The other day I got to thinking about pepper, because I love it. I put ground black pepper on just about everything, so much that my husband makes fun of me for it.
For some reason, it occurred to me that I did not know the difference between white and black pepper. And it bugged me.
So, I looked it up.
Both black and white pepper come from the plant Piper nigrum. The difference in color relates to the level of ripeness and the treatment of the berry.
Black pepper is a whole, unripe pepper berry.
White pepper is the seed of a ripe pepper berry.
Now I know, and I feel better for it.