Black Pepper 60 Mesh STM

Cultivated for its peppercorns, black pepper is a vine that belongs to the Piperaceae family. It is usually dried and used as a spice and seasoning. 

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is the dried berries of the perennial vine of the family Piperaceae. Black pepper is cultivated in hilly regions of Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu & North eastern states. Black pepper takes about 7 - 8 months to reach full maturity after flowering. The harvested berries are piled up in heaps to initiate enzymatic browning that results in oxidation of phenolic compounds by atmospheric oxygen. The berries are detached from the stalk by trashing and allowed to sun dry on flat surface. The drying step reduces moisture and helps avoids mould formation. The uniform colour of the black pepper can be ensured by blanching. The mature berries are dipped in boiling water for a minute before drying.

Dried black pepper mixed with extraneous matter like spent spikes, pinheads, stones, soil particles etc is removed by the mechanical garbling of the black pepper. Mechanical Grading is done by using sieves of 3, 4.5, 4.75 and 5mm size.