The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[Umbran]

"What did they put in this? Black pepper?!"

What?

In American cuisine, black pepper is typically used only sparingly. This can give us the impression that black pepper is mild. It isn't at all. Indeed, it is used sparingly because it is potent stuff. Used in modest quantities, black pepper can as easily overwhelm a dish as any other spice.

 

[trappedslider]

Game over man game over!

 

[prabe]

What?

In American cuisine, black pepper is typically used only sparingly. This can give us the impression that black pepper is mild. It isn't at all. Indeed, it is used sparingly because it is potent stuff. Used in modest quantities, black pepper can as easily overwhelm a dish as any other spice.

Also, if you have ground pepper sitting on the table, it's probably stale and might not be as flavorful. Another reason many folks might think black pepper is mild.

 

[CleverNickName]

What?

In American cuisine, black pepper is typically used only sparingly. This can give us the impression that black pepper is mild. It isn't at all. Indeed, it is used sparingly because it is potent stuff. Used in modest quantities, black pepper can as easily overwhelm a dish as any other spice.

It's true, black pepper is usually used sparingly in Western dishes, but not always. I've enjoyed foods that had so much black pepper on them that it was practically a breading....black pepper crusted tuna, black pepper crusted steak, black pepper crusted pork tenderloin. I don't think they're particularly spicy; the dominant flavor I get is floral, maybe herbal.

I'm not a chef or food scientist or anything like that, but I think the "hot" chemicals in black pepper must break down when cooked, leaving behind the more subtle flavors. So black pepper is usually added sparingly to a raw salad, but can be added more generously to raw foods before cooking. I'm not sure, this is just what I've observed from cooking. It's equally possible that I just have a high spice tolerance.

 

[Umbran]

It's true, black pepper is usually used sparingly in Western dishes, but not always. I've enjoyed foods that had so much black pepper on them that it was practically a breading....black pepper crusted tuna, black pepper crusted steak, black pepper crusted pork tenderloin. I don't think they're particularly spicy; the dominant flavor I get is floral, maybe herbal.

I'm not a chef or food scientist or anything like that, but I think the "hot" chemicals in black pepper must break down when cooked, leaving behind the more subtle flavors. So black pepper is usually added sparingly to a raw salad, but can be added more generously to raw foods before cooking. I'm not sure, this is just what I've observed from cooking. It's equally possible that I just have a high spice tolerance.

So, there's a lot that goes into how potent any given flavor is. For example, when you ar crusting with pepper, you are typically using "cracked" pepper, rather than ground pepper. Cracked pepper is far more coarse than ground - which means for the same weight of pepper, there's less surface area, which means less of the spice actually contacts your tongue, and less gets into your nasal passages, as compared to fine ground stuff.

As I understand it, the compound in pepper that we find "spicy" is fairly heat stable - it doesn't denature in cooking much. However, it isn't particularly water soluble, either, so how potent it seems may depend on what's in the dish to make those compounds available to you to taste them.

 

[BookTenTiger]

What?

In American cuisine, black pepper is typically used only sparingly. This can give us the impression that black pepper is mild. It isn't at all. Indeed, it is used sparingly because it is potent stuff. Used in modest quantities, black pepper can as easily overwhelm a dish as any other spice.

Once I misread my own handwriting on a recipe for kabocha squash soup and put in 4 tsp of pepper instead of 1/4 tsp.

It was very very peppery.

 

[Cadence]

Why are you sti... You're not ne...

Oh, this is your first time at this particular rodeo event isn't it.

 

[prabe]

Why are you sti... You're not ne...

Oh, this is your first time at this particular rodeo event isn't it.

RIDE EM COWBOY

 

[payn]

RIDE EM COWBOY

 

[Gradine]

What?

In American cuisine, black pepper is typically used only sparingly. This can give us the impression that black pepper is mild. It isn't at all. Indeed, it is used sparingly because it is potent stuff. Used in modest quantities, black pepper can as easily overwhelm a dish as any other spice.

What?

Black pepper is excessively mild. Not as mild as that hot hot ketchup, sure, but I've tasted dishes ruined by excessive pepper and as unbearable as they are, they aren't especially spicy