Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1858-12-15
"PAss THE PEPPER. /"

vi ali the aromatlcS WHICH arc Patt-ANSA "
by man as favorers to his food, there IS none
more common than pepper, and when unadui-
terated, its tendency, in small quantities, u
rather 20 aid digestion than otherwise. inc
three important peppers commonly founo on
the dinner table are white, black and cayenne,
all natives of the tropics. They are much
used ITO stimulate digestion) by their human
bretbrep-thosc hot and choleric old naoobs
who confer a benefit on the world by living m
hot climates far removed from the naunts OK
civilized life. Thus the chor-chors, cHrTies'
and other hot dishes so relished by your yer
Iow-faced East and West Indians, owe their
flavor and pungency to the amount oil pepper
that they contain.
There is one variety Of the genus Piper to
which the white and black peppers belong
(cayenne being a member of the genus eapss-
cum, called so, by the bye, from Greek WORD
which signifies to bte)-this variety Is great
favorite with housekeepers and cooks, and mas
received from them the flattering name OF "afi-
spice," as II combines in itself the favor OF
cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon; II grows pien-
tifully in Jamaica and other American islands,
where it was first discovered by the Spaniards,
who gave il the name of Pimenta de Jarnutcu!
The French call it the Tsrouud clove.'
Black pepper is cultivated in large quanti-
ties in Malacca, Java, and especially at Sumaf-
ra, the trade of these places being Almost eA-
clusively in these spices. A pepper garoea
during the ripening of the pod IS a lovely sign',
squares of six feet, in each of which are plant
ed Young trees called chiBkareens, that serve a.
props to the pepper vines. When the prop mas
reached twelve feet high, it is cut on and the
vines planted, two to each prop. a vine IL
three years in coming to maturity, ana tho
fruit, which grows in long spikes, AZ .iiree or
four months in ripeuing. The berries are pluck
ed as soon as ripe, and spread on mats upon
the ground to dry, by which process they be-
come black and shriveled, and are imported
here as black pepper. In New ork city, ana
distributed throughout the States, are many
mills where pepper is ground, ana, We are sot-
| ry to say, it often sophisticated with burnt
| crust of bread and other authorizations. --.
The Sumatrans once did q genuine Yankee
| trick in connection with pepper, which is worth
recording. They stepped the pepper corns in
| water until their shells or outer coat burst and
then drying them without it,, sold for three
times the price of the black, as different spe--
cies, to the East India Company who thenmo-
nopolized the pepper trade. The company,
having swallowed the story, made the buyers
| swallow it too, and ever since We have had the
two peppers, white and black, both coming
from the same plant, but one possessing its
coat and the other being deprived of that use-
| full appendage, and weakened in Its pungcn-
| cy. The effect of pepper is stimulative and
| carminitiye, and as a condiment it seems not
only TO add peculiar favor of its own to dish
| es into whose composition, 1t may enter, but
| also to develop the flavor of the other ingye-
dients. Taken in small quantities it warns
the whole systems but if large dose be placed
on the palate, it seems to burn the tongue and
| throw the whole mouth into perfect glow.
| As medicine il has been proved beneficial in
| cases of vertigo, paralysis, and intermiftents
| Tho pungency depends on the presence OF an
| aromatic resin, which can be extracted by e.
ther and alcohol, and partially by water
Cayenne was first noticed on the coast of
| Guinea and has been generally used by the
| natives of those chimes in which II grows as q
| strengthened for the stomach. 1t is an extra
ordinary fact, but still true, that although saw
| ages may be unacquainted with the polite arts,
they are generally we'll informed Oh the subject
| of gastronomy, and to suit their sometimes Pc
| culiar tastes, they generally discover, all the
| edible good things which their native soil az
| fords. 1t cannot be denied that hunger and
the palate are great equalizers, and the stona-
| ach, much we abhor gluttony, does much
| for civilization; in fact, his stomach and its
wants distinguish man from the brutes. for,
DIR. Kitchener correctly observed, "Man is the
| only cooking ANIMAL
| The CAYENNE of commerce is the grain Of
seed of the capsicum ground and mixed with
/ -four and then baked into little cakes in an o.
ven; these are again broken up and mixed
with more flour and placed in jars for sale.
The tree or plant is very beautiful, and forms
a great ornament to garden, but it is very
| tender and requires much care. 1t is moro
| pungent than either white or Dfach peppers,
| and is often adulterated with logwood and ma
| hogany sawdust and red lead this latter can,
however, be easily detected by placing spoon
| full carefully in glass of water, when, should
it contain any red lead, it will form its specific
| gravity quickly drop to the bottom, while the
| cayenne will sink but slowly. a very pleas
ant drink may be made for these cold winter
nights, and one that is healthy too, frsm pep
per. Here is the recipe Place three or four
Jumps of sugar with half teaspoonfui of pep
per in a tumbler and fill up with hot water !;
when the sugar is dissolved, drink. It is not
only pleasant to the palate, but warns the
whole body more effectually and quicker than
| any spirits. Those of our readers who try the
recipe once will often, during the coming win
ter,when the fire burns low, and they feel chill
| ly generally, exclaim in the language OF our
caption, ssPass the Pepper"
A Mr. Gerard, in q speech at New York, .
few days since, told the folks that 60 600 chill
dren attended the public shoots. He then
asks: s.Have not these 10000 children l20,-
600 parents Appeal to them and you will
raise powerful voice which viii sweep away
anything that opposes You, like the chat be-
fore the wind" This is a specimen of the
style in which statistics are manufactured.
The orator overlooked the fact that fe,r Of
the sixty thousand children were brothers and
sisters.-Cin. Com. . ~r
| ASKING THE QUESTION. Vermont editor
advises the young ladies of that section to a.
bandon the sgood old ways. of doing up mat
ters in the counting line, and recommends the
following summary method When you have
ry,t $,% 81