Types of Pepper

White peppercorns are dried fruit of the pepper plant, they are harvested when ripe and mature. The berries are then soaked in water for a few days and then the skins are rubbed off and removed. White peppercorns have a milder flavor than black peppercorns and also blend in well with white dishes, such as cream sauces and mashed potatoes.

White peppercorns smell earthy, not as aromatic as black peppercorns, and taste hot and creamy, not as pungent as black peppercorns.

You won’t find white pepper on the table as a finishing ingredient in the USA but is quite popular in sauces, potatoes, soups and beverages especially in Europe. Because of the extra processing involved, white pepper is slightly more expensive than black pepper but not as expensive as some other types of peppercorns.

There are four main types of peppercorns, each with a unique color. Let’s explore these peppercorn colors in the table below.

Types of Pepper

	Type	Characteristics	Flavor	Best Uses
	White Pepper	Ripened & Skinless	Mild Flavor	White dishes: cream sauces & mashed potatoes
	Black Pepper	Unripe berries with Skins intact. They are boiled, fermented and then dried in the sun until they turn black and their skins become wrinkled.	Strongest Flavor of the peppers – hot, pungent & aromatic.	America’s Go-to Pepper. Unless labeled, most black pepper is a mix of peppercorns from a variety of growing locations.
	Green Pepper	Picked before they’re ripe, they are green and immature. They are either air-dried, freeze dried or pickled.	Fresh flavor, not as spicy.	Traditional French peppercorn sauce recipes call for green peppers. They are generally the most expensive peppercorns because of small crops and additional processing.
	Pink Pepper	These peppercorns are not actually from a pepper tree and are more related to a rose bush – thus they are often called “rose pepper”.	Mildest flavor of the peppers, almost sweet.	An expensive and hard to find peppercorn variety.