Pepper and its cultivation

- commonly used to spice up dishes
- can be used to make into candies
- fresh peppercorn sauce has a very concentrated spicy taste
- the more you crunch, the richer the scent of the peppercorns
- pepper, the king of spices, is a key condiment and take years to grow

- Sarawak is often perceived as the only place in Malaysia that grows pepper
- it is also cultivated in JB, Kampong Maju Jaya
- pepper plants creep on the trunks of other planst for support
- propagated by cuttings and not seeds
- the leaves of supporting trees are left intact so that they can continue to absorb nutrients

- Pepper roots must be healthy if the roots are dense, and flat
- a vine that fulfills the criteria qualifies for cultivation
- a fresh cutting with no roots at the base can't absorb nutrients
- it'll be brought to a cool place with sufficient water

- once the roots are grown after 3 mths, it will be planted outside
- insert 3 nodes into the soil
- can't have too much or too little water
- most of the cuttings are planted on slopes

- growing plants is easy but running a plantation isn't
- farmers must check on the pepper plants as they grow
- grass must be cut or pests may infect the plants
- grass mustn't be overcut or the plants will receive insufficient moisture

- pepper plant is abt 12" from its supporting tree
- it'll creep up the tree and grow healthily
- pepper saplings are extremely tender
- wilt under the scorching sun and palm tree leaves are used to provide shade

- bacteria infection at the pepper roots is another tricky problem for farmers
- farmers have to be vigilant in tending to the plants daily
- peppercorns grow and ripen after 3 years of cultivation
- turn yellow or orange if they're ripe
- another branch will grow once a stalk of peppercorn is removed
- leaves will flourish and dilute the nutrients
- farmers must prune the branches regularly to keep the pepper plants in good shape

- after plucking the peppercorns, rinse them and strip them, the stalks can be used as fertilisers
- the peppercorns are sunned for 3-7 days
- turn black when almost dry while the brown ones are completely done

- black pepper are simply peppercorns which have turned black after being sunned
- white pepper are fresh peppercorns which are rinsed and soaked for about 10days, and stripped of husks
- large quantity of pepper powder we consume every day is ground by machines
- freshly ground pepper has an extremely strong aroma that pierces through your nostrils to your brain

- in the mid-century, some people discovered pepper was a spice which could eliminate meat odour
- legend had it that a stalk of peppercorns could be exchanged for a city
- fresh pepper mixed with fruit produces a sauce which is unique in taste
- doesn't overpower the sweetness of the fruit
- eating pepper candies are like crunching fresh peppercorn ie spicier than pepper-based food
- pepper isn't very expensive but farmers toil for 3 yrs to cultivate and produce the pepper powder