Did You Know – Black Pepper vs White Pepper
Black Pepper
Black pepper is produced from the still green, unripe drupe of the pepper plant. The drupes are cooked briefly in hot water, both to clean them and to prepare them for drying. The heat ruptures cell walls in the pepper, accelerating enzymes that cause browning during drying.
The pepper drupes can also be dried in the sun or by machine for several days, during which the pepper skin around the seed shrinks and darkens into a thin, wrinkled black layer containing melanoidin. Once dry, the spice is called black peppercorn. After the peppercorns are dried, pepper powder for culinary uses is obtained by crushing the berries.
White Pepper
White pepper consists solely of the seed of the ripe fruit of the pepper plant, with the thin darker colored skin (flesh) of the fruit removed. This is usually accomplished by a process known as retting, where fully ripe red pepper berries are soaked in water for about a week so the flesh of the peppercorn softens and decomposes. Rubbing them removes what remains of the fruit, and the naked seed is dried. Sometimes the outer layer is removed from the seed through other mechanical, chemical, or biological methods.
Ground white pepper is commonly used in Chinese, Thai and Portuguese cuisines. It finds occasional use in other cuisines in salads, light colored sauces and mashed potatoes as a substitute for black pepper, because black pepper would visibly stand out. However, white pepper lacks certain compounds present in the outer layer of the drupe, resulting in a different overall flavor.
Source: en.m.wikipedia.org
http://www.InDianesKitchen.com
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Categories: Did You Know, Spices/Seasoning
This was so interesting – and side note – my husband has broken many pepper grinders – and we have jokes about it
Haha That’s funny but in his defense, they do seem to break easily. Thank you Yvette!
🙂 I found a brand new pampered chef one at clearance sale – and so far that pepper grinder is doing well
I love Pampered Chef. One year I bought a knife that you stored inside the knife sharpener. It was the sharpest knife I ever bought and I loved it. Years later I went to buy another one and it wasn’t sharp at all. I asked the host of the party about it and she said it was so sharp that many people were cutting themself so bad they had to go to the hospital. I never bought another from them, now I use ceramic knives. I’m glad your new grinder is lasting.
That is such an interesting story and the sharp knife sounds like a possible hazard – wow
and ceramic knives sound interesting
I was once near a pepper tree and it had the peppery and spicy smell. I was so surprised by it!
Oh wow I have never seen one before. I would love to see one and smell it.
I had no idea either but the spicy smell led me to it!
Our children in their 50s still refer to white pepper as Grandma pepper
That is so cool Derrick, a nice memory for your kids too.
Good information. I didn’t know any of that.
I was fascinated with it too, I used white pepper once and black pepper all the time.
Thank you Ned!
I always wondered…
I rarely use white pepper. If my family objects seeing the little black specks of pepper in their food they don’t have to eat it. 🤣
Very interesting to learn about the difference between the two. I tend to use white pepper in more traditional Asian dishes. Crushes black pepper/peppercorns are delicious on a steak.
And hello to the lovely deer. From your backyard?
Great info! Thanks! Karla/Clampetts
You’re welcome Karla!
I’m not a fan of the flavor of white pepper, but I adore the black!
I bought it and have only used it once. My family doesn’t care if there are black pepper dots in food, they just want to eat. Lol
I never knew this! Thanks, Diane!
You’re welcome Betty!
Interesting about the two peppers Diane … I like that little cutie pie at the end. Was it in your yard?
I only use white pepper with things like mashed potatoes and white sauces and even then, only when company is here. No not my yard.
This was very interesting read! I remember that my grandmother only used white pepper, yet I think nowadays one might find more black pepper than white pepper in most kitchens.
(Btw, love your photo 🌞).
We don’t have anything but black pepper on the table in restaurants. I don’t use white very often while cooking either but I have it in the pantry. Thank you!
Very interesting, Diane. I assumed white pepper was from an entirely different plant.
Black pepper is made from unripe berries that are dried, while white pepper comes from ripe berries that are soaked to remove the skin, leaving a milder, earthier, and sometimes musty flavor.
How neat, Diane!
One fact I never knew until researching it, thank you!
This was super interesting and I’ve always wondered why they differed (but I never bothered to research it!) 🙂
I didn’t know this either and I agree, very interesting.
We love black pepper and for Christmas last year I researched for the best grinder for my husband for his gift and we got a good on. It’s rechargeable too! We love it. I don’t think I have ever seen white pepper, thanks for more good info Diane !
I haven’t seen a pepper grinder that can be charged, that’s perfect!
“Coypubb Salt and Pepper Mill, Electric Pepper Grinder with Adjustable Coarseness Refillable Design Ceramic Core for Kitchen Restaurant Picnic BBQ” This is the one on Amazon that I bought last December, it’s a great grinder !
I can’t believer how many there are! I keep a nice set with my china but you won’t believe what I use for our everyday meals, Tupperware! Lol Thank you for the heads up!