Most people will sprinkle it on eggs without a second thought, but pepper has an origin story worthy of an epic. The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.

Pepper is a fruit that grows on a flowering vine called Piper nigrum , native to the Malabar Coast along the southeast of India. In the region’s balmy forest, it grows as small green berries that dangle from an unassuming green plant.

So yes, pepper is technically a fruit. In the world of botany, fruits are the ovaries of a flowering plant that bear its seeds. They develop from the fertilized flower and serve as the fleshy, tasty bubble that disperses those seeds, allowing the plant to spread to new pastures and grow the next generation.

Where does black pepper come from?

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