Pepper has been prized since antiquity for both its culinary and medicinal properties. Small flowers are produced along pendulous spikes, elongating as the fruit matures. Berries are fully ripe when red. They can be dried with the skin on and served as black pepper. Immature fruits can be picked when green pepper and preserved as whole peppercorns in vinegar, or fermented to remove the skin and then dried as white pepper. Not only one of the most popular spices in the world, but incredibly versatile too.