Pepper belongs to the Piperaceae family, native to southern India, but today the largest producers are Vietnam, which is the first exporter in the world, India, which is the first consumer, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil and Madagascar.
The pepper plant is a vine up to 10 m long. The fruits are small spherical berries that when ripe are bright red.
There are more than 600 varieties of pepper, but few are used as spice, often distinguished only depending on the degree of ripeness and the type of processing. The common pepper is the fruit of the Piper nigrum, depending on the period of collection and/or processing, the following types of pepper are distinguished:

black pepper (harvested at the time of veraison and dried)
white pepper (harvested at the time of veraison or subsequently, dehulled by maceration in water or mechanically, dried)
green pepper (harvested unripe, dried or pickled)
red pepper (harvested ripe, placed in brine)
The composition of pepper seed: starch (33%), fatty substances (7%), essential oil (1 - 2%), nitrogenous substances (12%). Piperine - an alkaloid, contained by less than 9%, responsible for the spicy taste of pepper.

Healthy features should not be neglected
Pepper has digestive, anti-inflammatory and diuretic properties, it is used in case of anemia, diabetes and respiratory problems. Pepper peels stimulate the assimilation of fats by providing more energy to the body. It can also have an external use to regulate the sebaceous glands, or for muscle and relaxing clutches.

The use in the kitchen
Pepper is used depending on the type (white, black, green and red pepper) because it responds to a more or less pungent and aromatic smell and taste. It is used both in whole grains that crushed or ground in fine powder to flavor a wide range of dishes: soups, sauces, meat, fish, stews, salads, sausages and so on.