Black, White, Pink, or Green?

 One thing most people have on their dining tables are salt and pepper. Usually the pepper is already ground and black.  I know people who feel pepper is too spicy and don't use it while others love it.

Generally when anyone talks about pepper, they are discussing a plant from India whose fruit is what is used and called a peppercorn.  The spicy zing associated with pepper comes from piperine which activates the same taste receptors as hot peppers do.

If you look at top selling spices, pepper is number one on the list.  Pepper has been used in cooking for over 2000 years. At one point, only the wealthy could afford pepper that was brought to Europe via spice caravans.  It was so popular in Roman times that the Romans would demand peppercorns as a ransom when they were attacking cities.  Furthermore, in the Middle Ages, a man's wealth was measured by his pile of peppercorns. Currently, the United States uses about 20 percent of the world's production.

Peppercorns are like little green peas that grow in clumps off the vine of the plant similar to grapes but is a perennial.  Once they pick the green corns off the plant, they boil them in hot water before drying them at extremely hot temperatures until dry and crunchy.  They are now the nice black or dark brown color.  This is what most people think of as pepper.

There are different varieties of pepper such as Lampong from Indonesia which is noted for it's aroma and is recommended for crusting steaks.  Then there is the Tellicherry from a specific location in India and are considered the finest in the world.  Peppercorns are also produced by Brazil, Vietnamese, Malaysia, and Ecuador.

Green peppercorns are regular peppercorns that have not been allowed to ripen.  .  They are often preserved in a brine or vinegar, but can be found dried. However the dried version does not last long. Although their taste is considered fresher, they are often used in Thai or Southeastern Asian recipes or sauces.  Brined green peppercorns are used frequently in French cooking such as in steak au poivre.

White peppercorns are actually peppercorns who have had their skins removed so they are actually the seeds of the peppercorn. For white pepper,  the peppercorn is soaked in water until the skins are soft enough to remove.They have a more earthy taste and are used in white sauces or and mashed potatoes so their use does not stand out.

Red peppercorns are fully ripened peppercorns.  They have been allowed to turn red before being picked and dried.  This variety is often skinned and used as white pepper.  Finally are pink peppercorns which are not actually a peppercorn but a berry from a South American shrub called a Brazilian pepper tree. It is more closely related to an almond than a pepper corn. If you have one in your backyard, you can easily dry them yourself. Pink peppercorns are best used as a garnish.  It is recommended that one does not crush them in a pepper grinder but use a knife or a spice grinder.

If you use pepper in your cooking, it is recommended that you keep the peppercorns around to grind when needed because the flavor can evaporate quickly from the ground pepper.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.