Why is pepper such a popular spice? - Carolyn Beans

Trace the history of pepper, and explore how this seasoning shaped empires to become one of the world's most popular spices. -- Thousands of years ago, people on the Malabar Coast began growing Piper nigrum, the black pepper plant. Early migrants and traders helped move pepper from India to Indonesia and beyond, with Egypt, China, and Rome being some of the earliest adopters. And today, black pepper makes up 20% of the global spice trade. So, what makes the spice so popular? Carolyn Beans traces the seasoning's history. Lesson by Carolyn Beans, directed by Thomas Volda. Support Our Non-Profit Mission ---------------------------------------------- Support us on Patreon: http://t.ted.com/nlVpzFN Check out our merch: http://t.ted.com/upNeDi3 ---------------------------------------------- Connect With Us ---------------------------------------------- Sign up for our newsletter: http://t.ted.com/R7iMQzr Follow us on Facebook: http://t.ted.com/NKcsscO Find us on Twitter: http://t.ted.com/nXsWmpA Peep us on Instagram: http://t.ted.com/zuDVFXP ---------------------------------------------- Keep Learning ---------------------------------------------- View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-pepper-end-up-on-every-dinner-table-carolyn-beans Dig deeper with additional resources: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-did-pepper-end-up-on-every-dinner-table-carolyn-beans/digdeeper Animator's website: https://ivanathomasvolda.org Music: https://www.wonderboyaudio.com ---------------------------------------------- Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Roberto Chena, Oliver Koo, Luke Pisano, Andrea Gordon, Aleksandar Donev, Nicole Klau Ibarra, Jesse Lira, Ezekiel Raui, Petr Vacek, Dennis, Olivia Fu, Kari Teffeau, Cindy Lai, Rajath Durgada Manjunath, Dan Nguyen, Chin Beng Tan, Tom Boman, Karen Warner, Iryna Panasiuk, Aaron Torres, Eric Braun, Sonja Worzewski, Michael Clement, Adam Berry, Ghaith Tarawneh, Nathan Milford, Tomas Beckett, Alice Ice, Eric Berman, Kurt Paolo Sevillano, Jennifer Heald, Megulo Abebe, isolwi, Kate Sem, Ujjwal Dasu, Angel Alberici, Minh Quan Dinh, Sylvain, Terran Gimpel, Talia Sari, Katie McDowell, Allen, Mahina Knuckles, Charmaine Hanson, Thawsitt, Jezabel, Abdullah Abdulaziz, Xiao Yu, Melissa Suarez, and Brian A. Dunn.