Black pepper

[Fritz Brenner]

[of course it's not weird.  i put pepper in the ketchup so i get a bit of pepper on each fry (otherwise, the pepper bounces off of the fries).

Hmmm, good idea. I'll have to start doing that.... I don't always use ketchup, though (depends on the fry), so in order to maximize the amount of pepper on each fry, I rub the fries vigorously on my plate where the salt and pepper collects, in order to insure peppery goodness.

[FoodMan]

In my opinion and in agreement with many of the other posters, pepper just tastes good. I do not add it to all recipes and when I do I do not add it because the recipe asks for it. I add it because I really love that black pepper taste in most food items, especially stews and braises (to which I add a lot of it). I also love it on steaks, fresh ground on salads, plenty in mashed potatoes and creamy soups,... In my vocabulary there is no pinch of pepper, it's and all or nothing situation. Salt is supposed to enhance the flavor of food and it does. Pepper on the other hand, pepper you should be able to taste. Oh, and I stopped using the pre-ground variety years ago, only freshly ground or sometimes crushed will do.

my 2c

FM

[FoodMan]

Sometimes, I even pepper my fries. 

elyse, I'm agreeing with you all over the place. I almost always pepper my fries. Is that weird or something?

of course it's not weird. i put pepper in the ketchup so i get a bit of pepper on each fry (otherwise, the pepper bounces off of the fries).

If you want a different way of enjoying the fries, squeeze a little lemon on them and sprinkle with a lot of freshly ground black pepper....very tasty and the lemon will make the pepper stick

FM

[JAZ]

Pepper grows green, turns red from the sun, burns to black, white is the inside of black pepper. Mélange includes those four plus allspice.

A couple of notes about various peppers (notes are from culinary school):

There are basically four kinds of pepper. Green, red, black and white. In this order, pepper becomes more aromatic (from green to white); however, the inverse is true in flavor (white is the strongest in flavor, green weakest). All come from the Piper nigrum vine and are mostly grown commercially in Asia and South America. The main difference is what happens after they are harvested.

• Green pepper: This is mildest in flavor and has a fresh taste. It is the most aromatic of the three peppers. It comes from unripened, immature berries. While weakest in flavor, it is the strongest in aroma. It is brined or freeze-dried to stop the ripening.

• Red pepper: This berry left to ripen in the sun. (Pink peppercorn is pepper that is not fully ripened.)

• Black pepper: Has a sharp, pungent aroma and flavor. It is less earthy than white pepper. It is the same as red only scorched in the sun.

• White pepper: This is the inner hull of the black pepper. It is strongest in flavor (hotter than the others), and it is weakest in aroma. Also, use this in dishes that are lighter and little black flecks are not preferred.

Nice summary, but your information on pink peppercorns was not correct. Pink peppercorns come from a different plant entirely (schinus terebinthifolius). Their flavor is different too, sort of resinous rather than hot.

[jhlurie]

But of course this depends entirely on the quality of the pepper and how it used.

That would be my answer too.

First of all, its got to be fresh ground. It it isn't you really ARE putting nothing but black specks into your food. Personally, I think that granulated pepper should be banned from restaurant tables world wide. There should be a law requiring whole peppercorns and table-side grinders.

And I use Green and White pepper as often as Black.

Should pepper be in everything? Of course not. But often, mixed with ONLY salt, it can be a nice treatment for meat.

[torakris]

Sometimes, I even pepper my fries. 

elyse, I'm agreeing with you all over the place. I almost always pepper my fries. Is that weird or something?

of course it's not weird. i put pepper in the ketchup so i get a bit of pepper on each fry (otherwise, the pepper bounces off of the fries).

My husband got me hooked on his way of eating fries:

mix the ketchup with lots of black pepper and tabasco, dip.

If there is no tabasco available(ie at McDonal's) add more black pepper.

[jhlurie]

Or you could just use the tabasco and pepper and skip the ketchup.

[Kim WB]

I really hate it when a TV chef says to salt and pepper the dish,

yes, this is my complaint..it's become umbiquitous..."salt and pepper bird" "add salt and pepper to taste"...I don't like pepper in many foods, and so omit it regularly. I enjoy pepper on greens and most vegetables, but not in sauces, and I think too many home made stocks are dominated by pepper. Conversely, I enjoy dishes that are designed around pepper...salt and pepper shrimp, au poivre, pepper encrusted fish filets. But as an enhancement, I feel it is often relegated to a mandatory ingredinet aht really doesn't belong.

[tommy]

Or you could just use the tabasco and pepper and skip the ketchup. 

eff ketchup: sriracha.

now all of you, go away or i shall taunt you a second time-ah.

[elyse]

Sometimes, I even pepper my fries. 

elyse, I'm agreeing with you all over the place. I almost always pepper my fries. Is that weird or something?

Apparantly to SOME people....

Try to imagine making a pea soup without peppercorns in it. Or many braises. And stocks. Potatoes without ground pepper on them? Okay, not french fries. Oops, bad word - freedom fries.

Good idea Thomas.

[mjmchef]

Well, all these thoughts are very interesting. Besides talking about certain peppers, you should also mention how each one can bring out different flavor aspects when you are using different salts. we use about 6 different ones at my place. But also are you putting the same s&p mix on your meat fish and poultry? Try black sea salt with fresh ground white pepper with a hint of groundnutmeg on your fish. Compare that to red clay salt and course ground pink peppercorns. and english flake salt with crushed black pepper on beef,etc. When you eat each you should do it blindfolded so your flavor senses work harder and you can depict everything going through your mind rather than seeing what you are consuming and have a pre notion of what you think it will taste like. Maybe tasting the pepper will make a better impression on you!

[formerly grueldelux]

I really hate it when a TV chef says to salt and pepper the dish, then proceeds to put a grind and a half on the food. That's not enough pepper to see, much less taste. They should either use as much as needed for the dish, or forget it all together. They must think we are really dumb if we believe that little bit of pepper is all the dish requires.

I agree completely. These shows act as if pepper is so sacred it must be ground fresh or not consumed at all; they actively promote under-peppering. Martha Stewart's show is one of the few to get it right: pre-ground pepper (yes, fresh ground that day and of high quality) piled in a little bowl, facilitating the dispensation of a hearty pinch. I'll scream if I see Sara Moulton or any of the rest of them say "...and lots of fresh ground pepper" while giving a few twists of some cornball peppermill over food for 10.

[mudbug]

Sometimes, I even pepper my fries.

It seems most people in this country "salt and pepper" just about everything but jello anymore... isn't it fascinating how some countries (like many Asian countries) don't even put salt and pepper out on the dinner table because the food is so flavor infused you eat it with rice in your mouth at the same time to cushion the impact of the intensity....?

I put a decent amount of salt my ketchup though for fries. No need to salt the fries... that's for sure. Try it and see what you think, I've unintentionally converted most of my friends to this.

I'll have to try the lemon...

Now you know where all this talk is leading don't you? To another "pepper" by common name but not botanically... the Szechuan (Sichuan) peppercorn and one of the ancient Chinese secrets: roasted salt and pepper.

Black pepper (Piper nigrum)stimulates the taste buds in such a way that an alert is sent to to the stomach to increase hydrochloric acid secretion, thereby improving digestion. Hydrochloric acid is necessary for the digestion of proteins and other food components in the stomach. When the body's production of hydrochloric acid is insufficient, food may sit in the stomach for an extended period of time, leading to heartburn or indigestion, or it may pass into the intestines, where it can be used as a food source for unfriendly gut bacteria, whose activities produce gas, irritation, and/or diarrhea or constipation.

Black pepper has long been recognized as a carminitive, (a substance that helps prevent the formation of intestinal gas), a property likely due to its beneficial effect of stimulating hydrochloric acid production. In addition, black pepper has diaphoretic (promotes sweating), and diuretic (promotes urination) properties.

Black pepper has demonstrated impressive antioxidant and antibacterial effects--yet another way in which this wonderful seasoning promotes the health of the digestive tract. And not only does black pepper help you derive the most benefit from your food, the outer layer of the peppercorn stimulates the breakdown of fat cells, keeping you slim while giving you energy to burn.

Description:

Black pepper comes from the berries of the pepper plant. Black pepper, green pepper and white peppercorns are actually the same fruit (Piper nigrum); the difference in their color is a reflection of varying stages of development and processing methods.

Black peppercorns are made by picking the pepper berries when they are half ripe and just about to turn red. They are then left to dry which causes them to shrivel and become dark in color. Alternatively, green peppercorns are picked while still unripe and green in color, while white peppercorns are picked when very ripe and subsequently soaked in brine to remove their dark outer shell leaving just the white pepper seed.

Pink peppercorns are actually from a completely different plant species (Schinus molle) that is related to ragweed.

Black pepper is the most pungent and flavorful of all types of peppers and it is available as whole or cracked peppercorns or ground into powder.

From: The World's Healthiest Foods

[Toliver]

isn't it fascinating how some countries (like many Asian countries) don't even put salt and pepper out on the dinner table because the food is so flavor infused you eat it with rice in your mouth at the same time to cushion the impact of the intensity....?

There's enough salt in the soy sauce, fish sauce, etc, so they don't have to add any from the shaker.

[Yuki]

I do not mind salt and pepper but they are reserved for western food only, adding pepper to most chinese dishes that I cook at home would ruin the taste. Find the pepper grinder at the table useless because the pepper should be added during the cooking so its flavor can blend with the dish better.

Chinese tend to not add seasonings to their food on the table unless it is optional ingredients such as red vinegar for some types of soup and white pepper for congee. If I see a bottle of soya sauce in a Chinese restaurant...... will usually step out.

[chefboy2160]

Pepper, such a flavor enhancer. To me it seems that most cooks do not know when to use it,how much to use of it and what kind to use.Do you know how to blend different peppers for that lovely background taste that enhances the food but does not overpower?For example , today I made a dish I call baked spaghetti.

I made marinara sauce and finished it with black pepper, white pepper,cayenne pepper and crushed red pepper flakes. Doing all of these in moderation so as not to overpower the dish brings out the flavor and depth of the other ingredients. Not spicey hot but a loving warmth and flavor that keeps you looking for more.This is what peppers do when used properly.

Pepper when used properly is one of the foods of the gods IMHO....Doug..........

[Jinmyo]

It seems most people in this country "salt and pepper" just about everything but jello anymore...

There's an idea. But just toss out the jello. I'd rather eat a bowl of salt and pepper.

[NulloModo]

It seems most people in this country "salt and pepper" just about everything but jello anymore...

There's an idea. But just toss out the jello. I'd rather eat a bowl of salt and pepper.

An undisclosed amount of time ago I was in a state of mental, ummm, expansion due to certain other aromatic substances, and stumbled into my kitchen to find the glory of my peppermill and salt grinder. I sat for what felt like hours, but could hav ebeen minutes, just grinding handfulls of salt and pepper into my palm, and eating them straight. Such an explosion of flavor in my mouth each time... followed by sneezing and coughing, gulping down a glass of water, and then repeating the entire process again...

[markk]

we use salt and pepper everywhere. salt, it helps to enhance the flavour of the food, it brings out its flavor. w?+D?+q??r all over the place? i have never been able to get an answer that satisfies me...

Good for you for posing this question! I agree with you wholeheartedly! I think that the instruction "salt and pepper to taste" is ridiculous, because it only satisfies the level of salt and pepper that we have become conditioned and accustomed to because recipes have always said "salt and pepper to taste" - and we should acknowledge that most of these were written way before the fresh herbs and spices that we now have at our disposal were available.

Why doesn't it say "thyme and rosemary to taste" ???

I grew up used to salt, as we all did.

In college in the 70's, I worked for a fellow in the theater who used to cook for all of his students and helpers - pastas, stews, meat loaves, and the like - and this was most generous indeed. He'd put some vast quantity of food up to cook and continue with his lessons. When he put a meatloaf or a vat of meatballs in sauce up to cook, he'd taste it and add salt to make the tomatoes taste right. He'd return 45 minutes later and taste it, and decide that it needed salt, and add it. Well, he'd repeat this 45 minutes later and add another handful of salt, and this would happen every 45 minutes. I realized that the amount of salt he was adding was simply frightening, and I thought about it and realized that the salt was obviously being absorbed by the food. At the end of the cooking process, he'd have added several cups of salt to a dish, and the people eating it would still add salt after they tasted it! But everyting at that point was dull and murky tasting!

So, I developed the habit of tasting food that I put up to cook by taking a little bit in a cup and adding salt to see if it tasted great; if, with the pinch of salt it did. I'd leave it cook without the salt, knowing that at the point of serving, I could add a little salt which would bring out the flavors that salt brings out, and satisfy the salt level that most people were accustomed to. This has brought me a lifetime of delicious cooking, and for coronary reasons, I have reduced the amount of needless sodium that I consume, and for those dishes, such as those that are tomato-based, I am still satisfied with the little salt that I add.

But, to answer your question, I DO NOT LIKE BLACK PEPPER. When it says to salt and pepper to taste, the amount of pepper that I add is NONE. There are a very few, very few dishes, where I feel that freshly ground black pepper is a necessary taste, and then I add it. But pasta dishes, and salads, when they always bring the pepper grinder, are not included - I always decline. I don't want pepper on most things, not to mention everything, that I eat.

Congratulations on your question !!! There's at least I who am on totally the same wavelength as you !!

[andiesenji]

Pepper when used properly is one of the foods of the gods IMHO....Doug..........

A profound statement. Utterly true.

Pepper has an effect on the tastebuds that makes them "wake up" and the flavors of the food are enhanced.

Try an experiment. Take a slice of ripe honeydew melon. Cut it in half. lightly salt and pepper one half. Take alternate bites and see which piece has more flavor.

Any melon will do, but the effect is more pronounced with the honeydew.

[Jason Perlow]

Black pepper is one of the oldest spices to be used and farmed in recorded history -- Its been said it was found more than 4000 years ago and started to be cultivated around 1000 BC. In the 5th century A.D., Roman writers reported that Attila the Hun demanded, among other things, 3,000 pounds of pepper in ransom for the city of Rome.

So the reason why we use it is not really as important as just how key it has been to the enhancement of cusine and food since the very beginnings of recorded history.

[newguy]

I have just recently figured out, or been told at work the purpose of black pepper. It really cuts through fat. Same reason why many French recipes add a dash of tabasco into fatty dishes. The spice itself cuts the richness. We make risotto. I'll taste it without pepper, then reseason, and it has a definite difference to it.

[Carlovski]

Simon Hopkinson has a good rant about 'chefs' who liberaly flavour something with fish sauce, chilli, lime etc, and then add the 'essential' salt and pepper (Usually from a great height) in one of his books (Can't remember which)

It is easy to take pepper for granted, but when you try a dish where the pepper is a vital ingredient, thats where it really shines. Something like Spaghetti cacio e pepe (Or carbonara for that matter) and obviously steak au poivre (And not the version swamped in cream!). I have a recipe for a very simple black pepper pilau where if made with good fresh pepper really shows it off (It can be almost citrusy, even though there is no lemon).

On the pepper with melon experiment, strawberrys are good too. On a side issue, powdered ginger is good with honeydew melon too (One of the few things it is good for). I vaguelly remember my nan actually had a shaker specially for that purpose.

[chefboy2160]

Try an experiment. Take a slice of ripe honeydew melon. Cut it in half. lightly salt and pepper one half. Take alternate bites and see which piece has more flavor.

My kitchen staff are all hispanic and they love to eat watermelon with a little cayenne pepper on it . The first time I tried it I was enthralled by the burst of flavor that hit me.I will for sure try the honeydew melon experience.

[fifi]

My mother was putting black pepper on strawberries many years before it was cool. Salt and pepper on watermelon is something we also did on occasion when I was a kid. Same for cantaloupe. Especially for cantaloupe. There is something about black pepper on cantaloupe that just fits.

Powdered ancho chili on mangoes is sublime. They have street vendors in Mexico City with mangoes on a stick, cut to resemble a flower and dusted with ancho. They are delicious AND beautiful.