SC - German cookbook list

[Valoise Armstrong]

Black pepper (Piper nigrum) is of Javanese origin.  It originally appears to
have been imported into Europe by Romans trading in Egypt and the Levant.
The trade continued after the fall of Rome and made pepper one of the major
spices of medieval times.

Black pepper is the entire fruit.  White pepper is the fruit with the dark
outer hull removed.  I've found no date for the initial use of white pepper,
but, IIRC, I have seen a late period recipe which calls for it.  For
authenticity, black pepper is probably the best call.  The difference
between white and black pepper is that white pepper has a milder taste

The genus Piper also contains cubeb, betel, and kava. 

Bear

> Where does pepper come from? And is it period?
> 
> The reason I ask is because since soming to this country when the word
> "pepper" 
> (unspecified) is called for in a recipe or to season a dish, it seems
> black pepper 
> is used mostly. (New fashion? or not).
> 
> Yet in Wales and everywhere in Britain I've been, "pepper" always meant
> white 
> pepper. 
> 
> These days, of course, black pepper is used too, but tradionally it's
> always been 
> white.
> 
> What does that do for period recipes?  Is there no appreciable difference
> except 
> beng able to see the pepper if it's black?  Or for authenticity should you
> always 
> use white then?
> 
> Elysant  
> ==========================================================================
> ==
> 
> To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
> Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".
> 
> ==========================================================================
> ==
> 
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================