Black Peppercorns

Black Peppercorns are produced from the still-green unripe fruit of the pepper plant. After cooking briefly in hot water to clean prepare them for drying, they are usually sun-dried for several days, causing the outer shell to shrink wrinkle to create what we commonly call the black peppercorn. In the Middle Ages pepper was prohibitively expensive for all but the richest and it is still one of the most traded spices on the planet. Apart from generally seasoning savoury food, try a twist of freshly ground black pepper on strawberries or watermelon to really bring out the flavour.