The role of pepper

vernplum

vernplum

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After nearly 40 years of cooking, today I was musing that I don't really 'get' the role of pepper and its key contribution in cooking.

Don't get me wrong - I like pepper and can tell if it's there or not, and I like the peppery kick in certain situations, but is it essential?

In the book 'Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat' the author talks about the crucial role these elements play - how salt enhances existing flavours, how acid is used to balance the profile of a dish, how fat conveys taste molecules and provides mouthfeel and obviously how we need to use and control heat in order to cook the food, but pepper is not in this list, yet it appears as 'season with salt and pepper' across a large number of cuisines (and I would say the majority of recipes you see) as if it's an essential factor.

We certainly can't do without salt, and mastering how much salt to use is one of the key waypoints in the development of a decent cook. After I learned how to use salt correctly, I felt this was quite revelationary. But pepper? I don't think I've had that lightbulb moment yet.

Again, I like it, but how much can we do without it? Is it just about adding that heat or does it enhance other flavours? Is 'I like it' sufficient and I should just get on with it? I mean, I like a lot of things, such as ketchup, but I don't put that in every dish I cook...
 
You can easily do without, but why should you?
You could do without chili's, garlic and onions. They are not essential, but I can't. They are essential to my way of cooking.
So in my opinion, just liking it is enough :)
(And since I use a lot of chili's in my cooking, I don't always put pepper)
 
My understanding was that pepper acts as an irritant and causes inflammation and increased blood flow to the tongue at the time of eating, thus making the tongue more sensitive to taste...

I'll see if I can find my references/info online unless someone else beats me to it.
 
when i was growing up , i rarely used anything except black pepper , later i moved to New Orleans in my 20s and started eating things with "red " pepper on/in them, now in my late 60s i can't eat without it , it adds flavor to everything forget about the heat ...it just tastes good
 
vernplum said:
it appears as 'season with salt and pepper' across a large number of cuisines (and I would say the majority of recipes you see) as if it's an essential factor.
Click to expand...

Well spotted!

I've often thought the same myself. I love pepper, be it white, black or any other colour (most of the latter are not true peppers). But I see pepper as more as an addition to dishes rather than an essential seasoning. I think (no proof) the use of pepper alongside salt as a seasoning may stem from French classical cooking.
 
Black pepper has been used as a condiment for over 3,000 years, and in Europe ever since the Roman Empire, so it's probably not surprising it's so popular. Originally from the western coast of India, it's now grown all over the world.
What's the "role" of pepper? I imagine you could say the same of garlic, or mustard, ketchup or horseradish. It adds a certain je ne sais quoi to the dish!
 
I always also thought it was originally used to detract from or mask the unpleasant flavors of rotting foods. Then people just got used to it. I like pepper, my husband not as much.
 
It's definitely an old condiment.
Before chili's were know in SE Asia, pepper was used for heat. There are still a couple of (popular) old Thai recipes that use no chili's , but coriander root, white pepper and garlic as seasoning (and out of curiosity I tried making some of them and they are absolutely fantastic)

I do think there is something in the masking of flavour, but I figure at a later stage maybe, when people started travelling more. And also more with chili's than pepper. I've been told that chili's have some preservation characteristics, but that might be an old wife's tale :)
 
I think everyone who replied is a little bit correct, but aside from the historical reasons how pepper came to the fore in Western cooking (blah blah how pepper was the first spice to travel from India to Rome and other places such as England which was desperate for something to add new dimensions to the food), the active ingredient in pepper known as 'Piperine' stimulates increased production of saliva which obviously helps taste molecules move over the tongue more.

Also (after some more Googling) Piperine stimulates something called 'vanilloid' receptors in the tongue which increase our sensitivity to sour overtones apparently.
 
I'm fascinated by spices, ever since my girlfriend at uni gave me a book called "Indian Vegetarian Cookery". I discovered turmeric, cumin, coriander, cardamom, fenugreek, mustard seeds, and realised that "Curry Powder" was about as Indian as a BigMac is a proper hamburger.
The history of spices is amazing, and the curious thing is that "spices" are almost exclusively from Indonesia, India and the Middle East. In the Middle Ages, only the rich had access to spices (naturally, because they had to be transported from the Far East to Europe), which were very expensive. The poor used herbs, because herbs were available locally. Wealthy families used spices because they could afford them, and thus spices were a status symbol, as well as tasting very special. Then there were the "medicinal" and "religious" attributes of spices, which supposedly cured all ills and were used in holy oils.
The tale that spices were used to mask the flavour of rotten food is false. Only the rich could buy spices, and they were more than capable of buying fresh meat and vegetables for themselves and their guests.
 
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