PEPPER PROCESSING

Introduction
Pepper is one of the oldest and most popular spices in the world
and is known as the ‘King of Spices’. At one time, peppercorns
were more valuable than gold and were used to pay for rent,
taxes and dowries. In Europe there has always been a high
demand for pepper as a food preservative and for adding heat
and flavour to meat. This demand for pepper was what initiated
the great explorers to set out on voyages in search of the Spice
Islands.

The name pepper comes from the Sanskrit word pippali, which
means berry. It originally referred to the Indian long pepper
(Piper longum) which used to be quite common, but which is Figure 1: black peppercorns.
now difficult to find. The pepper used today is from the plant Photo: Practical Action / Neil
Piper nigrum, which is a perennial vine that originated on the Noble
Malabar Coast of India. From India, the pepper vine was taken
to Indonesia and then throughout the Far East to Malaysia,
Borneo, Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Penang and Singapore. Pepper
grows best near to the equator and today it is also grown in
Thailand, tropical Africa, the South Sea Islands and Brazil.

Pepper must be dried before it is stored and sold for market. This brief outlines the important
steps that should be taken pre-harvest and post-harvest to ensure that the dried pepper is of top
quality for the market.

Types of pepper
 Black peppercorns are the dried ripe berries from piper nigrum.
 White peppercorns are the dehusked berry from piper nigrum. The pepper berries are
soaked to soften the outer skin, which is then removed to leave behind the pale inside
peppercorn.
 Green peppercorns are the fresh peppercorn berries, still on the long stem. Fresh
peppercorns are usually only available in the country they are grown. They are sometimes
pickled in brine or vinegar, or can be freeze-dried to preserve them.

Pepper production
Pepper is a branching perennial vine that grows to about 10m in height. It is often grown over
other ‘live’ supports such as kapok or gliricidia or as an intercop in tea or coffee plantations. The
plant has small white flowers that grow in groups of about 50 blossoms that form dense slender
spikes. The berry-like fruits are round, about 0.5-1.0cm in diameter and contain a single seed.
The berries become yellowish red when they mature and have a hot taste and strong aroma.

For optimum growth, the plant requires a long rainy season (over 2000mm annually), fairly high
temperatures (20-40°C) and partial shade. It grows best in coastal areas or at elevations lower
than 1200mm. The plant is usually propagated by stem cuttings, which are set out near a tree
or a pole that can provide support for the vine. The vines begin to bear fruit 2 to 5 years after
planting and continue to bear fruit every three years for up to about 40 years.

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Pepper processing Practical Action

Harvesting
Harvesting at the correct stage of maturity is essential to produce high quality peppercorns. In
Kerala, India, the crop takes 6-8 months from flowering until harvest. The pepper spikes are
picked when one or two of the berries on the spike begin to turn orange and the berries are hard
to touch. The whole spikes of berries are picked by hand. The flavour and pungency of pepper
develop as the berries ripen and mature. Pepper berries can be harvested while they are still
green, but the dried peppercorns will have less heat and flavour than berries which are harvested
later.

The pungency of peppercorns increases throughout maturity, but does not increase very much
during the last few stages of ripening. The latest possible time for harvest of the berries is when
a few of the berries on each spike begin to turn orange or red. If the berries are harvested after
this time, they will begin to rot.

The best black pepper is made from berries that have just turned yellow/orange. This type of
pepper is usually produced in India and is traded as Tellicherry pepper. The peppercorns of
Tellicherry pepper are slightly larger than normal, are a dark brown colour and are sold for a
premium price.

When the berries are left to ripen for longer, there is more risk of them being eaten by birds or
being lost due to bad weather. However, the processor will get a better price for the dried
peppercorns as they will be of a higher quality.

Production of white pepper

White pepper is made from pepper berries that are fully ripe. After harvest the outer husk of the
berry has to be removed. This is done by soaking the ripe berries in slow running water for up to
a week, to soften the outer husk and make it easy to remove. The soaked berries are trampled on
to remove the softened outer husk. They are then washed and dried in the same way as black
pepper. Because of the extra work involved in the preparation of white pepper, and the higher
risk of losing the entire crop to birds or to the weather, this type of pepper is more expensive to
buy than black pepper.

Sorting/threshing
After harvest the pepper berries are removed from the stems either by hand or by beating with
sticks (threshing) or by using a minim mechanical thresher. The stems are separated out and
discarded.

Scalding/blanching
The pepper berries are blanched by placing in boiling water for about 10 minutes which causes
them to turn dark brown or black in about an hour. Blanching accelerates the drying and
browning of the berries, but the cost of fuel for heating water may be prohibitive for the very
small scale processor. After scalding they are dried.

Drying
This is the most important part of the process as it affects the quality of the final product. It is
important to dry the peppercorns rapidly so that mould does not begin to grow on the berries
during drying. To obtain the full black colour of dried pepper, it needs to be dried in direct
sunshine. This can be achieved by drying in the sun, using a solar drier or in a combined solar
drier and wood burning drier. Pepper berries should be dried until they are black and winkled
and have a final moisture content of 8-10% to prevent the growth of mould.

Sun drying. Traditionally, pepper berries are spread on a concrete floor to dry using the natural
heat from the sun. The best drying surfaces to use are bamboo mats coated with fenugreek
paste, concrete floors or high density black polythene, which give a better quality and cleaner
final product. The berries should be raked several times a day to turn them over and allow them
to dry fully. Sun drying takes anything from 7 to 10 days depending upon the local climate and
the density of the pile of berries.

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Solar drying. The use of a solar dryer should improve the quality of the dried peppercorns as it
is a cleaner, more controlled environment. The simplest type of solar dryer is the cabinet dryer
which can be constructed locally from available materials such as bamboo, coir fibre or nylon
weave.

Wood-fired dryer. During the wet season or at times of high humidity, it is not practical to use a
solar dryer or to dry in the sun. A mechanical dryer, such as a wood-fired dryer should be used.
A combination wood-burning and solar dryer such as the one shown in figures 1-3 has been used
in Sri Lanka.

For further information see the Practical Action’s Technical Briefs on drying.

Figure 3: Combination wood and solar dryer, Figure 2: Wood burner and chimney.
complete with solar cover.

Grading
Pepper is graded by size, colour and relative
density. Colour grading is done by hand. Small
machines are available for grading pepper
according to the size or relative density of the
peppercorns.

Grinding
Grinding can be a method of adding value to a
product. However, it is usually not advisable to
grind spices as this makes them more vulnerable
to spoilage. The flavour and aroma compounds
are not stable and will quickly disappear from
ground products. The storage life of ground
spices is much less than for the whole spices. It Figure 4: The drying cabinet
is very difficult for the consumer to judge the
quality of a ground spice. It is also very easy for
unscrupulous processors to contaminate the
ground spice by adding other material. Therefore
most consumers, from wholesalers to individual
customers, prefer to buy whole spices.

If the processor wishes to grind the peppercorn on site, they can choose between manual or
mechanical grinders, depending upon the scale of the operation. A separate, well ventilated
room should be available to house the mill or grinder as it will create a lot of dust.

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Pepper processing Practical Action

Manual grinding mills are generally for the small-scale processor. They tend to be based on
circular stones or plates that are turned against each other, crushing the peppercorns between
the stones. With a good mill, an experienced processor can hand grind about 20kg pepper in an
8 hour day. However, this is very labour intensive, boring work. To make the process easier, the
mill can be semi-mechanised by adding a treadle or bicycle wheel – this should enable the
processor to grind up to 30kg a day. The fineness of grinding is determined by the distance
between the grinding plates.

Mechanical grinding mills suitable for peppercorns include horizontal and vertical plate mills
and hammer mills.

Packaging
Ground pepper must be packaged in polypropylene bags to prevent the loss of flavour. Polythene
bas are not suitable as they allow the flavour components to be lost.

Whole peppercorns are packaged in moisture proof packets. Sealing machines can be used to
seal the bags. Attractive labels should be applied to the products. The label needs to contain all
relevant product and legal information – the name of the product, brand name (if appropriate),
details of the manufacturer (name and address), date of manufacture, expiry date, weight of the
contents, added ingredients (if relevant) plus any other information that the country of origin and
of import may require (a barcode, producer code and packer code are all extra information that is
required in some countries to help trace the product back to its origin). See the Practical Action
Technical Brief on labelling for further information on labelling requirements.

Storage
Dried peppercorns must be stored in moisture-proof containers away from direct sunlight. The
stored peppercorns should be inspected regularly for signs of spoilage or moisture. If they have
absorbed moisture, they should be re-dried to a moisture content of 10%.

The storage room should be clean, dry, cool and free from pests. Mosquito netting should be
fitted on the windows to prevent pests and insects from entering the room. Strong smelling
foods, detergents and paints should not be stored in the same room.

Standards

US Government International British Standard

requirements and Standards
ASTA Organisation
Moisture (%) 12.0 12.0 12.0
Extraneous matter (% by 1.0 1.5 1.5
weight)
Lights (% by weight) 4.0 10.0 10.0
Pinheads (% by weight) - 4.0 4.0

Equipment suppliers
This is a selective list of suppliers of equipment and does not imply endorsement by Practical
Action.

This website includes lists of companies in India who supply food processing equipment.
http://www.niir.org/directory/tag/z,,1b_0_32/fruit+processing/index.html

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Pepper processing Practical Action

Dryers

Acufil Machines
S. F. No. 120/2, Kalapatty Post Office Industrias Technologicas Dinamicas SA
Coimbatore - 641 035 Av. Los Platinos 228
Tamil Nadu URB industrial Infantas
India Los Olivios
Tel: +91 422 2666108/2669909 Lima
Fax: +91 422 2666255 Peru
Email: [email protected] Tel: +51 14 528 9731
[email protected] Fax: +51 14 528 1579
http://www.indiamart.com/acufilmachines/#
products Ashoka Industries
Kirama
Bombay Engineering Works Walgammulla
1 Navyug Industrial Estate Sri Lanka
185 Tokersey Jivraj Road +94 71 764725
Opposite Swan Mill, Sewree (W)
Mumbai 400015 Kundasala Engineers
India Digana Road
Tel: +91 22 24137094/24135959 Kundasala
Fax: +91 22 24135828 Kandy
[email protected] Sri Lanka
http://www.bombayengg.com/contact.html Tel: +94 8 420482

Alvan Blanch
Premium Engineers Pvt Ltd Chelworth, Malmesbury
Plot No 2009, Phase IV, GIDC Wiltshire
Vatva, Ahmedabad 382445 SN16 9SG
India UK
Tel: +91 79 25830836 Tel: +44 1666 577333
Fax: +91 79 25830965 Fax: +44 1666 577339
[email protected]
Rank and Company www.alvanblanch.co.uk
A-p6/3, Wazirpur Industrial Estate
Delhi – 110 052 Mitchell Dryers Ltd
India Denton Holme, Carlisle
Tel: +91 11 7456101/ 27456102 Cumbria
Fax: +91 11 7234126/7433905 CA2 5DU
[email protected] UK
www.teriin.org/tech_cardamom.php Tel: +44 1228 534433
Fax: +44 1228 633555
[email protected]
http://www.mitchell-dryers.co.uk/

Threshing machines

Udaya Industries
Uda Aludeniya
Weligalla
Gampola
Sri Lanka
Tel: +94 8 388586
Fax: +94 8 388909

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Milling and grinding machines

Central Institute of Agricultural Rajan Universal Exports PVT Ltd

Engineering Post Bag no 250
Nabi Bagh 162 Linghi Chetty Street
Berasia Road Chennai 600 001
Bhopal 462 038 India
Madhya Pradesh Tel: +91 44
India 25341711/25340731/25340751
Tel: +91 755 2737191 Fax: +91 44 25342323
Fax: +91 755 2734016 [email protected]
[email protected] http://rajeximp.com/rajeximp/contact.html
http://www.ciae.nic.in/
Kundasala Engineers
Gardners Corporation Sri Lanka (see above)
158 Golf Links
New Delhi 110003 Alvan Blanch
India UK (see above)
Tel: +91 11 3344287/3363640
Fax: +91 11 3717179 C S Bell Co
170 West Davis Street
Premium Engineers PVT Ltd PO Box 291
India (see above) Tiffin
Ohio 44883
USA
Tel: +1 419 448 0791
Fax: +1 419 448 1203

Packaging and labelling machines

Acufil Machines
India (See above) Narangs Corporation
India
Gardners Corporation P-25 Connaught Place
India (See above) New Delhi 110 001
India
Gurdeep Packaging Machines Tel: +91 11 2336 3547
Harichand Mill compound Fax: +91 11 2374 6705
LBS Marg, Vikhroli
Mumbai 400 079 Orbit Equipments Pvt Ltd
India 175 - B, Plassy Lane
Tel: +91 22 2578 3521/577 5846/579 Bowenpally
5982 Secunderabad - 500011, Andhra Pradesh
Fax: +91 22 2577 2846 India
Tel: +91 40 32504222
MMM Buxabhoy & Co Fax: +91 40 27742638
140 Sarang Street http://www.orbitequipments.com
1st Floor, Near Crawford Market
Mumbai Pharmaco Machines
India Unit No. 4, S.No.25 A
Tel: +91 22 2344 2902 Opp Savali Dhaba, Nr.Indo-Max
Fax: +91 22 2345 2532 Nanded Phata, Off Sinhagad Rd.
[email protected]; [email protected]; Pune – 411041
[email protected] India
Tel: +91 20 65706009
Fax: +91 20 24393377

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Rank and Company

India (see above) Technology and Equipment Development
Centre (LIDUTA)
Banyong Engineering 360 Bis Ben Van Don St
94 Moo 4 Sukhaphibaon No 2 Rd District 4
Industrial Estate Bangchan Ho Chi Minh City
Bankapi Vietnam
Thailand Tel: +84 8 940 0906
Tel: +66 2 5179215-9 Fax: +84 8 940 0906

John Kojo Arthur

University of Science and Technology Alvan Blanch
Kumasi UK (see above)
Ghana

Contacts

The following contacts should be able to provide further information:

Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR)

Marikunnu PO, Calicut
Kerala
India 673012
Tel: +91 495 2731346
+91 495 2730294
[email protected]; [email protected]

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay

Powai
Mumbai 400076
India
Tel: +91 22 2572 2545
Fax: +91 22 2572 3480
http://www.ircc.iitb.ac.in/webnew/

Further reading
Drying of Foods Practical Action Technical Brief
Spice Processing Practical Action Technical Brief
Food Labelling Practical Action Technical Brief
Drying selection of Practical Action Technical Briefs
Herbs and Spices selection of Practical Action Technical Briefs
Drying UNIFEM Practical Action Publishing 1995
Preservation of Fruit and Vegetables: Agrodok 3, Agromisa 1997
Try Drying It! Case Studies in the Dissemination of Tray Drying Technology, B Axtell,Practical
Action Publishing 1991
Producing Solar Dried Fruit and Vegetables for Micro and Small scale Rural Enterprise
Development, A Series of Practical Guides' written by the Natural Resources Institute.
Setting up a food drying business P Thuillier, Practical Action Publishing, 2002
Drying Food for Profit B Axtell, Practical Action Publishing, 2002

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Pepper processing Practical Action

This document was produced by Dr. S Azam Ali for Practical Action March 2007.
Dr. S Azam-Ali is a consultant in food processing and nutrition with over 15 years
experience of working with small-scale processors in developing countries.

Practical Action
The Schumacher Centre
Bourton-on-Dunsmore
Rugby, Warwickshire, CV23 9QZ
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1926 634400
Fax: +44 (0)1926 634401
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://practicalaction.org/practicalanswers/

Practical Action is a development charity with a difference. We know the simplest ideas can have the
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