What came before the New World's Chili Pepper in European

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The Chili pepper like the Tomato, and the Potato originated in the new world. The peppery flavor however was known in ancient Roman times long before the Chili Pepper had been discovered. You all know about black Pepper, (Piper nigrum) but how many of you know about what the Chili Pepper replaced in the world wide cuisine. Long Pepper (Piper longum) its flavor is somewhat more pungent than black pepper but not as pungent as chili peppers. Long Pepper is easy to obtain and is very interesting to cook with. It is not as easy to work with as regular black pepper because you need to grind the seed pods in a coffee mill. What ultimately caused Long Pepper to be eclipsed by the New World's chili was the fact the Chili could be quickly grown everywhere the growing season was long enough, and it was rapidly dispersed by Portuguese, and Spanish colonies. Long Pepper plants only grow in tropical regions of the earth such as Indonesia, and India. Use Long Pepper just like you would regular black pepper it is an interesting ingredient is BBQ sauces.

 

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What is so fascinating is the reason for the age of exploration. It was the search for the source of the spices, of which Black Pepper was a major part. The parallels with the modern world are so interesting. In Elizabethan times the spice trade was completely controlled by the City States of Florence, Milan, and Venice. They operated just like a modern drug cartel. They in turn did business with the same Islamic world which today deals in petroleum. These sultans concealed the actual source of these spices. It was the Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish looking for the source of these spices that opened up the world.