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.
The recipe is simple, with a package of spices, but I really like it and it always helps. This sauce is perfect for pasta, fish, omelette. It is prepared in a couple of minutes, it turns out creamy and tender.
The ingredients of this salad complement each other perfectly. The result is a great salad that will decorate any festive table, especially New Year’s! The salad turns out to be simple, delicious, with a delicate fruit flavor.
I strongly recommend you to try this delicious salad. The crispy texture of iceberg lettuce with the sweetness of an apple or pear and the piquancy of a cherry are harmoniously combined with bird liver. This salad will make a great dinner with a glass of wine. Moreover, I didn’t expect it to be so delicious! I advise you to prepare.
From the first spoon I fell in love with soup. Even with those mussels that are sold here, and not in Italy. Delicious, and that’s it. Bright, fragrant, and a little fancy and even refined. Come, we will prepare a soup with mussels and serve it with mussel kebabs.
Mussel meat is characterized by a pleasant delicate taste, high nutritional value and highly effective medicinal properties, it is useful for improving metabolism, stimulating the process of hematopoiesis, increasing overall tone, strengthening immunity. It is also recommended for various blood diseases, high radiation. Mussel meat is characterized by a high content of glycogen and minerals.
Mussels in tomato sauce according to a recipe from Italy. Often ordered in restaurants. Cooking at home is also easy and unpretentious. The taste of tomatoes and fish. Try to cook.
This is a familiar dish for the indigenous inhabitants of Odessa. Pilaf turns out very tasty. Cooking will not take much time. The whole family will be delighted. The taste of the dish is marine and spicy.
I suggest you try stuffed squid – the main dish and side dish are fused together here! Squid, it seems, are specially prepared for stuffing. And your imagination will tell you what it is. It can be minced meat, fish, vegetables or seafood. My imagination, thanks to the competition “Grinding maneuvers”, suggested this option. Try it, it turned out very tasty and spectacular, and most importantly – my husband liked it!
One of the favorite summer salads is “beauty”, which is prepared in a couple of minutes. The longest in the process is to fry nuts) The salad is light, vitamin-rich, bright. Very feminine, elegant. The girls are crazy about him, the boys also warmly approve.