Black pepper blooms with small white flowers collected in hanging ears. The fruits of black pepper are spherical drupes with a hard shell, having a burning taste.
The birthplace of black pepper is the southwest coast of India, the current state of Kerala. Previously, these lands were called the land of pepper, and pepper itself was called the Malabar berry.
How to Choose Black Pepper?
When choosing ground black pepper, you should pay attention to the taste and color of the grinding. Fresh seasoning is always sharp and has a strong aroma, as it contains a large amount of piperine and essential oils. The color of high-quality ground pepper is heterogeneous, it consists of particles of light brown, greenish and gray shades. A uniform yellow, gray or black color indicates a large amount of impurities that manufacturers sometimes add to reduce the cost of goods. The black color of ground pepper may also indicate the use of unripe or rotten peas.
How to Store Black Pepper?
Ground pepper is recommended to be stored in a dry and dark place, away from strongly smelling products. Essential oils evaporate especially quickly from the finely ground seasoning, therefore, so that it does not lose its taste qualities, it should be kept in a hermetically sealed container. The room temperature should not exceed +25 °C.
When to Use Black Pepper?
Black pepper is one of the most effective digestive stimulants. This versatile seasoning is able to decorate any dish, starting from ordinary scrambled eggs and ending with masterpieces of haute cuisine. Food manufacturers add this spice to meat and sausage products, cheeses, canned food and marinades.
Spice is a mandatory component of most recipes of meat and fish dishes. It is added to soups and second courses of beef, pork, lamb, chicken, and also used in the preparation of homemade sausage, ham and pates. Seasoning perfectly complements dishes of mushrooms and vegetables, no brine or marinade can do without it. Somewhat less often, black pepper is added to drinks and desserts.
How Much Black Pepper Should I Use?
A standard-sized teaspoon holds about 4 grams of ground black pepper.
When preparing soups and broths, ground pepper is added 10-15 minutes before the end of cooking. When cooking fried dishes, pieces of meat or fish are sprinkled with pepper and salt before roasting. Seasoning is added to the raw minced meat during the stirring process.
The amount of spice depends on the intended volume of the dish and personal preferences.
It is usually customary to use from ¼ to 1 teaspoon per 1 kg of meat. The maximum dose of ground black pepper per day per person should not exceed 5 grams.
What Spices are Combined with Black Pepper?
Despite the fact that in the mind of any person, the phrase “salt and pepper” evokes an image of perfect harmony, a truly wonderful combination is obtained by mixing ground black pepper with turmeric. Curcumin, which is part of it, is similar in its action to piperine — it is also an antiseptic, an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent.
Black pepper is perfectly combined with most spices, and is part of all popular mixes. It harmonizes well with cumin, garlic, coriander, as well as with its closest “relatives” — white, green and pink pepper.
Alternatives to Black Pepper
With individual intolerance to ground black pepper, it can be replaced with spices that have a similar bitter taste — cumin, mustard, coriander seeds, nutmeg. To make the dishes spicy, in the absence of allergies, you can use chili — paprika, cayenne, jalapeno.
Tips for Using Black Pepper
In combination with cinnamon and ginger, ground black pepper is added to desserts to give them a spicy taste. It is especially appropriate for the preparation of gingerbread and cupcakes, chocolate desserts, pies with apple and citrus filling, cookies.
This spice will give a peculiar taste to well—known drinks – it is added to milk tea, compotes, mulled wine and alcoholic cocktails.
To create a light, spicy salad dressing, ground pepper is mixed in various combinations with natural yogurt, honey, mustard, vinegar or lemon juice.
Sweet, spicy, fragrant, incomparably delicious. Baked pineapple with cheese in the oven will decorate any festive table. Pineapple tastes almost like fresh. Tender and juicy meat under an appetizing cheese crust, delicate aroma and fruity aftertaste will leave few people indifferent.
The easiest and fastest way to pickle your favorite fish! Due to the fact that the mackerel is cut into pieces, the cooking time is reduced – it will be ready in 12 hours. There is nothing superfluous in the brine, only salt, sugar and pepper, so the fish turns out to be very natural in taste.
Delicate, fragrant and healthy. Simple and hasty. Shrimps are high in protein, vitamins and trace elements, and at the same time they are low in calories. Cook frozen shrimps, observing some tricks so that they turn out not only healthy, but also delicious.
Soft, appetizing, and quick – perfect for when guests are at your doorstep. Lavash in a frying pan with cheese is not only a satisfying snack but also comes in handy for unexpected visitors. The unparalleled taste, coupled with minimal time and effort, makes lavash envelopes the ideal quick snack.
Almost every day the first course is on our table. Italian soups are very much to our liking, they are always delicious, hearty, with an abundance of vegetables and can quite replace a whole lunch. This recipe is very simple, but it will take some time to cook everything right.
An unusual soup from Korean cuisine for us. This is unusual because there is daikon in the soup, and, yes, it needs to be boiled. I was a little scared when I started cooking it, and later I regretted that I hadn’t cooked enough. My whole family really liked the soup! Spicy, light and with an Asian flavor.
If you want to cook a dinner with several ingredients, then I recommend this recipe to you. I took pangasius fish and carrots, also added garlic for taste, and cooked “Pangasius with carrots in the oven” The dish turns out delicious, appetizing and most importantly, everything is very simple to prepare.
Juicy vegetable eggplant cutlets are a great alternative to meat. They taste as good as traditional ones. Cook and try these delicious vegetable cutlets.
Baked chicken often turns out to be dry. To prevent it from turning out like this, I pre-soak the chicken for several hours in salt water (in a solenoid). I strongly advise you to try this method. Well, fruit filling is a classic, fragrant, juicy and very tasty filler for any bird. The chicken is baked at a fairly low temperature (only + 160 degrees) for about two hours.
Those who love a tender, tender fish with an abundance of vegetables under the filling will like it. I cooked according to my taste. Ceramic shape 23 cm by 30 cm, height-6 cm