I tried pollinating those flowers with a paintbrush, I've never had them develop into peppercorns. I got my plant at Companion Plants.
The piper nigrum plant grows the black peppercorns, and it's inexpensive. You can get one off ebay pretty reasonable. They say it takes a few years for it to develop flowers and seeds, I've seen one that was no bigger than mine was and it had peppercorns on it, it was about 3 years old, which is how old mine was, but I lost mine in the greenhouse fire.
http://home.shop.ebay.com/items/?_nkw=piper+nigrum&_sacat=1509&_fromfsb=&_trksid=m270&_odkw=&_osacat=1509
kathy-ann,
Were the peppercorns that you say mature?
yes they were, ready to pick, I thought it was really neat to see them like that. They say the seeds take forever to germinate if you grow them by seed. I would buy the plant for sure.
The plant that I saw that had the seeds on it, was smaller than mine, mine was 3 years old when my GH burnt down, maybe it would have bloomed this year, not sure. we'll never know now LOL Not going to rebuy the plant either.
I purchased this from one of those same ebay sellers years ago. It was sold as Piper nigrum ~ black pepper vine. In later years, thanks to my gardening buddies here at DG, I found it was misID'd by that seller. I hesitate to say misrepresented as I suspect ignorance on his part. Just wanted to mention that, in case anyone is shopping for a plant. I also bought seeds but to no avail on the germination. The seller indicated germination time from 3 weeks to 1 year. Go figure...
Mine was IDd as Piper betel. The leaves are used in cooking. Mine did bloom but the seeds never turned black which was the first clue. It is a pretty plant.
And the leaves of piper betel are used to make paan, which is an aftermeal digestive and good for your teeth, although your tongue may temporarily go numb while you are chewing it.
How to make traditional "Tambul" or paan:
Remove the stem and tough vein from the betel leaf. Smear a small amount of oystershell lime paste on the leaf. Add a sprinkly of acacia katechu powder. Add a spoonful of gulkhand (rose petal preserve), a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg, a pinch of fresh grated cinnamon, ~1/4 tsp fennel seed, a few seeds from inside a green cardamom pod. Wrap the leave around the filling. Hold the leave closed with a clove bud. Pop the whole thing in your mouth and chew for as long as possible before swallowing. This mixture will stimulate your saliva glands, which is why you have to make a conscious effort to chew for as long as possible before swallowing.
The saliva, spices and betel leaf will clean your mouth and gums and help you digest your meal.
In more modern times, the pan merchants have started adding tobacco and other unhealthy ingredients to the paan offered, so the habit of taking paan after meals developed a bad reputation and only disreputable ladies would partake of these types of paan. The recipe I have given is the ancient, traditional version a noted by many Ayurvedic texts. It is entirely healthful. If you are traveling in an area where paan is the custom, it is important to find our what they put in the paan before you buy one.
Thanks much for that info on Paan Garden_mermaid. You have given me a new appreciation for this pretty plant.
The paan leaves are available at the Indian groceries. The average charge is $0.10 per leaf. I think they are shipped in from Florida.