Organic black peppercorn

Why choose POWDER^® spices?

Our quality requirements:

Organically grown spices

Controlled geographical area

Organoleptic analysis

Physicochemical analysis

Microbiological analysis

Hermetic packaging

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DESCRIPTION

 

Pepper, derived from the berry of Piper nigrum L., is certainly the most used spice. As essential as salt, no dish is complete without this condiment.

 

 

Our black pepper POWDER will bring out the hidden flavours of your dishes. It’s characterized by high spiciness and a natural forest's aroma emphasized by cocoa.

 

ORIGEN

Originally from the coast of Malabar in south-western India, the black pepper plant, Piper nigrum L. is a perennial vine which grows up to five meters high. Its fruit, known as peppercorns, are fleshy drupes, or stone fruit, and blushing when ripe.

The variety depends on the stage of maturity at harvest and the manner of preparation, resulting in green pepper (harvested before maturity), white pepper (harvested at maturity, with its outer skin removed) or black pepper. This last is obtained after sun-drying the green fruit in the sun, prior to full maturity (1-3).

HISTORY

Pepper is mentioned in Indian writings dating back over 3.000 years. Introduced into Europe by the Arabs and Phoenicians, it served as a currency of exchange for the Romans and Greeks of antiquity. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Italian coastal cities took over the trade with the East, and pepper became their most taxed and highly-valued spice. This enthusiasm fed the desire to discover other maritime trade routes, giving rise to the expedition of Vasco de Gama and the discovery of the sea route to the Indies in 1497 (1).

 

 

COMPOSITION

Black pepper contains alkaloids, its main active compounds, and over 130 essential oils, including limonene and pinene. These ingredients lend it its multiple, in particular its antioxidant action, its protective properties for the digestive system, and its virtues as an immunomodulatory agent (2, 4, 5).

RECIPES

Black pepper is the most widely used spice in world gastronomy. It is the essential condiment for a variety of culinary classics, such as Italian Pecorino cheese (cheese made with sheep's milk), German Pfeffernüsse biscuits, and Indian masalas (6).

Below there are two delicious recipes, in which black pepper acts to enhance the other ingredients (7).

Shellfish in peppery infusion:

Ingredients (4 serving):

• 1 dozen black peppercorns
• 80 cl chicken broth
• 12 oysters
• 20 mussels
• 1 tomato, peeled and diced
• 1 diced cured ham slice
• 2 onions, thinly sliced
• 2 chopped shallots
• 1 leek cut into rings
• 2 tablespoons dairy cream
• 20 g butter
• ½ glass of white wine
• 1 laurel leaf
• salt

Directions:

• To prepare the infusion, roughly crush the black peppercorns and toss them in the hot chicken stock. Boil for 2 min. Turn off the heat and leave to infuse for 30 minutes. Strain.
• To prepare the other spices, gently heat the butter and sauté the diced ham, leek rings, one onion and one chopped shallot in a saucepan. Cook for 10 minutes with a dash of water over low heat. Add the diced tomato.
• On another burner, heat the remaining shallot and onion, the bay leaf and the white wine. Toss in the mussels. Take them out again as they open. Shuck the mussels and set them aside. Strain the resulting broth.
• Open the oysters, take them out of their shell and keep their water. Let them stiffen for 30 seconds in the previously heated broth. Set aside.
• Add the broth from the mussels and herbs to the infusion. Heat. Add the cream. Add the salt.
• In a soup tureen, arrange the mussels and oysters and pour the hot broth over them. Serve warm.

Roasted pears, caramel with pine nuts:

Ingredients (4 serving):

• 4 pears, peeled and cut in half 
• black pepper POWDER
• 75 g butter
• 50 g caster (superfine) sugar
• 60 g pine nuts
• 1 lemon

Direction:

• Preheat oven to 280 ºC.
• Prepare the caramel by low heating the sugar and the butter. 
• When it assumed a golden color, immediately add the juice from ½ lemon and the pine nuts, and remove from heat.
• Sprinkle the lemon over the pears, arrange them on a baking dish, cover with half the caramel, and season with ground black pepper.
• Bake for 8 minutes.
• Arrange the pears on a plate, add the caramel and pine nuts previously set aside.