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Long Pepper

 
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Long pepper (Piper longum), sometimes called Javanese Long Pepper, Indian Long Pepper or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 vine
Vine

A vine is any plant of genus Grape or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vinea, referred to the grape-bearing variety....
 in the family Piperaceae
Piperaceae

Piperaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists: it is sometimes known as the "pepper family"....
, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
 and seasoning
Seasoning

Seasoning is the process of imparting flavor to, or improving the flavor of, food. Seasonings include herbs, spices, and all other condiments, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings"....
. Long pepper is a close relative of the black pepper
Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
 plant, and has a similar, though generally hotter, taste. The word pepper itself is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 word for long pepper, pippali.

The fruit of the pepper consists of many minuscule fruits — each about the size of a poppy seed
Poppy seed

Poppy seed is used as an ingredient in many foods. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds are used whole or ground and used as a filling, especially in various baked goods....
 — embedded in the surface of a flower spike; it closely resembles a hazel tree
Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.Hazel plants prefer a nice warm, mild,moist climate nothing more nothing less....
 catkin
Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
.






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Long pepper (Piper longum), sometimes called Javanese Long Pepper, Indian Long Pepper or Indonesian Long Pepper, is a flowering
Flowering plant

The flowering plants or angiosperms are the most widespread group of Embryophytes. The flowering plants and the gymnosperms are the only extant groups of Spermatophyte....
 vine
Vine

A vine is any plant of genus Grape or, by extension, any similar climbing or trailing plant. The word, derived from Latin vinea, referred to the grape-bearing variety....
 in the family Piperaceae
Piperaceae

Piperaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognized by most taxonomists: it is sometimes known as the "pepper family"....
, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
 and seasoning
Seasoning

Seasoning is the process of imparting flavor to, or improving the flavor of, food. Seasonings include herbs, spices, and all other condiments, which are themselves frequently referred to as "seasonings"....
. Long pepper is a close relative of the black pepper
Black pepper

Black pepper is a flowering plant vine in the family Piperaceae, cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning....
 plant, and has a similar, though generally hotter, taste. The word pepper itself is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit

Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India....
 word for long pepper, pippali.

The fruit of the pepper consists of many minuscule fruits — each about the size of a poppy seed
Poppy seed

Poppy seed is used as an ingredient in many foods. The tiny kidney-shaped seeds are used whole or ground and used as a filling, especially in various baked goods....
 — embedded in the surface of a flower spike; it closely resembles a hazel tree
Hazel

The hazels are a genus of deciduous trees and large shrubs native to the temperate northern hemisphere. The genus is usually placed in the birch family Betulaceae, though some botanists split the hazels into a separate family Corylaceae.Hazel plants prefer a nice warm, mild,moist climate nothing more nothing less....
 catkin
Catkin

A catkin or ament is a slim, cylindrical flower cluster, with inconspicuous or no petals, usually wind-pollination but sometimes insect pollinated ....
. The fruits contain the alkaloid
Alkaloid

Alkaloids are naturally occurring chemical compounds containing base nitrogen atoms. The name derives from the word alkaline and was used to describe any nitrogen-containing base....
 piperine
Piperine

Piperine is the alkaloid responsible for the pungency of black pepper and long pepper, along with chavicine . It has also been used in some forms of traditional medicine and as an insecticide....
, which contributes to their pungency. Another species of long pepper, Piper retrofractum, is native to Java, Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
.

Piper Longum
Prior to the European discovery of the New World, long pepper was an important and well-known spice
Spice

A spice is a dried seed, fruit, root, bark, leaf, or vegetable used in nutritionally insignificant quantities as a food additive for the purpose of flavor, color, or as a preservative that kills harmful bacteria or prevents their growth....
. The ancient history of black pepper is often interlinked with (and confused with) that of long pepper. The Romans knew of both and often referred to either as just piper; many ancient botanists erroneously believed dried black pepper and long pepper came from the same plant. Only after the discovery of the New World and of chile peppers did the popularity of long pepper decline. Chile peppers, some of which, when dried, are similar in shape and taste to long pepper, were easier to grow in a variety of locations more convenient to Europe.

Uses

Today, long pepper is an extremely rare ingredient in European cuisines, but it can still be found in India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
n vegetable pickle
Indian pickle

Indian pickles are a variety of spicy pickled side dishes or condiments popular in the Indian Subcontinent, in Southeast Asia, and in many other areas among ethnically South Asian communities....
s, some North Africa
North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, separated by the Sahara from Sub-Saharan Africa.Geopolitically, the United Nations subregion of Northern Africa includes the following seven countries or territories:...
n spice mixtures, and in Indonesia
Indonesia

The Republic of Indonesia , is a transcontinental country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Comprising Islands of Indonesia, it is the world's largest Archipelago state....
n and Malaysia
Malaysia

Malaysia is a federation that consists of States of Malaysia in Southeast Asia with a total landmass of . The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government....
n cooking. It is readily available at Indian grocery stores, where it is usually labeled Thippili.

International naming

  • ?????????????? (Kandanthippili) in Tamil
    Tamil language

    Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has Official language in India, Sri Lanka and Singapore....
  • Pepe di Marisa in Italian
    Italian language

    Italian is a Romance languages spoken by about 63 million people as a first language, primarily in Italy. In Switzerland, Italian is one of four Linguistic geography of Switzerlands....