Pepper is an important tropical spice crop, which originated in the tropical rain forest area on the southwest coast of India and has been cultivated for more than 4000 years. We know that India is a big country of spices, and Indian food is also famous for its rich spices. In fact, as early as more than 4,000 years ago, some Indians had Indian curries with various flavors on their dining tables. They like to add pepper to curry to further enhance the pungent taste.
When the pepper fruit is formed but not fully mature, that is, when the skin begins to turn red, it is picked, treated in hot water, and then dried and dehydrated in the sun, and the pepper will become wrinkled black particles, which is the black pepper we often see; When the pepper fruit is completely ripe, that is, when the skin turns completely red, picking begins. After picking, the skin falls off by soaking, leaving the fruit particles inside, and then drying to get white or yellowish particles, which is what we often see.
Although the raw materials are all pepper, the different processing methods also lead to the difference in cooking usage between black pepper and white pepper. Black pepper retains the skin of pepper, so the aroma is stronger than that of white pepper; White pepper is the fruit left after peeling, and its smell is not as heavy as that of black pepper, but the spicy taste inside pepper particles is more concentrated than that of black pepper.
When cooking at ordinary times, if you are cooking meat dishes with strong fishy smell, it will be better to use black pepper, because its deodorization effect is stronger than that of white pepper. Generally, when cooking red meat dishes, black pepper is mostly used, such as our common fried steak; If you are cooking light-colored dishes with relatively transparent colors, such as all kinds of white meat and seafood ingredients, or stews and soups, it will be more appropriate to use elegant white pepper.