Editing Piper (plant) (section)

===As spice and vegetable===
Culinary use of pepper plants is attested perhaps as early as 9,000 years ago. Peppercorn remains were found among the food refuse left by [[Hoabinhian]] artisans at [[Spirit Cave (Thailand)|Spirit Cave]], [[Thailand]]. It is likely that these plants were collected from the wild rather than deliberately grown.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Chester F. Gorman |year=1969 |title=Hoabinhian: a pebble tool complex with early plant associations in Southeast Asia |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |volume=163 |issue=3868 |pages=671–673 |doi=10.1126/science.163.3868.671 |pmid=17742735|bibcode=1969Sci...163..671G |s2cid=34052655 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Chester F. Gorman |year=1971 |title=The Hoabinhian and after: subsistence patterns in Southeast Asia during the Late Pleistocene and Early Recent periods |journal=[[World Archaeology]] |volume=2 |issue=3 |pages=300–320 |jstor=124120 |doi=10.1080/00438243.1971.9979482}}</ref>

[[File:Pfeffer-Gewürz.jpg|thumb|[[Black pepper]] (''Piper nigrum'') corns, from left to right:<br />Green (pickled unripe fruits)<br />White (dried ripe seeds)<br />Black (dried unripe fruits)]]
Use of peppercorns as pungent spice is significant on an international scale. By [[classical antiquity]], there was a vigorous [[spice trade|trade of spices]] including black pepper (''[[Piper nigrum|P.&nbsp;nigrum]]'') from [[South Asia]] to [[Europe]]. The ''[[Apicius]]'', a recipe collection complied about 400 AD, mentions "pepper" as a spice for most main dishes.<ref>{{cite book |title=Apicius: Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome |url=http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29728/29728-h/29728-h.htm |website=Project Gutenburg |access-date=December 9, 2018|date=2009-08-19 }}</ref> In the late [[Roman Empire]], black pepper was expensive, but was available readily enough to be used more frequently than [[salt]]{{efn|''Apicius'' generally uses ''[[garum]]'' [[fish sauce]] instead; raw [[brine]] and large quantities of [[herb]]s were also employed by many.}} or [[sugar]].

As Europe moved into the [[Early Middle Ages]], trade routes deteriorated and the use of pepper declined somewhat, but peppercorns, storing easily and having a high mass per volume, never ceased to be a profitable trade item. In the [[Middle Ages]], international traders were nicknamed ''Pfeffersäcke'' ("pepper-sacks") in [[Germany|German]] towns of the [[Hanseatic League]] and elsewhere. Later, wars were fought by European powers, between themselves and in complex alliances and enmities with [[Indian Ocean]] states, in part about control of the supply of spices, perhaps the most [[archetypal]] being black pepper fruit. Today, peppercorns of the three preparations (green, white and black) are one of the most widely used spices of plant origin worldwide.

Due to the wide distribution of ''Piper'', the fruit of other species are also important spices, many of them internationally. [[Long pepper]] (''P.&nbsp;longum''), is possibly the second-most popular ''Piper'' spice internationally; it has a rather [[Chili pepper|chili]]-like "heat" and the whole [[inflorescence]] is used as the fruits are tiny. [[Cubeb]] (''P.&nbsp;cubeba''), also known as tailed pepper, played a major role in the spice trade. Reputedly [[Philip IV of Spain]] suppressed trade in cubeb peppercorns at the end of the 1630s to capitalize on his share of the black pepper trade.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Parkinson |year=1640 |title=Theatrum Botanicum: the Theater of Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/gri_33125008297760 |publisher=T. Cotes |location=London|author-link=John Parkinson (botanist) }}</ref> It remains a significant spice around the [[Indian Ocean]] region today, however. West African pepper (''[[Piper guineense|P.&nbsp;guineense]]''), is commonly used in [[West African cuisine]], and is sometimes used in the [[East Africa]]n ''[[berbere]]'' spice mix. This species, despite being traded more extensively in earlier times, is less common outside Africa today.

Not only the seeds of ''Piper'' are used in cooking. West African Pepper leaves, known locally as ''uziza'', are used as a flavoring vegetable in [[Nigerian cuisine|Nigerian]] stews. In [[Mexico|Mexican]]-influenced cooking, ''hoja santa'' or Mexican pepperleaf (''[[Piper auritum|P.&nbsp;auritum]]'') has a variety of uses. In [[Southeast Asia]], leaves of two species of ''Piper'' have major importance in cooking: [[lolot]] (''P.&nbsp;lolot'') is used to wrap meat for grilling in the [[Indochina]] region, while wild betel (''[[Piper sarmentosum|P.&nbsp;sarmentosum]]'') is used raw or cooked as a vegetable in [[Malay cuisine|Malay]] and [[Thai cuisine]];<ref>{{cite book |author=Charmaine Solomon |year=1998 |chapter=Cha plu |title=Encyclopedia of Asian Food |publisher=Periplus Editions |chapter-url=http://www.asiafood.org/glossary_1.cfm?alpha=C&wordid=3252&startno=1&endno=25}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |year=2008 |url=http://www.earthcare.com.au/other.htm |title=Tropical root crops |publisher=Earthcare |access-date=15 July 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080719012840/http://www.earthcare.com.au/other.htm |archive-date=19 July 2008 }}</ref> The stems and roots of ''[[Piper chaba]]'' are used as a spice in [[Bangladeshi cuisine]].