Measuring freshly ground black pepper
Measuring freshly ground black pepper
When a recipe calls for "freshly ground black pepper," it usually does so without suggesting an amount. In the instructions of the recipe, you’ll be told to "sprinkle [something] with freshly ground black pepper" or "generously season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper" or "add freshly ground black pepper to taste."
In general, this makes sense. Cooking with black pepper is one of those things you just get a feel for as you spend more time in the kitchen. And descriptive measurements like "sprinkle" and "generously season" are hard to screw up: a light sprinkle is not going to be drastically different from a heavy sprinkle.
Still, we've been keeping track of pepper amounts for a while now, because we want our descriptive measurements to be more or less the same from recipe to recipe. How much pepper do we mean when we write "generously season?" What is the ideal amount of a Cookthink "sprinkle?"
And of course, there are times when it helps to have an exact amount for freshly ground black pepper. For certain casseroles and papillotes -- dishes that can’t be tasted for seasoning as they cook -- it's nice to have an exact baseline amount of pepper so that you don’t have to tweak it too much at the end for taste.
The problem is that it’s near impossible to grind accurately into any measuring spoon smaller than a tablespoon, and few recipes call for that much pepper. So how do you measure freshly ground black pepper?
One easy way is to go by turns of the grinder. I’ve carved an “X” onto the side of mine, a short and simple model with three settings: coarse, medium, fine.
I set the grind to medium and made 8 full rotations into a small bowl. Using a 1/8 teaspoon, I shoveled the ground pepper into another 1/8 teaspoon. Too much. I started over and stopped at 4 full rotations. It was a little light, so I made another full turn and got an almost level 1/8 teaspoon with 5 total rotations of the grinder.
I did the same for 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon and 1 teaspoon. I got the results you’d expect:
1/8 teaspoon = 5 full rotations
1/4 teaspoon = 10 full rotations
1/2 teaspoon = 20 full rotations
1 teaspoon = 40 full rotations
I repeated this in both the fine and coarse settings, and found them close enough to the medium not to worry too much about it.
So are these measurements helpful? In writing and testing recipes, yes. In practice, probably not, though I have often wondered, while standing over a stew grinding away, just how much pepper I’m adding. Now I know. - Chip
Pasta alla carbonara (usually spaghetti, but occasionally linguine or bucatini) is a family of Italian pasta dishes based on eggs, parmesan, pancetta or guanciale and black pepper.
Carbonaro means charcoal-burner in Italian, but the connection is unclear. Some food historians believe the dish may have been popular among charcoal makers working in the Apennine Mountains; or perhaps it is called carbonara simply because of the specks of black pepper it is seasoned with.
Pickapeppa is a famous brand of Jamaican sauce made from tomatoes, onions, sugar, cane vinegar, mangoes, raisins, tamarind, peppers and spices that are blended and aged in oak barrels for a year before bottling.
Created in 1921 in Shooter's Hill, where it is still produced, Pickapeppa sauce has a lightly sweet tang and the Jamaicans use it like ketchup and in dips and as a marinade for barbecued foods to lend a distinct flavor.
Pickapeppa sauce is also used in many Cajun and Creole dishes and is very popular poured over cream cheese and eaten with crackers.
How to make Cuban roasted pork with plantains
How to make Cuban roasted pork with plantains
You can make this delicious Cuban roasted pork with plaintains in almost no time at all. To try making it, just watch this video by Handmade TV for easy-to-follow directions.
How to make country potato salad
How to make country potato salad
Summertime barbecues wouldn't be the same without potato salad. To learn how to make this version of an all-American favorite, watch Handmade TV's instructional video.
How to make green goddess dressing
How to make green goddess dressing
There's a reason this recipe is called green goddess dressing--it's simply divine. So if you're ready for a heavenly touch to your greens, check out this video by Handmade TV and you'll be on your way.
How to make cold cucumber soup
How to make cold cucumber soup
Cold cucumber soup makes the perfect starter for a summertime dinner party. This instructional video by Handmade TV shows how easy it is to make.
Montreal Steak Spice is a dry spice rub used to flavor steak that was made famous in Montreal and has become a marketing term for a number of commercial spice mixes.
The recipe varies, but Montreal Steak Spice usually includes ingredients such as pepper, salt, coriander, dill, mustard seeds, dehydrated garlic and onions, red pepper flakes, rosemary, thyme, paprika and caraway seeds.
Some attribute the mix to Anglo-French immigrants in Montreal, but a more credible explanation traces Montreal Steak Spice to Montreal's Eastern European Jewish immigrants. They first used the mix to season and preserve smoked meats in Montreal delis like Schwartz's Deli, which claims to be the oldest deli in Canada, founded in 1928.
A popular sub around Canada's second largest city is the Montreal Steak Sandwich, which consists of skirt or flank steak rubbed with Montreal Steak Spice and pan-fried with onions and mushrooms. Montreal Steak Spice is also used to flavor oven-roasted potatoes and fries.
(Image courtesy of WorldSpice.com)
The French word mignonette has multiple culinary meanings.
It originally referred to a peppercorn- and clove-filled cheesecloth sachet used to flavor soups, and now signals coarsely ground, usually white peppercorns. It is the name of a sweet-smelling Mediterranean flower. A mignonette can also mean the choice, nugget-like parts of various meats -- like noisettes of lamb and filet mignon -- as well as potatoes cut in thick matchsticks.
Finally, a mignonette sauce -- made with a base of vinegar and finely chopped shallots to which white or black pepper, salt, wine, lemon juice or herbs like chives or chervil are sometimes added -- is often served with raw oysters. Note that purists believe that oysters taste best unadorned.
Why is it called a tablespoon?
Why is it called a tablespoon?
A spoon used at the table to serve or to eat soup is referred to as a tablespoon. But the tablespoon is also a measure of volume (roughly equal to 1/2 fluid ounce) that first appeared as a word in the middle of the 18th century.
As recipes began to be written down with greater frequency, the unit of a tablespoon may have been used as a measurement simply because it was a utensil that was already there (like the teaspoon). Today, most people use specially made measuring spoons when following recipes rather than dipping into their own silverware drawers.
In French, the tablespoon is called a cuillière à soupe, or soup spoon; the teaspoon is called a cuillière à café.
