THE STORY OF PENJA PEPPER
The story of penja pepper begins in Cameroon in the early 1950s by a "banana planter" in the town of Penja, Mougou department, Littoral region.
The first export of pepper took place in 1958, in March to be precise, with a 40 kg bag of pepper.
But it was in 2013 that the famous Penja pepper obtained its IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) or
(Indication Géographique Protégée) in french, one of the first in Sub-Saharan Africa.
There are several varieties of pepper: white, black, green, red and grey, but the most popular is white pepper,
which is produced from berries harvested while still green. These turn black as they dry.
Its flavour diminishes over time, especially when the berries are exposed to open air or sunlight.
White pepper is produced from ripe berries that turn bright red when ripe.
This gourmet pepper is the first to be covered by the Indication Géographique Protégée label.
White pepper is the primary know-how of Penja pepper farmers.
Green pepper is made from immature berries. It can be used fresh, but unfortunately does not keep well and is therefore becoming unavailable in Western cuisine.
As for red pepper, it comes from ripe berries, just like white pepper.
Peppercorns are preserved in a variety of ways, including pickled or dried.
And finally, grey pepper. Most of the time, this is ground black pepper.
But it can also be a mixture of black and white pepper. That's why it's always sold ground.
