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.
There are a great many recipes for cooking cutlets, and it would seem that offering another recipe is a thankless task. But every housewife has her favorite dishes, and I am no exception. I want to share a recipe for cutlets baked in the oven. On top there will be mushrooms under a ruddy cheese crust! The cutlets are soft, juicy and fragrant.
Oven-baked Italian potato croquettes with parmesan and green onions. Who doesn’t like these potato croquettes with such soft mashed potatoes inside and crispy crust? Instead of deep frying, this option is lightly fried in a frying pan in olive oil, and then baked in the oven. Made with parmesan cheese and green onions. The taste is delicious, although cooked with a small amount of ingredients. Try using a starchy potato variety, the same as for making mashed potatoes. Enjoy Italian potato croquettes with your loved ones, with love! Enjoy your meal!
I offer you a recipe for a delicious, fragrant and beautiful pumpkin snack. This will perfectly decorate the festive table. The snack is convenient to serve to guests, pumpkin slices are easy to take with your hands, fork and chopsticks. I used royal oyster mushrooms, but you can also use any other mushrooms, including champignons. Depending on the number of guests, you can cook several pumpkins at once.
I have such a wonderful magazine – “Korean Cooking”, that’s where this salad came from. Light, fresh, with a spicy dressing. This is done quickly, from affordable and useful products!
A light and at the same time hearty salad will be appropriate both for a festive table and for an ordinary family dinner. Bright and delicious, it will appeal to lovers of spicy Korean cuisine.
A fairly simple recipe for cooking baked carp. I want to say that it is not necessary to smear the carp with a large amount of seasonings and stuff it with cereals or vegetables – this we clog the taste of the fish itself. Garnish and sauce can be prepared separately and served with fish if desired.
Tender, velvety, sweet pumpkin and cheese puree soup, crispy, spicy, fragrant. After frying, the cheese acquires such a sharp taste and aroma of smoked meats, smoke. It’s a great duet. Try.