Envoy at 06:48, 20 October 2007

2007-10-20T06:48:51Z

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{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Long pepper
| image = Piper longum print.jpg
| image_width = 200px
| image_caption = Long pepper's leaves and fruit
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Piperales]]
| familia = [[Piperaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Piper (genus)|Piper]]''
| species = '''''P. longum'''''
| binomial = ''Piper longum''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
{{commons|Piper longum}}

'''Long pepper''' (''Piper longum''), sometimes called '''Indian Long Pepper''', is a [[flowering plant|flowering]] [[vine]] in the family ''[[Piperaceae]]'', cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a [[spice]] and [[seasoning]]. Long pepper is a close relative of the [[black pepper]] plant, and has a similar, though generally hotter, taste. The word ''pepper'' itself is derived from the [[Sanskrit]] word for long pepper, ''pippali''. The fruit of the pepper consists of many minuscule fruits — each about the size of a [[poppy seed]] — embedded in the surface of a flower spike; it closely resembles a [[hazel|hazel tree]] [[catkin]]. Another species of long pepper, ''Piper retrofractum'', is native to [[Java (island)|Java]].

[[Image:Piper longum.jpg|left|thumb|180px|Dried long pepper catkins]]
Prior to the European discovery of the New World, long pepper was an important and well-known [[spice]]. 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 pepper]]s 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. Today, long pepper is an extremely rare ingredient in European cuisines, but it can still be found in [[India]]n vegetable [[Indian pickle|pickle]]s, some [[North Africa]]n spice mixtures, and in [[Indonesia]]n and [[Malaysia]]n cooking. It is readily available at Indian grocery stores, where it is usually labelled "Pipalli."

==References==

*Dalby, Andrew (Oct 1, 2002). [http://print.google.com/print?hl=en&id=7IHcZ21dyjwC&dq=black+pepper+long+pepper&prev=http://print.google.com/print%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26q%3Dblack%2Bpepper%2Blong%2Bpepper%26btnG%3DSearch&lpg=PA90&pg=PA89&sig=FvKr3MxwTnzkahYe5RfZb4bbrck Dangerous Tastes: The Story of Spices], 89. Google Print. ISBN 0-520-23674-2 (accessed October 25, 2005). Also available in print from University of California Press.
*{{cite book | author=McGee, Harold | title=On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) | publisher=Scribner | year=2004 | id=ISBN 0-684-80001-2}} pp 427-429, "Black Pepper and Relatives".

{{Herbs & spices}}

[[Category:Medicinal plants]]
[[Category:Peppers]]
[[Category:Piper]]

Long pepper - Revision history

Envoy at 06:48, 20 October 2007