Webmaster
10-08-2009, 07:25 AM
By Kathleen Purvis
McClatchy Newspapers
A. Maybe we keep pepper on the table so we have something to put in the "other" salt shaker?
Actually, both salt and black pepper have ancient histories. Salt, of course, is necessary for life in addition to all of its other properties, such as preserving food and enhancing flavor. It was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid in salt, giving us the term "salary."
But pepper was just as important. Historians call it "the king of spices," and it was once so valuable that it also was used as a form of money. It's heat and taste also enhance flavor.
When we look into culinary history, one point that shows up is upward mobility. Things that start with nobility trickle down through society — everyone wants to do what the social class directly above them does.
Since salt and pepper started out as precious and expensive, it may have been a way to show your wealth, to put both of them on your table for anyone to use.
That tradition is finally starting to dwindle. Now that we understand pre-ground black pepper loses its heat and flavor quickly, pepper grinders and even salt grinders are starting to replace all those cute salt-and-pepper sets.
from: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2010012355_web07cookqanda.html
McClatchy Newspapers
A. Maybe we keep pepper on the table so we have something to put in the "other" salt shaker?
Actually, both salt and black pepper have ancient histories. Salt, of course, is necessary for life in addition to all of its other properties, such as preserving food and enhancing flavor. It was so valuable that Roman soldiers were paid in salt, giving us the term "salary."
But pepper was just as important. Historians call it "the king of spices," and it was once so valuable that it also was used as a form of money. It's heat and taste also enhance flavor.
When we look into culinary history, one point that shows up is upward mobility. Things that start with nobility trickle down through society — everyone wants to do what the social class directly above them does.
Since salt and pepper started out as precious and expensive, it may have been a way to show your wealth, to put both of them on your table for anyone to use.
That tradition is finally starting to dwindle. Now that we understand pre-ground black pepper loses its heat and flavor quickly, pepper grinders and even salt grinders are starting to replace all those cute salt-and-pepper sets.
from: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2010012355_web07cookqanda.html