I believe that everyone has a basic understanding of these two ingredients, whether it's cooking a steak or baking a chocolate chip cookie. I just want to take a deeper look into what exactly makes these two "flavorings"so popular.
Pepper: (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae,
cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice
Salt is used in most cooking procedures to enhance flavors because of its neutral state. Since salt is a neutral substance, it reacts and conforms to everything you use it with, especially fats and acids. Whether its a vinaigrette or boiling water, the purposes of salt is to start and/or finish the layering of ingredients. Salt literally changes the chemical property of the recipe you use it with.
Salt: Sodium chloride (NaCl)
Pepper plays a completely different role in this duo because. Adding pepper doesn't necessarily change the chemical property of a recipe the same way salt does, but it plays a unique roll in adding a subtle spice and "earthy-ness" to any dish. The spice from a peppercorn comes from a chemical called, Capsaicin, which is shared throughout the "pepper" family.
Pepper: (Piper nigrum) is a flowering vine in the family Piperaceae,
cultivated for its fruit, which is usually dried and used as a spice
Both ingredients have been "reinvented" by contemporary dishes and modern culinary thinking. Thirty years ago using salt to finish a pastry would have been unthinkable, but today the versatility of these two ingredients never ceases to amaze me. Whether its peppercorn infused chocolate, or a crispy salt granule on a rib-eye, these two ingredients will continue to reshape how we look at each dish.
Salted chocolate & caramel "Chips"
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