Friday, April 8, 2011

Black Pepper - A Rant



I have to rant here a bit today as I don't understand the affection chefs have with crushed black pepper - they put it on everything these days. Scrambled eggs are lovely in themselves - please don't think it is Haute Cuisine just because you sprinkle black pepper on it. The other day I had Pollack with creamy leeks sauce - heaven for me but what did the - very talented chef I may add - do....yeap she sprinkled a whole lot of crushed black pepper on it and all I was able to taste was the overpowering fragrance of the pepper. Neither the fish nor the leeks stood a chance.

All I am asking my dear chefs - please do as the Italians - come to the table with your big peppermill and ask me if I want to cover very good food in little pieces of black stuff.

Black Pepper was believed to cure illness such as constipation, diarrhea, Limonene, Safrole, earache, gangrene, heart disease, hernia, hoarseness, indigestion, insect bites, insomnia, joint pain, liver problems, lung disease, oral abscesses, sunburn, tooth decay, and toothaches. Black pepper either powdered or its decoction is widely used in traditional Indian medicine and as a home remedy for relief from sore throat, throat congestion, cough etc. And I think we should leave it at that, I don't suffer from any of the above - so no need to sprinkle it over my food.

Thank you for listening :-)

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