Berries of the pepper vine are used to produce both black pepper and white pepper. For black pepper, green berries are picked and sun-dried, turning black and shrinking in the process. For white pepper, the berries are allowed to ripen on the vine; they are picked and soaked in water to remove the outer coating, leaving the inner gray-white kernel. These inner kernels are sun-dried to produce white pepper. White pepper is slightly less spicy than black pepper. It is often used in Asian recipes and in light-colored sauces where dark specks of black pepper would stand out.