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.
Fragrant, juicy, tender chicken baked with nectarines. Such chickens turn out to be very elegant and can quite decorate a festive table. By the way, the price of these chickens is lower than that of chickens, which makes this dish even more attractive.
Arista alla fiorentina is a juicy aromatic dish made of pork loin, the abundance of herbs makes it an unforgettable taste, while it is prepared very simply. And what a beautiful legend he has – you will read it… I recommend it.
Meat pie is a casserole, very similar in appearance to an apple “Charlotte”. The pie has a tender meat cake, while it holds its shape well (even hot) and does not crumble. Breadcrumbs on the surface of the pie give a pleasantly crisp crust.
The thirst for travel, new emotions, impressions pulls us forward, forcing us to leave our comfort zone, find new countries and routes. We are Far Easterners, we are more inclined to travel around Asia on vacation or to work, since it is not far from us. And when you are inquisitive and have a penchant for cooking, then from each trip you bring ingredients for dishes, new tastes and recipes that you will repeat at home in Russia. So the piggy banks of recipes of each hostess are replenished. Today we will cook Hot dogs – a popular street food of South Korea. I invite you to a virtual trip to Korea!
Pikkpoys is a very convenient dish to prepare-one large cutlet. No need to stand sculpting and frying cutlets. Always effectively on the table on holidays and weekdays. They are also served cold for a snack. You can stuff it with large mushrooms. Usually the husband makes one cutlet in front of the guests-with eggs, etc. – with mushrooms. The length of the roll in its raw form is 40 cm, the width is 10 cm
Torta salata con carciofi e patate – Pie on puff pastry with potatoes, cheese and artichokes. In the original, the dough is a Breeze (poor)shortbread dough with the addition of water and without eggs), I was too lazy to mess with it)) I love all kinds of salty pies and cook them often, looking for new options. The pie is prepared very simply, my family is very happy with the result. Cook for your health!
I want to share a recipe for juicy, crispy and very tasty mini chebureks with squid filling. Squid meat does not have a fishy smell, and minced meat from it turns out tender and juicy. My dough is without eggs, it is very elastic, it is perfectly molded, but it does not stick to my hands. Thanks to all these features, it turns out an unusually juicy filling and cheburek, which does not flow and even when cooled remains crispy.
It is translated into Russian as “Lahmajun-hazelnut” and is a miniature snack dish “for one tooth”, the birthplace of which is considered to be the city of Tarsus in south-eastern Turkey. Tiny tortillas made of dough, covered with a mixture of minced meat and vegetables, are served in restaurants while waiting for a change of dishes. We will try to look at this dish from an everyday point of view and prepare delicious mini – lahmajuns in an ordinary kitchen, especially since all the necessary products are at our fingertips.