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.
Ardelian chorba is a very hearty, tender and velvety-tasting soup of Romanian cuisine. Ardal is Transylvania, and Transylvania is a mountainous region with harsh climatic conditions, especially in winter. Therefore, the food on the table of a true Ardelian should be hearty and energetic.
Autumn spoils us with an abundance of juicy vegetables. I suggest you cook a catfish steak with caramelized onions and a side dish of vegetables. The most important thing is not to overcook the vegetables, they should turn out “al dente”.
Based on the fact that “pesto” in Italian is “ground”, who prevents us from cooking something similar to the original, but with an autumn plot? Let it be a la pesto! There will be a lot of delicious things in our sauce, it will be very rich in content. In addition, it is very versatile to use and easy to prepare.
This salad is original not only with its piquant taste, but also with a bright color of autumn colors. Tender, juicy, crispy, homely cozy salad gives a good mood and just pleases the eye! It is good both on holidays and on weekdays.
It’s time to make pies stuffed with seasonal vegetables — for gatherings over warm tea with friends or for dinner on a cool weekend. I suggest cooking delicious, hearty and easy-to-prepare pies. The pies have a wonderful taste with the “aroma of autumn”. Filling with seasonal vegetables and with the addition of sausage and cheese.
This puree is good to serve as a side dish on a festive table and surprise guests. On weekdays, you will delight your loved ones with this delicious side dish!
I’ll be honest – until today, I probably, like many cooks, did not suspect the existence of this dish, but after trying it, I fell in love!!! Tortillas are very tasty both hot and cold, a great snack, a wonderful breakfast, lunch at work… If anyone is interested, come visit – I’ll tell you everything, I’ll show you everything.
There are salads, which in themselves are a full-fledged dish, and not just a snack. A warm vegetable salad with creamy onion sauce from their category is hearty and delicious.
A hearty dinner dish for the whole family. We are always happy to see sausages or something smoked on the table. Here I liked the use of cabbage, which, oddly enough, took first place among my men. It is convenient to cook in the manner of “pots”: fell asleep and wait for cooking! Replaced the onion with leek.