White pepper consists of the seed of the pepper plant alone, with the darker colored skin of the pepper fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting.

The fully ripe peppers are soaked in water for about a week, during which the flesh of the pepper softens and decomposes.

Rubbing removes what remains of the fruit and the seeds are dried. Alternative processes are used for removing the outer pepper from the seed through mechanical or chemical methods.

White pepper is sometimes used in dishes like light-colored sauces and mashed potatoes where ground black pepper would visibly stand out.

They have a different flavor due to the absence of certain compounds present only in the outer fruit layer of the drupe and which are not found in the seeds.