Pepper comes to us from India
A strange berry, cultivated in India since the dawn of time, which, crushed, flavored and spiced up dishes. Calling this berry “pippali”, the Greeks made it “pipari” which the Romans transformed into “piper”, the English into “pepper” and the French into pepper. Very much appreciated by our ancestors because it made it possible in particular to mask the somewhat rancid taste of meats that did not stay in the fridges, pepper, imported from very far away, was for a long time overpriced. So much so that in Germany the rich were called “the bags of pepper”. Ensuring the fortune of the Portuguese during the Renaissance, he will make that of the Dutch afterwards.
Now it is in Viet Nam, Brazil and Indonesia that the most pepper is produced. White, green or red or gray pepper when ground. There are also false peppers, meaning that they have similar virtues such as raising or flavoring a dish, but do not come from the pepper plant, for example pink pepper, Sichuan pepper or Jamaican pepper.
In the kitchen: the famous pepper steak
We must always have a little pepper available. Ground in a pepper mill it gives off more flavor. With red meat you can make a pepper sauce, a sauce obtained by chopping a shallot which is browned in butter with a little pepper, on which you pour cognac before reducing. Then we add white wine and reduce again, then add 15 cl of veal stock, cream, bring to the boil, let cool and rise in butter. A delight!
The kitchen is done with a lot of ingredients like pepper but it is also done with the heart