HOW TO SELECT AND STORE BLACK PEPPER

Some foods are considerably healthier than others from a nutritional perspective, and certain foods are considered extra beneficial by health professionals and nutritionists. Black pepper is just such an example. Not only is black pepper a useful flavoring element, but it’s also a rich source of minerals and nutrients.

Best of all, it’s easy to incorporate black pepper into your diet. A pinch of black pepper added to any recipe works more than just a flavor enhancer. This king of spices is known to offer a number of health benefits while providing an excellent depth of flavor to a dish.

A pinch of black pepper added to any recipe works more than just a flavor enhancer. This king of spices is known to offer a number of health benefits while providing an excellent depth of flavor to a dish. The use of black pepper in the diet helps to promote weight loss, improve digestion, relieve a cough and cold, boost metabolism, and treat skin problems.

Here are so facts you must know how to select and store black pepper.

Black pepper is available around the year in all the stores. It’s better to buy whole pepper seeds, not the powdered black pepper. Black pepper is available whole, crushed or ground into powder. To ensure best flavor, look for peppercorns that are compact, round, heavy, wholesome, and free of any blemishes. Buy whole peppercorns and grind them yourself in a mill just before adding to a recipe. In addition to superior flavor, buying whole peppercorns will help to ensure that you are purchasing unadulterated pepper since ground pepper is oftentimes mixed with other spices.

Peppercorns can be stored for months in a dry air-tight container at room temperature, in a dry and dark place. And keep the ground black pepper in the refrigerator for a longer shelf life.

Even through dried herbs and spices like black pepper are widely available in supermarkets, you may want to explore the local spice stores in your area. Oftentimes, these stores feature an expansive selection of dried herbs and spices that are of superior quality and freshness than those offered in regular markets. Just like with other dried spices, when purchasing black pepper try to select that which is organically grown since this will give you more assurance that it has not been irradiated (among other potential adverse effects, irradiating black pepper may lead to a significant decrease in its vitamin C content.)

Black pepper should be kept in a tightly sealed glass container in a cool, dark and dry place. Whole peppercorns will keep almost indefinitely, while ground pepper will stay fresh for about three months. Pepper can also be frozen although this will make its flavor more pronounced.

Word of Caution: 

Pepper may cause sneezing. Patients who have undergone abdominal surgery should not add excessive pepper to their diet because it can have an irritating effect on the intestines. Black pepper should not be taken in high concentration, and if you see signs of an allergic reaction, discontinue its use and consult a doctor.

 

 

A PORTRAIT OF DIVERSITY IN INDONESIAN HERBS AND SPICES

A PORTRAIT OF DIVERSITY IN INDONESIAN HERBS AND SPICES

Indonesian food is rich in spices or rempah. Indonesian cooking has been influenced over the centuries by many nationalities and cultures, particularly Chinese, Indian and Dutch. Indonesian spices that are native to Indonesia include pepper, mace, cloves, cinnamon, galangal, ect. The many other spices that are used have been introduced over the centuries, mainly from India and China, but are now regarded as true Indonesian spices.

Despite having such an extremely diverse cuisine, Indonesian spices are integral to all the regional dishes. Indonesian cooking has become popular in other parts of Southeast Asia, particularly classics such as rending, sambal and satay, which are widely consumed in Malaysia and Singapore.

From the simplest dish like sauce (in Bahasa is “Sambal”) to the complicated, slow-cooked Rendang, spices are indeed important cooking is very difficult, it’s not really true. In fact it’s really easy, if you know the types of spices you are going to use in the cooking, and how to use them.

Below are some of the essential spices or essential herbs (in Bahasa is “bumbu dapur”) used in Indonesian dishes, that you might be not familiar with. This time we will discuss two kinds of spices in Indonesia that is pepper and cloves.

Do you know about kind of Pepper and Cloves spices ? Have you ever found in the food that you consumeLet’s see the explanation in detail!

PEPPER

The data statistic shows the production of pepper in Indonesia from 2011 to 2015, with an estimate for 2016 and 2017. In 2017, it was estimated that approximately 65 thousand metric tons of pepper would be produced in Indonesia. Pepper flourishes well in hot and humid climate along with good rain. Southern India and Vietnam favors pepper production very well. This is the reason that 95% of the world pepper grows in these countries. Indonesia, Malaysia, Brazil, Vietnam and Sri Lanka are also other major pepper producing countries. In Indonesia, pepper is a small holder estate crop and labor intensive commodity mainly cultivated in Lampung for black, Bangka Belitung and Kalimantan for white pepper. Peppers add a flavourful kick to your meal, plus they’re loaded with vitamins and disease-fighting properties.

Check out these health benefits of black and white peppers!

Black pepper is a rich source of minerals like manganesecoppermagnesiumcalcium, phosphorous, iron, pottassium, and vitamins like riboflavinvitamin C, K, and B6. Black pepper has a high content of dietary fiber and has a moderate amount of protein and carbohydrates too. Black pepper aids in weight loss, and treats sinus, asthma, and nasal congestion. It also reduces the risk of cancer, and heart and liver ailments.

White peerper health benefits can not be underestimated, just like other spices, white pepper also can prevent cancer and useful for weight loss. Same a black pepper, White pepper contains saturated fat, polyunsaturated fat and monounsaturated fat. Its composition also includes sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, phosphorus, magnesium, zinc, selenium, copper and manganese. White pepper is a source of fiber and protein.

CLOVES

Cloves are the dried flower buds of an evergreen tree native to eastern Indonesia. Cloves are a versatile spice that can be used in drinks and in both sweet and savoury dishes.  Cloves have many health benefits, and have been used for many purposes over the years. Some of the most common medicinal uses of cloves include treatment for toothache pain, stress relief (usually in the form of aromatherapy) and inflammation reduction for arthritis and other inflammation. mIn many alternative medicine traditions, cloves are considered to be warming and stimulating.

Cloves can be cooked into various foods and drinks for some health benefit. Clove oil can be applied topically or used in aromatherapy. You must know! The nutrients found in 100 grams of cloves include 65 grams of carbohydrate, 6 grams of protein, 13 grams of total lipids, 2 grams of sugars, 274 kcal of energy and 33 grams of dietary fibersMinerals in cloves include calciumironmagnesium, phosphorous, potassiumsodium, and zinc. The vitamins found in them include vitamin C, thiamin, riboflavinniacin, folate, vitamin B6vitamin B12vitamin Avitamin Evitamin D, and vitamin K.

Indonesia Cloves Production in 2016 – 2017 is expected to be around 85,000 Metric Tons, Excluding 5,000 Metric Tons carry forward stocks from the last year crop of 2015 – 2016. Hence bringing the total availability of Cloves from Indonesia up to 90,000 Metric Tons for year 2016 – 2017

If you have further inquiries or in case you want more information about Indonesian spices, please feel free and do not hesitate to contact us at: info.nudira@gmail.com