You've probably peppered your food thousands of times. But did you know that this spice comes from a fruit?
Black pepper is the product of a shrub that grows in Southeast Asia and Indonesia. The shrub is a plant that tangles and climbs over tree trunks in the same way an ivy does.
The workers pick the small fruits of this plant and dry them into the tiny peppercorns we know. White pepper comes from the same plant, but is produced from ripe fruits rather than dried ones.
Other kinds of pepper, such as cayenne pepper, come from different plants. Singapore is the capital of this spice trade.
A quarter of the world's spice trade is based on pepper.
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