White pepper and black pepper are common ingredients found in every kitchen. Until now, if you were thinking that they differ only in color, they actually don’t. Apart from their color variation, both these peppers have other differences as well. As a general practice, we use black pepper more often than the white one. So what if you include white pepper in your dishes? What difference will it make to the flavor of the food?
Let us find out some differences between the two, so that when you prepare Alfred Sauce next time, you know why you are using white pepper in it!
White and black peppers, both are fruits of Piper Nigrum or pepper plant found in Southern Asia. But they differ in the way they are processed. Black peppercorns are plucked when they are almost ripe. Then, they are sun dried to be shrivelled. This process makes the outer black layer of black pepper. On the other hand, white peppercorns are left to ripen on the plant itself. Then they are left in bags containing water for a few days to make their outer layer soft. After that, they are left under the sun to be bleached white.
Both white and black peppers are close siblings in some regard. But the conflicting difference in their aroma sets them truly apart from each other. Most of the chefs agree that black pepper has an intense aroma when compared to the subtleness of white pepper.
White pepper offers instant hot flavor. Black pepper may also be equally hot, but you can realize its hotness slowly after chewing it. As a matter of fact, it depends upon your personal taste preference as well!
White pepper lends an aesthetic touch to white sauces, soups, and mashed potatoes. It is overtly done to give a finer look to light colored dishes where visible black flakes may not be so appealing.
It is a proven fact that black ground pepper is rich in essential oils when compared to white ground pepper. It has nearly 3% essential oils in its composition.
Their origin may be same but white and black peppers are preferred differently in various cuisines. Most of the international and intercontinental cuisines use black pepper. But in Chinese, Thai, and French cuisines, white pepper is used more often. Their aromatic and tingling taste enhances the flavour of these cuisines.
As black pepper has its outer fruit layer intact, it contains odour-forming terpenes in it. These compounds give the floral and woody flavour to it. However, in white pepper, these scents are found missing due to the removal of this outer layer. White pepper has a mushy odour developed during its fermentation.
White pepper carries more medicinal values when compared to black pepper. In ancient Ayurvedic and Chinese therapies, white pepper is widely used for treating arthritis, malaria, constipation, joint pain, nasal congestion, food poisoning, nausea, and cholera, to name a few.
It is found in some studies that people allergic to pepper as a whole, react more badly to black pepper. This is primarily because white pepper is only the seed of the plant while black pepper is the whole fruit. As such, the composition of black pepper is intense and causes allergic reactions.
Black pepper has a longer shelf life when compared to white pepper. It can be stored in your kitchen without getting its aromatic flavour spoiled. But in case of white pepper, you can’t store it for longer period as it will develop a bitter taste on rotting.
Despite these differences, both white and black peppers are the essential ingredients in most of the cuisines. They have many benefits associated along with their flavour. So choose your pepper color depending upon the recipe you prepare. Till then, happy pepper cooking!