Black Pepper Before Refrigerators: Why the Classics Prized It

Today pepper is a shaker on the table. The Donguibogam records it as a warming medicine and as an answer to spoiled fish, meat and mushrooms.

Black pepper (胡椒) needs no introduction as a spice. But the Donguibogam gives a direct answer to why this ordinary fruit was so valued.

It warms the interior

The Tangaek-pyeon records pepper as greatly warm, pungent and non-toxic: it brings qi down, warms the middle, and clears phlegm. It was used for cold pain in the chest and abdomen and for cold-type diarrhea — classed as an "interior-warming" substance because of its hot, pungent nature.

It neutralizes the toxin of spoiled food

The most striking line says it removes the poison of all manner of fish, meat, turtle and mushroom. In an age without easy ways to keep food, pepper was evidently seen as both spice and a guard against food mishaps. This article only reports that record; it does not suggest that pepper makes spoiled food safe to eat.

The unripe fruit has a different name

Fruit from the same tree picked green and unripe was treated as a separate sub-entry, bicheng-ga (蓽澄茄), with similar but slightly different uses.

Caution

Being very hot, it is said not to suit people with excess heat, dry mouth and a red tongue. Small culinary amounts are generally fine, but medicinal doses should follow professional guidance. This article is educational. Another warming example is Ginger.