Peppercorns

[leonardturner]

The fruit of a vine of the Piperaceae family enjoyed by humans for many centuries (and said to have been once valued as much as gold), they contain an alkaloid which produces the relatively mild peppery signature (and may also be what causes sneezing). The different colors represent growth stages and/or preparations of the same vegetation.






Given time, they can develop a fungal visitor. Or is that a web?

Leonard

[Joaquim F.]

Hi, great work, the textures are very well represented. About the origin of peppers, I think the green, black and white are from the same shrub, normally Piper nigrum although there are other varieties, but the red one with "smooth skin" is from the ripe fruit of a tree that is sometimes seen in urban parks, the Schinus molle, just as curious information

Best

Joaquim

[micro_pix]

Very nicely photographed.

[leonardturner]

My thanks to you both. Joaquim, special thanks for your comments on the red variety. I think that you are quite right in regards to the ones I showed (which I have heard can cross-react with individuals who have a nut allergy). Apparently there is much confusion, partly because there is also a red Piper nigrum--a mature berry that does not keep well; I have read that this is not imported into the US. Perhaps the useful distinction is the "smooth skin" you mentioned.

Best,

Leonard

[Rudi]

nice pictures Leonard.
I like nr 3 for the details and the nice separation between the seed and the blackground, especially in the lower left corner..and nr 4 for the details as well.

[leonardturner]

Thank you, Rudi!

Leonard

[Joaquim F.]

My thanks to you both. Joaquim, special thanks for your comments on the red variety. I think that you are quite right in regards to the ones I showed (which I have heard can cross-react with individuals who have a nut allergy). Apparently there is much confusion, partly because there is also a red Piper nigrum--a mature berry that does not keep well; I have read that this is not imported into the US. Perhaps the useful distinction is the "smooth skin" you mentioned.

Best,

Leonard

Looking at a pot of "five peppers" that I have in the kitchen it turns out that one of the included seeds is coriander, probably the white one that has lines marked in the form of meridians on the left side of the second photo, how many things that are not really pepper in the pepper pots!

Best

Joaquim

[leonardturner]

Thanks for the follow up, Joaquim; I pulled down my bottle of "Organic Peppercorn Melange" and found in small print that it claimed "Whole black, white, green, and pink peppercorns". In even smaller print, it revealed the pink "peppercorns" to be Schinus terebinthifolia, a member of the nut family. The bright red smooth ones may be in part from another source entirely.Maybe its just as well that I don't know the details of what I've been eating all these years!

Leonard