Organic Pepper – If There is Only One Choice

Author: Doug Stranahan
If you had to choose and could only pick one spice for your spice rack, let me suggest that pepper is the choice.  Most would suggest that salt is the answer to this rather rhetorical question, and no one would argue with the selection, but pepper has so many attributes that it has to be considered as the one great addition to your spice rack.
Of course we have a whole bunch of  references : Bell Pepper, Chili Pepper, Banana Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, Jalapeno Pepper and Datil Pepper.  What I am talking about is the pepper spice, which comes in three basic varieties.

• Black (white and green included)
• Cubeb
• Long

Here is the short course discussion on each of these types.  Long pepper, also know as Indian long pepper, is a dried fruit and has a similar, but much hotter taste to black pepper.  Cubeb pepper, also called tailed pepper due to the attached fruit stem, offers a distinctly pungent flavor characterized by a dry somewhat bitter taste with the woody overtones of pine.  Black Pepper is what we use the most of in our cooking. 

Green pepper is basically the same but picked long before maturity of the seed and have a much less pungent flavor than the black.  Green peppercorns are used in French, Creole and Thai recipes and are excellent in sauces.  The white pepper is the inside portion of the black peppercorn.  It has kind of a musky aroma and goes well with pork dishes but has been used mostly because it does not show up in cream sauces when pepper is called for in the receipt.

A word of caution about using pepper…it loses flavor quickly so airtight storage and keeping it away from light is recommended.  Once ground, the aromatics of pepper will quickly evaporate.  That\'s why you see cooks on the culinary shows grinding whole peppercorns rather than adding a 'pinch' or teaspoon to the mix.
If I only had one spice to use, this would be the choice.  It\'s hard to find a receipt for a finishing sauce, salad or main course dish that does not include seasoning with a fresh grind of rich aromatic peppercorn.  Grilling a steak?  Avoid using salt before you but it on the grill but add a good grind of fresh pepper and you will love the result.

Tellicherry Black Peppercorns are the highest grade of organic black peppercorns available, selected from only the plumpest berries – those that produce a rich and complex pepper flavor.  You might want to consider a blend of various peppers that can be purchased in ready to grind containers that make for a wonderful addition to your spice rack.
Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com

About the Author
Doug Stranahan is the owner of http://www.organicspicesrack.com and knows the importance of picking the right organic spice for the right job.