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.
Fish casserole with crushed Borodino bread and buckwheat, in the filling for the omelet turned out very tasty, tender and fragrant, bread gives the casserole a special flavor. A decent dish for dinner with loved ones.
In my family, they are ready to eat this buckwheat even with meat, even without it. I’m cooking it now just like that, and I forgot that something might get boring.Buckwheat porridge turns out to be very tasty, crumbly, sweet and sour with a pleasant spicy aroma.
The casserole turned out to be extremely tasty! A minimum of effort, and the dish turns out – “you’ll lick your fingers”! Like ordinary buckwheat with chicken, but tasty and unusual. Do not hesitate to serve the guests on the table.
Very tender, rich, delicious cream soup. It is not only pleasant to the taste, but also very useful. It is recommended for recuperation after illness. This soup is suitable for all children and adults. From fairly simple products, a rather exquisite dish is obtained.
Everyone knows about the benefits of buckwheat, besides, it goes well with various vegetables. I suggest you try this simple but delicious dish with the most popular suburban vegetable. The casserole turns out juicy and satisfying. It is delicious both hot and cold.
Very tasty, delicious homemade sausages. It is prepared with buckwheat porridge, minced meat and mushrooms. And they look just lovely – made of ruddy chicken skin. Try to cook and enjoy these sausages with beer or something else.
We really liked this combination of products, and the usual buckwheat porridge turned, practically, into an exquisite side dish. It turns out very tasty and juicy. I recommend you to try buckwheat for a new taste.
Juicy, fragrant, delicious and presentable! Familiar ingredients, cooked in a slightly new way and with slight nuances. Feel free to treat your guests with such a dish. They will be delighted with this yummy and will say that this is a restaurant dish. Try to cook – you will like it!
Delicious chicken fillet meatballs in milk, thick sauce with pickled cucumbers – the perfect combination of tender meat and spicy cream sauce! For lunch or dinner – the choice is yours. Summer residents, is this recipe just for you – are we trying it? An idea from the Internet with small additions, thanks a lot to the author!
I want to share a simple, unpretentious recipe for chicken baked with buckwheat. I have seen similar recipes on the site, but in them all cereals need to be pre-processed (infused or boiled). In my simple version, you don’t need to do anything like that with porridge. It’s easy! And very tasty.
