Harvesting and processing

Black pepper

• Black pepper of commerce is produced from whole, unripe but fully mature berries.
• The harvested berries are piled up in a heap to initiate browning.
• Then berries are detached from the stalk by threshing. Then they are spread on suitable drying floor.
• During sundrying, berries are raked to ensure uniform drying and to avoid mould development. Drying the berries for 3-5 days reduces the moisture content to 10-12 per cent.
• The dried berries are cleaned, graded and packed in double lined gunny bags.
• Blanching the berries in boiling water for one minute prior to sun drying accelerates browning process as well as the rate of drying. It also gives a uniform lustrous black colour to the finished product and prevents mouldiness of berries.

White pepper

• White pepper is prepared from ripe berries or by decorticating black pepper.
• Bright red berries, after harvest are detached from the stalk and packed in gunny bags.
• The bags are allowed to soak in slow running water for about one week during which bacterial rotting occurs and pericarp gets loosened.
• Then the berries are trampled under feet to remove any adhering pericarp, washed in water and then sun dried to reduce the moisture content to 10- 12 per cent and to achieve a cream or white colour.
• White pepper is garbled, sorted and packed in gunny bags.
• Approximately 25 kg white pepper is obtained from 100 kg ripe berries.

HACCP protocol for pepper products

The product specific hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) worksheet for different spice products viz., garbled pepper, white pepper, dehydrated green pepper (DGP) and pepper in brine are shown in Table

Improved CFTRI method

• Fully mature but unripe berries are harvested and boiled in water for 10-15 minutes to soften the pericarp.
• After cooling, the skin is rubbed off either mechanically or manually, washed and sun dried to obtain white pepper.
• Since no retting operation is involved, the product will be free from any unpleasant odour.
• However, white pepper produced by this method gives pepper powder of light brown colour due to gelatinisation of starch in contrast to pure white powder obtained by traditional method.

Decorticated black pepper

• This is a form of white pepper produced by mechanical decortication of the outer skin of black pepper.
• This is generally done when white pepper is in short supply.
• The appearance of decorticated kernel is inferior to traditionally prepared white pepper, but is satisfactory when ground.
• Also the milling operation requires considerable skill to avoid excessive volatile oil loss.

Dehydrated green pepper

• In this method, under-mature berries are harvested and subjected to heat treatment for inactivating the enzymes responsible for browning reaction.
• Then the berries are dehydrated under controlled conditions wherein maximum retention of green colour is obtained.
• Dehydrated green pepper after reconstitution in water resembles freshly harvested green pepper.
• The advantage is that the season of availability can be extended and the berries could be stored for a year or more.

Canned green pepper

• Green pepper after harvest is preserved in two per cent brine solution and the product is heat sterilized.
• This product has the additional advantage over dehydrated green pepper in that it retains the natural colour, texture and flavour.

Bottled green pepper

• Green pepper is preserved without spoilage in 20 per cent brine solution containing 100 ppm SO2 and 0.2 per cent citric acid.
• Addition of citric acid prevents blackening of berries.

Cured green pepper

• To overcome the disadvantages of poor texture and weak flavour of dehydrated green pepper and the high unit weight and packing cost of canned and bottled green pepper, cured green pepper has been developed.
• Berries are thoroughly cleaned in water, steeped in saturated brine solution for 2-3 months, drained and packed in suitable flexible polyethylene pouches.
• 2-3 months, drained and packed in suitable flexible polyethylene pouches.

Freeze-dried green pepper

• Most of the moisture from fresh tender green pepper is removed by freezing the berries at -30^oC to - 40^oC under high vacuum.
• The colour, aroma and texture of freeze-dried green pepper are superior to sun dried or mechanically dehydrated green pepper.
• Freeze-dried green pepper has 2 - 4 per cent moisture and is very light.

Pepper oil

• Black pepper is crushed to coarse powder and steam distilled to obtain 2.5 to 3.5 per cent colourless to pale green essential oil which becomes viscous on ageing.
• It is used in perfumery and in flavouring.
• Oil can also be distilled from white pepper but high price of white pepper and low oil yield do not favour its commercial production.

Drying percentage and oil content of Panniyur varieties of pepper

Pepper oleoresin

• Extraction of black pepper with organic solvents like acetone, ethanol or dichloro-ethane provides 10-13 per cent oleoresin possessing the odour, flavour and pungent principles of the spice.
• The content of the pungent alkaloid piperine ranges from 4 to 6 per cent in dry pepper and 35 to 50 per cent in oleoresin.
• When freshly made, pepper oleoresin is a dark green, viscous, heavy liquid with a strong aroma.
• One kg of oleoresin when dispersed on an inert base can replace 15 to 20 kg of spice for flavouring purpose.