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.
Pork in mustard-honey sauce is a great option for a family dinner. This dish is prepared from ordinary products, and the result is a real delicacy. Sweet and spicy sauce gives pork tenderness and juiciness. It goes well with any side dish, whether it’s potatoes, beans, cereals, pasta or fresh vegetables and herbs. Cooking pork is quite simple, but the result will be great and your family will certainly like it.
A very satisfying salad. You can eat them tightly and walk contented and well-fed. A great salad, especially valuable for those who, like me, do not like meat and prefer vegetable protein.
I think this recipe is suitable for lovers of healthy eating and for those who fast. Pleasant spicy-sour taste. Lentils are one of the richest sources of iron. But not many people know that vitamin C contributes best to the absorption of iron. Therefore, in most cases, Greek lentil dishes are seasoned with lemon juice.
Dear cooks, I suggest cooking a very simple, tasty and healthy casserole. It is prepared elementary, the result is very good! A light, tender and pleasant dish that will saturate without extra calories.
I love this salad and have always ordered it in Chinese restaurants, but then I thought: why not cook it myself?… I searched the Internet, borrowed a little from different sites and brought for myself the perfect preparation of this outrageously simple, but insanely delicious warm salad. By the way, even frozen broccoli does not lose its usefulness! If the percentage of vitamin loss in other vegetables during freezing is about 50%, then broccoli loses only 10%. Therefore, it can be easily eaten all year round!
Agree that the oven works wonders! And all you need is just to choose the right products and send them to bake, you will hear wonderful aromas floating around the kitchen, and the house becomes very warm and cozy.
In my family, this casserole takes the first place in cooking for dinner. This is a very tender and delicious dish. It is easy to prepare, and gratitude collects for a long time. Therefore, I recommend cooking it and pleasing your family.
Very tasty, very vegetable with an incredibly delicate creamy taste of the intestine. My husband and I had a wonderful dinner, nothing else was needed.