To add spice to food, black pepper comes right after dried chilies and green chilies. This spice not only enhances the taste of food but also brings various health benefits to the body. But if black pepper is adulterated, you will neither get the taste nor the benefits. Even the flavor of black pepper in food will remain elusive. Nowadays, many foods are being adulterated. Black pepper is no exception. Unscrupulous traders are mixing papaya seeds, berry seeds, etc., and selling them as black pepper. This adulterated food is extremely harmful to health. But how can you tell whether black pepper is pure or not when buying?
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Ways to identify pure black pepper
Test in water
Drop a spoonful of whole black pepper into a glass of water. If the pepper grains float to the surface, you'll know it's adulterated. Papaya seeds are light, so they float in water. Pure black pepper will sink in water. You can identify real black pepper at the initial stage with this trick. However, sometimes pure black pepper may also float due to air.
Identify by smell
Take a few black peppercorns and rub them well in your hand. Then smell them and you'll feel the pungency of black pepper. If the pungency is strong, you'll understand that the black pepper is pure. But if it's adulterated, its smell won't be strong.
Check the texture
Pure black pepper cannot be broken by pressing between two fingers. Pressure is needed to grind black pepper. That's not possible without a grinding stone or mixer. But if it's fake black pepper, it will break with light hand pressure. If the black pepper is soft, you'll know it's adulterated. Pure black pepper is hard and heavy.
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Check the color
Nowadays, papaya seeds are polished to give them the appearance of black pepper. Rub a few black peppercorns in your hand. If color comes off on your hand, you'll know it's adulterated. If it's pure, only pungency will come out, no color will come off. Also, real black pepper is not colorful. So you can often tell by looking whether black pepper is real or fake.
