A question about long storage time for toasted whole peppercorns

[Shel_B]

Whole black peppercorns are used here daily. Often they are pan toasted. It's tiresome to toast a small amount almost daily. I'm thinking of toasting enough to fill, or half-fill, the pepper grinder. Will toasted peppercorns hold their flavor for a week or more?  Will long-term storage of toasted peppercorns end up with reduced, or changed, flavor? In short, is there a benefit to doing this? Thanks

[Smithy]

Without having tried it myself, my guess is that if you toast some and store them unground, you'll be able to keep them in pretty good condition for at least a week...maybe 2 weeks? A month? From what I've read, the degradation in flavor begins when the peppercorn is broken apart, i.e. ground.

 

A good way to test your own tolerance for flavor degradation would be to devise a flavor comparison, if you have the equipment to do it. Toast some peppercorns and store them in one grinder for, say, a week; toast another set and grind them the day of the test. See if you can tell the difference. Keep working at that until you reach the level of perfection vs. convenience that works for you.

 

[SusieQ]

56 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

Whole black peppercorns are used here daily

Wow, I never would have thought to toast whole black peppercorns. What does it add to your dishes? I'm really curious, since it must be a really good taste to use it almost daily. 

[Tropicalsenior]

According to a discussion that I just read on Reddit, which you can take for what it's worth, peppercorns should be used within six to eight hours after they have been toasted. The purpose of toasting is to bring the oils to the surface. After that time they will start to evaporate and leave them with less flavor than they had to begin with.

[Shel_B]

45 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

According to a discussion that I just read on Reddit, which you can take for what it's worth, peppercorns should be used within six to eight hours after they have been toasted. The purpose of toasting is to bring the oils to the surface. After that time they will start to evaporate and leave them with less flavor than they had to begin with.

That's good information and an excellent place from which to start further investigation. Thanks, Yvonne!

[Shel_B]

10 hours ago, SusieQ said:

Wow, I never would have thought to toast whole black peppercorns. What does it add to your dishes? I'm really curious, since it must be a really good taste to use it almost daily. 

Just like with other spices, the flavors and aromas are enhanced and increased. Like you, for some reason I overlooked this technique with peppercorns.

[liuzhou]

i don't get what's so "tiresome" about roasting spices. I do it almost every day. Pepper (black and white). Sichuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds. It takes seconds.

 

I do them in a wok or small cast iron pan, if the wok is otherwise busy. They do lose flavour and scent rapidly.

 

How are you roasting yours?

 

 

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, liuzhou said:

i don't get what's so "tiresome" about roasting spices. I do it almost every day. Pepper (black and white). Sichuan peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds. It takes seconds.

 

I do them in a wok or small cast iron pan, if the wok is otherwise busy. They do lose flavour and scent rapidly.

 

How are you roasting yours?

It's not necessary that  you  get it ... we all have different levels o tolorence, different kitchens space and setups, different tools. I toast  them dry in a small stainless steel clad skillet. Thanks for your comment about them losing flavor and scent rapidly. That's all I needed to hear.