Spices, ranging from pepper to nutmeg, were key to the expansion of world trade a few centuries ago. In seeking these popular and lucrative commodities, European countries launched perilous expeditions led by explorers such as Christopher Columbus, Ferdinand Magellan, and Francis Drake.

There are different accounts of how black pepper - the king of spices - came to our land. According to one account, the “black gold” was introduced here in the 10th and 11th centuries when the South Indian kings began expanding their empire.

It is also said that black pepper was brought in by Chinese settlers into a town called Bau in Kuching, Sarawak, in the 1840s.

Regardless of how the crop ended up in Malaysia, black pepper, which is also known as peppercorn, has...