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.
I think we all like fast food a little bit, but we like it. I do not consider this food harmful if it is cooked at home and is digested very rarely. Well, what’s wrong with a homemade bun with a cutlet and vegetables? Nothing. The usual rolls, burgers here are not quite ordinary, but with a secret, two secrets, one is known to everyone, and the second, I think, well, I hope that’s not all. Intrigued? Then come in! And it’s very tasty, I must say!
The recipe has been in our family for so long that it’s scary to say: several decades! My mother-in-law cooked from the first harvest of zucchini from the garden, my husband and his brother also cooked… Now I will introduce you to a spicy snack. My zucchini are April, the smallest, but you can take bigger ones-it’s easier to make.
An interesting idea for dinner or breakfast! In general, this is a very tasty full-fledged hot dish, not an appetizer. In my opinion, it is very well suited for children’s parties, and just for a delicious dinner. It remains only to cook it in order to truly understand all its taste!!!
I love liver, but my husband does not – so I decided to present this offal in a slightly different form, and even in an ensemble with buckwheat and plum – it turned out very well, a full-fledged dish that is quite suitable for dinner or a hearty breakfast. Do not be afraid of such a combination of products – everything turned out very tasty!
Liver dishes are very healthy, tasty and budget-friendly, there are many recipes for its preparation. The liver according to this recipe turns out to be very tender and juicy, with a subtle aroma of honey. It is prepared very quickly and is ideal for giving a crispy crust to boiled buckwheat.
I do not dispute that the site presents a very large number of recipes with buckwheat. But even with an incomplete amount of ingredients, like mine, I did not get a result. Buckwheat is my weakness of all cereals. Vegetables are my love, and, fortunately, buckwheat is served to this option (as a side dish).
Delicious, tender and easy to prepare roll. You can even say a dietary recipe. Having prepared it for the festive table, your guests will be delighted. The taste is spicy, nutty, rich. Try to cook – I think you will succeed.
We love this dish – fragrant, delicious, homely, with the aroma of mushrooms, with thick gravy and hearty buckwheat porridge. The taste of chicken is more like the taste of good meat. The minimum of oil is only 1 tbsp. l., but it is very satisfying and not hard – offer it to your loved ones – it will be delicious! Are you trying?
This wonderful, fragrant buckwheat porridge can be boiled and baked. And after the festive feasts it helps. A lot on the weekend, cooked quickly, ate quickly. This dish can be offered to guests. Fans of buckwheat porridge really like it.