There is a German saying – literally translated “Go to where the pepper grows” – that has been used since the Middle Ages when people wanted someone they disliked to hit the road. They wanted the annoying person to disappear in an inconceivably distant country from which there was no return. Originally the piper nigrum was only available at the Malabar Coast in Southern India. Today, however, it is cultivated in numerous tropical countries.
History
Due to its high-durability, the long-lasting and its spicy flavor, which was only rarely to be found in other ingredients, pepper became a valuable commodity which temporarily was traded ounce by ounce with gold.