Is my black pepper POSSESSED?

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Let's look at this objectively. Pepper, black, pink, white, it doesn't matter is highly aromatic. The oils i the peppercorns carry the flavor throughout whatever is seasoned with the spice. Before it is heated, there is the release of aromatic compounds through osmosis. When heated by any means, frying, baking, microwaves, etc., the peppercorns molecules become agitated, and begin to released their flavors and aromas at an accelerated rate. From this, you can extrapolate that the pepper flavor would be milder before heating. You could also assume that because of osmosis, foods seasoned with pepper would gain a more pronounced pepper flavor over time, as more of the flavor components of the peppercorn would be released, In other words, your Cole slaw would have a more pronounced pepper flavor the next day after it was made.

Hope this makes sense to you.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of he North
 
Have you made that exact recipe for cabbage without the pepper at all?

Just could be, it is your cabbage that has developed a peppery taste.

Or your taste buds have become very sensitive to the peppercorns and cabbage in that combo.

Also try whole peppercorns boiled in the steaming water first, remove peppercorns add cabbage, etc...


No, I haven't made the exact recipe without pepper before; what does that tell us?



With all due respect, your other suggestions kind of seem like wild guesses, and while I appreciate the effort, I need to hear from someone who has actually experienced something like this before, and what they did to fix it... other than never using pepper or any spice mixes containing any pepper in them ever again, lol.
 
Let's look at this objectively. Pepper, black, pink, white, it doesn't matter is highly aromatic. The oils i the peppercorns carry the flavor throughout whatever is seasoned with the spice. Before it is heated, there is the release of aromatic compounds through osmosis. When heated by any means, frying, baking, microwaves, etc., the peppercorns molecules become agitated, and begin to released their flavors and aromas at an accelerated rate. From this, you can extrapolate that the pepper flavor would be milder before heating. You could also assume that because of osmosis, foods seasoned with pepper would gain a more pronounced pepper flavor over time, as more of the flavor components of the peppercorn would be released, In other words, your Cole slaw would have a more pronounced pepper flavor the next day after it was made.

Hope this makes sense to you.

Seeeeya; Chief Longwind of he North

Microwaving could also have released volatile oils in the pepper, making it stronger




I wish I could get across just how much stronger this pepper flavor got; it went from a little hint of pepper flavor to so strong that it was absolutely inedible! (And my husband said the same thing, so this is not something unique to my taste buds.) None of the other recipes that I've made with the same pepper from the same grinder in the same microwave have had any issues with pepper flavor after cooking, much less this extreme effect. And the same thing goes for other recipes I've made with Old Bay, which has a little bit of black pepper in it that was enough to re-create the effect.



If what happened was just a normal physical process, why doesn't it happen with EVERY recipe, and why haven't I had 20 people telling me that pepper ALWAYS does that, so don't add more than one molecule of pepper to any dish or it's going to be inedible from pepper flavor, LOL?


I was assuming that this would be a known issue that many people had experienced, and they could tell me what they altered to eliminate the problem… but it appears that NOBODY has ever had this happen before! At this point, all I can do is just give up making cabbage, and move on to other things, thanks for trying! :)
 
Clearly. from our responses, it is NOT a known issue and we have not experienced it. At least to the degree you described.

We have simply trying to help you with our best efforts based on experience. Sorry we can't supply the "AHA MOMENT".
 
From what I gather this was your first attempt ever at making steamed cabbage?

I just did a quick google for steaming cabbage. I went to 10 sites. Not one of them added their salt and pepper during the steaming process.

I believe I mentioned earlier, why don't you try adding the pepper at the end? It seems to work for every one else?
 
From what I gather this was your first attempt ever at making steamed cabbage?

I just did a quick google for steaming cabbage. I went to 10 sites. Not one of them added their salt and pepper during the steaming process.

I believe I mentioned earlier, why don't you try adding the pepper at the end? It seems to work for every one else?


I've been describing my first 2 attempts at making steamed cabbage.



All of the recipes I collected for steaming cabbage specified adding salt and pepper BEFORE steaming, lol!



I've tried adding pepper at the end of a recipe; the few flakes that are all I want can only flavor the few bites that they touch, not the entire mass of food, no matter how much I stir. If other people are happy with that, that's wonderful for them; I only want food where the seasoning exists evenly throughout. Different strokes, I guess!
 
Since pepper does not dissolve in solution, you still have pepper flakes and flavor only where the pepper flakes stick. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is to add only whole peppercorns to the dish of cabbage and stir it frequently during the cooking process? But then there is the bother of picking them out completely, or that strong taste of pepper will be even more prominent!

Me, personally, prefer salt on my cabbage, as long as it's fried up with noodles. ;)
 
Since pepper does not dissolve in solution, you still have pepper flakes and flavor only where the pepper flakes stick. Maybe, just maybe, the answer is to add only whole peppercorns to the dish of cabbage and stir it frequently during the cooking process? But then there is the bother of picking them out completely, or that strong taste of pepper will be even more prominent!

Me, personally, prefer salt on my cabbage, as long as it's fried up with noodles. ;)


Something doesn't need to DISSOLVE in solution to transfer FLAVOR to the solution, right? Haven't you ever put fresh ground pepper in casserole, or in soup?



What benefit would there be of using whole peppercorns? Or more precisely, what benefit would there be to make it worth cracking a tooth if I didn't get them all picked out, lol? What would be the benefit of frequent stirring? How would they fix the problem?



Are you talking about Haluska? I know a couple of ladies who are Hungarian or part Hungarian who make it, but not very often because of calorie concerns.
 
I'm beginning to think that your pepper is possessed. I have never heard of this before and have certainly never experienced it. OTOH, I have never made steamed cabbage.
 
When I make soup, I put small aromatics like peppercorns, garlic cloves, and bay leaves into a tea ball so it's easy to remove them. Himself likes fresh ground pepper on many of his foods, so I leave it to him to zest up his serving.

I figured the stirring would distribute the pepper flavor throughout the entire casserole. I'm just spitballing here, so don't take my suggestions as gospel. [emoji38] I'm as confused as you are.

Yup, haluski. Polish/Slovak soul food. We have it only once or twice a year, so we don't worry if it's health food or not. ;)
 
When I make soup, I put small aromatics like peppercorns, garlic cloves, and bay leaves into a tea ball so it's easy to remove them. Himself likes fresh ground pepper on many of his foods, so I leave it to him to zest up his serving.

I figured the stirring would distribute the pepper flavor throughout the entire casserole. I'm just spitballing here, so don't take my suggestions as gospel. [emoji38] I'm as confused as you are.

Yup, haluski. Polish/Slovak soul food. We have it only once or twice a year, so we don't worry if it's health food or not. ;)


I think putting all your "chunks" in a tea ball so you can easily be sure you've completely removed them afterwards is a brilliant idea! You could market a modified version of that, and just call it something else; I think people would buy it!


It seems like every country in that part of Europe has a pretty similar version of the cabbage/noodle dish, with a similar name… And you always hear it referred to as comfort food, which is so hard to imagine for Americans, who mostly only eat cabbage on March 17!
 
I think putting all your "chunks" in a tea ball so you can easily be sure you've completely removed them afterwards is a brilliant idea! You could market a modified version of that, and just call it something else; I think people would buy it!

It's already out there - it's called a bouquet garni. The classic French recipe typically includes peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and parsley stems (reserve the leaves for garnish) and tied up in cheesecloth. A tea ball, of course, is reusable. People often customize the herbs and spices to their taste.

It seems like every country in that part of Europe has a pretty similar version of the cabbage/noodle dish, with a similar name… And you always hear it referred to as comfort food, which is so hard to imagine for Americans, who mostly only eat cabbage on March 17!
Central Europe traded hands during hundreds of years of war before WWII pretty much ended it, so their recipes traveled with the royalty, the nobility and their armies.

I see you're in San Diego. Most of the early settlers in the Northeast and Midwest were peasants who came from Central Europe and brought their food traditions with them. Cabbage and various accompaniments are still pretty popular there.
 
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It's already out there - it's called a bouquet garni. The classic French recipe typically includes peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and parsley stems (reserve the leaves for garnish) and tied up in cheesecloth. A tea ball, of course, is reusable. People often customize the herbs and spices to their taste.

Central Europe traded hands during hundreds of years of war before WWII pretty much ended it, so their recipes traveled with the royalty and their armies.

I see you're in San Diego. Most of the early settlers in the Northeast and Midwest came from Central Europe and brought their food traditions with them. Cabbage and various accompaniments are still pretty popular there.




Cool French term! I can just feel my IQ going up! If someone sold a metal or even a plastic version of the… bouquet… yeah, what you said, LOL… I think there might be a market.



I have a Ukrainian neighbor whose mother makes a traditional cabbage roll that is nearly indistinguishable from the traditional cabbage roll that a Hungarian friend makes, the seasonings are just a little bit different. Good ideas get around! The Hungarian friend makes Haluska with kielbasa and most of a stick of butter; the half-Hungarian friend doesn't use sausage, and just a little bit of butter, but she's also part Czech and Romanian... and Jewish, which might be a different food tradition. Fascinating stuff!


I like cabbage, and I wish there was a restaurant near me that sold some version of it… Other than ASIAN dishes with cabbage, which are a very different thing of course. I live in a highly Filipino part of SD, so there's a lot of their food here… I've got to say, I could live on poncit and lumpia!
 
maybe a little of sugar would have cut the peppery taste.....sorry it was ruined for you.......been there and done that.....lots!


Useful to know, thank you! I threw a bunch of vinegar in there, which neutralized a lot of pepper flavor… but there was just so MUCH of it that it was still too much. My steamed cabbage ended up being essentially overly-peppery coleslaw, LOL!
 
Peppers are like that. It is the oils and whatsnot in them that has the flavor.

Note any pepper you put in chili for example does in fact increase its influence on the flavor more as it sits. Moreso if it cooks.

Black pepper is no exception.

T
 
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