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.
Small round cutlets are considered small meatballs. In general, initially, in the XVIII century, these were chops from a whole piece of meat, hence the name “bit” – “chops”. They came to Russian cuisine from French chefs. And only in the XX century. sliced round cutlets were also called slices. Very juicy, soft chops. It is quickly and easily prepared, delicious both hot and cold. From the brisket of one chicken, a lot of pieces are obtained!
This dish will appeal to lovers of hot seafood dishes. It tastes crabby, salty and very excellent. You can prepare it both for a festive table and for every day. It is prepared quickly and easily. Try to cook and enjoy your meal.
This is a simple but very tasty dish! For cooking chops, it is best to use ground beef and take forest mushrooms. To garnish them, you can serve mashed potatoes or rice.
Tender, soft, delicious chicken liver and potato meatballs. It is good both hot and already cooled. This simple, unpretentious dish of pickled cucumbers gives a slight piquancy and a kind of originality. Cook and enjoy your meal!
A simple recipe for potato chops – hearty and delicious. You can cook for a few minutes and eat them right away, or you can eat them cold. Also suitable for a quick breakfast for children. Try to cook.
There are many recipes for potato chops. This is definitely not found, and I’m preparing it this way. I cook very rarely, but according to this recipe it turns out even tastier and more beloved. There are a few small nuances that make these meatballs incredibly delicious. By the way, such a chop can be offered for a hearty breakfast, for example, on weekends. Or a full dinner, even without gravy, it turns out very tasty.
An amazing fluffy omelet with melted viscous cheese can be served for breakfast and dinner. It is prepared very quickly and easily. The hard cheeses that are used in the original, in addition to parmesan, are cheddar and Gruyere. If you have only one type of cheese, use only it, and the omelet will still turn out wonderful. This omelet will require a frying pan with a thick bottom with a diameter of about 15-18 cm.
Especially for this yummy, I ordered giblets in a package via the Internet. I can say with confidence, like every Libyan, that there are no more delicious dishes. This is the dish that you can talk about only by choking on your own saliva. The taste is sharp.
Juicy fish sausages without eggs, super-tender, with a slight taste of pickles, accompanied by creamy spicy rice with the aroma of herbs – we offer you a light and very tasty dish for a family lunch or dinner. I am sure that your family will like this dish!
In my family, rice was not very popular and interesting. But one day, visiting her friend, she still managed to persuade me to try her rice and surprise me. The rice was so delicious, so juicy, so sweet and salty at the same time. My relatives eat this rice for both cheeks))) I share the recipe!!!)