Piper cubeba

Piper cubeba, cubeb or tailed pepper is a plant in <a href="/facts/Genus/m8EFjSms">genus</a> <a href="/facts/Piper_(plant)/hWx2Epf6">Piper</a>, cultivated for its <a href="/facts/Fruit/PBpuzk60">fruit</a> and <a href="/facts/Essential_oil/cq8V5ocP">essential oil</a>. It is mostly grown in <a href="/facts/Java_(island)/2MNA2rLm">Java</a> and <a href="/facts/Sumatra/Fo192kJb">Sumatra</a>, hence sometimes called Java pepper. The fruits are gathered before they are ripe, and carefully dried. Commercial cubeb consists of the dried <a href="/facts/Berries/PW8Tvdgu">berries</a>, similar in appearance to <a href="/facts/Black_pepper/6MMqGwm4">black pepper</a>, but with stalks attached – the "tails" in "tailed pepper". The dried <a href="/facts/Pericarp/VDLWzDkf">pericarp</a> is wrinkled, and its color ranges from grayish brown to black. The <a href="/facts/Seed/a4xGSLxJ">seed</a> is hard, white and oily. The odor of cubeb is described as agreeable and <a href="/facts/Aroma/WnCopMmH">aromatic</a> and the taste as pungent, acrid, slightly bitter and persistent. It has been described as tasting like <a href="/facts/Allspice/C3XykRY1">allspice</a>, or like a cross between allspice and black pepper.
Cubeb came to Europe via <a href="/facts/India/1kKHcnxM">India</a> through the trade with the Arabs. The name cubeb comes from <a href="/facts/Arabic_language/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> kabāba (كبابة) by way of <a href="/facts/Old_French/QcRpPdAc">Old French</a> quibibes. Cubeb is mentioned in <a href="/facts/Alchemy/CEx0U1Em">alchemical writings</a> by its Arabic name. In his Theatrum Botanicum, <a href="/facts/John_Parkinson_(botanist)/75d3dXB3">John Parkinson</a> tells that the king of Portugal (Possibly either <a href="/facts/Philip_IV_of_Spain/rRqh2K8f">Philip IV of Spain</a> or <a href="/facts/John_IV_of_Portugal/p4wy7owz">John IV of Portugal</a>, as that year was marked by the start of the <a href="/facts/Portuguese_Restoration_War/PvRYMCW3">Portuguese Restoration War</a>) prohibited the sale of cubeb to promote <a href="/facts/Black_pepper/6MMqGwm4">black pepper</a> (Piper nigrum) around 1640. It experienced a brief resurgence in 19th-century Europe for medicinal uses, but has practically vanished from the European market since. It continues to be used as a <a href="/facts/Flavoring/sGR38zXy">flavoring agent</a> for <a href="/facts/Gin/h6kcsFID">gins</a> and <a href="/facts/Flavored_tobacco/aG49gdN1">cigarettes</a> in the West, and as a seasoning for food in <a href="/facts/Indonesia/vQnWU3IW">Indonesia</a>.

Piper cubeba open-in-new

Piper cubeba