Virtually every home in the world has Fresh Pepper in its kitchen...except the United States! Chances are YOU don't have Fresh Pepper in your spice cabinet... get up and go look for yourself. If your Pepper comes in a Tin Can, you and your family are missing out ! Join me and take a stand...Ban the Can!
To better understand what you are using in place of fresh Black Pepper, you need to know a little bit about this amazing spice.
History
Native to India, Pepper has played a very important role throughout history and has been a prized spice since ancient times. The ancient Greece held Pepper in such high prestige that it was not only used as a seasoning but as currency and as a sacred offering. Pepper was used in ceremonies to honer there gods and used to pay their taxes. In fact, during the Middle Ages a families wealth was often measured by their stash of Peppercorns.
Pepper served as an important culinary component to food not only because of its ability to spice up bland foods, but because of its ability to mask a food's lack of freshness.
Worldwide, Pepper became such an important spice that became the center of much of the global spice trade. It not only led to exploration of many undiscovered lands in search for trade routes and plants, including the Americas, but also to the development of major merchant cities in Europe and the Middle East.
Today, the major commercial producers of Pepper are Indonesia, Vietnam, India and Brazil.
Understanding Pepper
Black pepper comes from the berries of the Pepper plant. Black Pepper, Green Pepper and White Pepper are actually the same fruit (Piper nigrum); the difference in their color depend on the stages of development and processing methods. The Pepper plant is a smooth woody vine that can grow up to 33 feet in hot and humid tropical climates. They begin to bear small white clustered flowers after 3 to 4 years and develop into berries known as Peppercorns.
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 is the most commonly used Pepper in the U.S. It is available as whole or cracked Peppercorns or ground into powder....and this is where things go terribly wrong.
Most of the importers of Pepper in America choose to have their pepper sorted and ground in the country it was grown, in order to cut cost, and to maximize its yield. Many times, the first “Crack” of the Peppercorn is used to provide the valuable table grinds and specifications used by the food service industry, industrial and the culinary markets. The remaining particles that fall through the sifter after this first crack are then reground into a fine powder and packaged into tins, or shipped in bulk to America to be placed in tins. The result is an almost tasteless Pepper powder that has lost all of its volatile oils and flavor.
Think about it..have you ever been to a restaurant and had the waiter ask you if you wanted Pepper on your salad only to product a tin can of powdered Pepper? Have you ever seen any of the Chefs on the cable food shows shaking a can of powder on their “culinary creation”? Of course not. So why do you?
So...starting today, "Ban the Can"! Invest in a good Pepper grinder and go to your fine Grocery Store and buy a bottle or bag of Whole Peppercorn or Course Ground Black Pepper. If you have to buy Ground Pepper , make sure that you can see Pepper particulates and that is not pulvulrized powder.
Once you have enjoyed the flavor of fresh Ground Pepper , you will never “Shake the Can” again.
Enjoy!
