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.
Carrot salad with cucumber, sweet pepper, egg and cheese. This salad turned out to be hearty and very tasty. But in order to fully benefit from these salads, it is recommended to fill them with vegetable oil (preferably olive oil), which helps the body better absorb carotene. For lovers of spicy, you can add garlic.
I suggest a salad with obvious Italian motifs: tomatoes, mozzarella, supplemented with lettuce leaves and tuna. On the one hand, freshness, lightness, on the other – cheese and tuna allow you to get enough.
A very simple and delicious dinner without meat in a hurry from bulgur, which is becoming more and more popular in our regions and finds its fans, as it is a very tasty porridge made of steamed wheat. I offer a beautiful and simple dish in which the compositions and ingredients are richly combined, and a quick preparation will bring joy to any hostess.
A very fast, delicious and tender salad made from available products. Once upon a time I looked at a salad in a recipe book, since then I often cook it at home. The most important thing is that men also eat this salad with pleasure.
This salad is simply AMAZING!!! I tried it at dinner with my husband and with great difficulty broke away from him when I was already scraping at the bottom of the salad bowl. This salad has a zest that gives it this incredibly spicy, fresh, new, unusual taste!
Canapes on rye bread with avocado, soy sauce, trout and cucumber. New Year’s holidays are long, canapes will help you out, prepare them simply and quickly. They turn out very tasty and healthy. Try!
Do you think that everything is said about the canapes with fish? I hope not. Try my version! The taste of this snack is fishy and tender at the same time. I recommend you try to cook
Canapes of liver cakes with fragrant delicious layers of two different sauces. A festive and delicious snack. Cooking is simple and relaxed. Your guests will be satisfied. Try to cook.