Over 20 types of pepper are known today, although not all of them are "true" pepper, with the botanical name "Piper nigrum". Although this actually means “black pepper”, it is actually the plant whose berries are responsible for green, white and black pepper. The red, fully ripe berries serve as the basis for white pepper. These are put into large bags and softened in water for about a week, which makes it easy to remove the shells from the fruit flesh. As part of this fermentation process, white pepper produces aromatic skatole, which is responsible for the cheesy smell of pepper. The actual seeds are then placed in sunlight and dried. By removing the shell, part of the heat is also lost, which means white pepper is significantly milder than black.