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.
A delicate fragrant hearty dish. A delicate mousse is placed on a fragrant potato gratin, and crispy fried vegetables with a bright tomato sauce coolie are served as a side dish. Thanks to crab sticks, mousse has acquired a structure and a pronounced taste. I highly recommend it.
A very delicate and at the same time piquant gratin is a casserole for lovers of 2-in-1 dishes. A classic set of products with an interesting sauce will diversify your menu. Try to cook.
This is a recipe of a famous cook. She offers to cook this recipe from the fillet of the sea tongue, but after reading the book, I realized that the sea language, from which Julia cooks, and the “sea language” from our markets and shops are different things. So I bought a fish at the market that I liked, namely Norwegian cod. The fish turned out to be just wonderful. No one recognized the trivial cod, everyone thought that elite fish was used. This dish was considered a haute cuisine dish before the invention of the blender.
A very tasty recipe for this gratin. And it looks very great on the festive table. Try to cook and surprise your loved ones. Guests will definitely ask you for a recipe.
Absolutely universal dish, can serve as breakfast, lunch and dinner. It can be served hot as a main dish or side dish, or it can be served cold as an appetizer. And almost everyone likes it!
The dish turns out to be simple and satisfying. Gratin can be prepared for lunch and dinner. It is also suitable for a gala dinner with a loved one. Try to cook and enjoy your meal.
If you start with French, then the word “Gratin” has an infinite number of meanings… “The base and fillings can be any… the main thing is “gratin”, which gives the bechamel sauce a certain temperature regime and crust … (Speak French) I took as a basis different recipes and sweet and sour sauce, which are “traditional” for continents and “unconventional”, but, nevertheless, delicious for most! I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Gratin in French means “crispy crust”, which is formed when the cheese melts. I want to offer a variant of this dish made from seasonal vegetables – potatoes and pumpkins. The dish turns out to be satisfying, despite the absence of meat products, as well as very tender and fragrant.