White pepper consists solely of the seed of the ripe fruit of the pepper plant, with the thin darker-colored skin (flesh) of the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week so the flesh of the peppercorn softens and decomposes; rubbing then removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Sometimes alternative processes are used for removing the outer pepper from the seed, including removing the outer layer through mechanical, chemical, or biological methods.
Ground white pepper is used in Chinese and Thai cuisine, but also in salads, cream sauces, light-colored sauces, and mashed potatoes (as a substitute, because black pepper would visibly stand out). However, white pepper actually has a different flavor from black pepper; it lacks certain compounds present in the outer layer of the drub.
