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.
There are several ways to submit. In Israel, hummus is considered a salad. As the advertisement of a well-known Israeli salad manufacturer says – “Hummus is prepared with love or not prepared at all” and “personal hummus – personal memories”. Well, I will tell you about love and memories below. In the meantime, if you’re interested, let’s go cook!
A funny recipe for a children’s picnic or just to pamper our children. Cooking is easy, simple and fun. If you have planned a holiday for children, then this is the best option for snacks that kids love very much.
Pure improvisation! I often cook vegetable terrines, but since I like serving portions, I decided to cook tiddley Terrines. Add cucumbers to the usual composition. And who said that adults don’t like a fun, cool feed? The husband had fun from the heart. And it’s very tasty, I’ll tell you! Cooking?
This dish, although similar in shape to a pie, is not a pie in the usual sense of the word. It is not cooked in the oven, but in the refrigerator, does not contain eggs or flour. In addition to the intriguing appearance and excellent taste, the pie contains a lot of useful substances and a negligible amount of fat, so you can afford a solid portion of it for dinner, even limiting yourself in the diet!
Juicy, delicious and very fragrant pie, which terrine could not call it,” where the “dough” is chicken fillet, and the filling is mushrooms and 2 types of pepper. A hearty and at the same time, almost a diet lunch or dinner, at the same time an elegant snack for a festive table.
Diet chicken, ham or baked diet terrine. One of the simplest dishes, or homemade ham, call it what you want, that I have ever cooked. And not only in terms of preparation, but also in composition. Terrine turns out juicy, tender and dietary. And for those who lose weight, and for those who follow a diet for gastrointestinal diseases. Holidays are coming soon, and this terrine will help you out, even if you can’t do it without frills, as it has helped us out more than once. This dish is served hot and with cold cuts. It’s delicious both this way and that way!!!
The recipe for this snack is very simple. You can safely cook this dish for a festive table or for every day. It turns out delicious and satisfying. You will be glad that you have prepared this snack.
It is prepared cold or hot. I made a pancake terrine with vegetable Coolie sauce in a hot way. As a filling, I chose beotile – finely chopped chicken liver and stomachs (in France it is often used as a filling for pies, in combination with spices served on sandwiches)
Each coming year has its own peculiarities. In the New Year, there should be more tender snacks on the table. Terrine is an amazing snack. It can be made from any meat and with the addition of any ingredients. And on the eve of the holidays – it will be a win-win option. Here your imagination is simply limitless! I made it with rabbit and duck meat.