Salt and Pepper

The 2 main seasoning ingredients to lift the flavour of any dish. In such a way that the flavours burst in your mouth and do something similar to a happy dance on one’s taste buds. It can lift the flavours of even a simple dessert dish.  

Salt is seen as of the purest ingredients and products in some cultures.  It is believed to keep out all bad energy, ghosts and even demands.

Pepper was seen as a very expansive trading item.

Then you get all the salt and pepper saying:

Like: back to the salt mines; eat someone’s salt; to have something hung up and salted; and then also the more common rub salt in the wound; salt of the earth and worth ones salt.

In Afrikaans it’s said that something is “Peper duur” and another is pepper someone or something with something.

Well the Pink pepper corn as I allocated is not a pepper corn. It is in fact a berry of 2 trees that are native to Brazil and Peru.  And these berries are related to the cashew nut and mango family. The flavour and aromatics are citrus with pepper and that is why it compliments all types of dishes so well even desserts.  The American has also managed have the trees grow wild in California, Texas, and Florida. The pink pepper corn can also refer the ripeness of the red pepper corns. They have the texture that is more fluffy almost hollow.

For the salt that accompanies the pepper I have Himalayan Pink salt.  It is commonly known as rock salt from Pakistan. These wonderful from pink to almost translucent white salt crystals are mined in the second largest salt mine in the world that is situated 300km from the Himalayas. These salt crystals contain up to 84 minerals, and have a good amount of iodine that is very good for one self and for ones off spring if you should conceive.  This wonderful range of reddish to white salt can be used as bath salt, table salt or for brine.

Recipes:

Pink pepper corn Macaroons with a Himalayan Pink salt Ice cream:

Pink Pepper corn Macaroons:

30ml corn flour

165g almond flour
20ml pink pepper corns- grounded
200g icing sugar
200g caster sugar
120g egg whites

 

Whisk egg whites till soft peak
Add icing and caster sugar- spoon by spoon
Mix the corn flour, ground pink peppercorns and almond flour in a spate bowl
Fold the flour mix into meringue
Pipe and let it stand for 5-10min
Bake at 120˚C for 23min

 

Himalayan Pink Salt Ice cream:

500ml milk
250ml cream
8 yolks
200g sugar
1 vanilla pod- seeds
15ml glucose
10ml Himalayan Pink Salt

 

Scald milk, cream and vanilla
Cream yolks, salt and sugar together
Add hot liquid to egg yolk mix while whisking
Return to heat until thicken
Leave to cool and churn.

-Lovley Lize