It’s black and white and it’s everywhere—on dining tables, kitchen benches, in fancy restaurants, household pantries, and in little sachets at fast food places and service stations. What is it? It’s the humble ‘salt and pepper’, of course. This dynamic duo has been gracing our world for centuries; without it the mind cannot fathom what the world would have been like. This is the story of salt and pepper.
Salt: The Indispensable Seasoning
Salt is one of the basic tastes along with sour, bitter, and sweet. Not only does it please the tongue, it's essential to the human body: salt maintains the balance of fluids, and keeps the body appropriately hydrated. Yet, there is ample salt in the Western diet. Healthy adults need only 6 to 8 grams of salt per day, but given that salt makes food taste ‘moreish’, is relatively cheap, preserves and doesn’t deteriorate, it is overused in pre-packaged and fast foods. It’s no wonder that over the recent years salt has received, and continues to receive, a lot of criticism—although it’s not salt’s fault per se, it’s our abuse of it.
The History of Salt
Salt was the first seasoning to grace humanity: its history has been traced as far back as the 20th century BC in China, though the origin of salt in the ocean remains a mystery.
Salt is mainly sourced from underground deposits or is harvested in various ways from the ocean. Since many communities did not have access to underground salt deposits or the sea, rulers in the 1st century AD saw the advantage of applying salt taxes to vastly increase their earnings. In fact, such was the value of salt that it is the source for the etymology of ‘salary’: Roman troops were originally remunerated with salt rations, which, eventually, became a cash payment.
Salt Today
In the times of the TV reality show Masterchef and a multitude of celebrity chefs, food is considered fashionable—and salt is no exception. There’s black salt (halite), which is the true rock salt mined from underground salt deposits, and then there are other, more fashionable and well-known, salts—such as the flaky pink-tinged Murray River salt (from Australia) and the Maldon sea salt (from England). Use of such salts can raise the calibre of restaurants and, in households, earn home-cooks the title of ‘foodie.’
Pepper: The King of Spices
Black pepper is the fruit (berries) of the plant Piper nigrum—a vine that can climb over 10 metres in height. Pepper’s ‘heat’ comes from the molecule piperine—a structurally more complex molecule than salt. There are over 1000 species of Piper, but the P.nigrum is the one that is used the most.
When the vine first bears peppercorns, they are a deep-green colour. As they ripen, the berries change from green to yellow and then, finally, a bright reddish-pink when fully ripe. It is the green peppercorns that are dried into black peppercorns. White pepper, on the other hand, is actually the ‘heart’ of the black peppercorn—i.e. the outer dried black husk has been removed.
The History of Pepper
Native to Kerala—previously known as the Malabar region—in South India, pepper has had, perhaps, a much more glamorous history than its counterpart, salt. This pungent spice played a major role in the history of spice trading—in fact, it may have even started it.
Pepper’s history can be traced back to 1000 BC, where it was referred to in early Sanskrit writings. Around the changeover from BC to AD, the value of pepper rose markedly in the race to get it to Europe; this ‘race’ led to great voyage discoveries of ‘new’ continents—such as Vasco da Gama’s discovery of the Malabar coast in 1948—which paved the way for spice trade routes.
Pepper was considered ‘black gold’—not only was it a highly prized trading commodity, it was used as a currency, too. And, by the Middle Ages, pepper was considered so valuable that landlords in Europe demanded their tenants pay rent in peppercorns; thus, giving rise to the term ‘peppercorn rent’.
Pepper Today
Pepper enjoyed its glory all over the world, as its control and supply changed a few ‘hands’ over the centuries—from the Orient to many of the European countries. By the time England was the dominant player in the 18th century, however, the value of pepper was much lower and it became less profitable. Nevertheless, pepper is still heavily traded and accounts for a quarter of the spices traded today.
Pepper is not only the oldest, but also the most widely used spice. It's the third most common ingredient used after water and, of course, salt. It’s hardly surprising, since this pungent spice has the power to stimulate the senses with its aroma and liven the palate with its anticipated ‘heat’. Pepper is a universal spice, as it works well with most, if not all, cuisines. And, like salt, pepper is a culinary genius: allowing both the cook and the diner to turn something uninspiring into something flavoursome.
Salt and Pepper: How They Met
It is apt that salt met pepper in France: a country of both romance and sophisticated cuisine. In Europe, until the 17th century, sugared foods were served together with salted dishes—it was the French that created the salt-sweet divide and, in doing so, lay the foundation for the salt and pepper partnership.
King Louis XIV deserves a special mention for his role in this culinary marriage—it was he who paired salt with pepper: The king had proclaimed that pepper was superior to any other spice and, therefore, it became the only spice acceptable for use in his royal court. As a result, salt and pepper became bonded—forever.
References:
- Hemphill I, Spice notes: a cook’s compendium of herbs and spices, 1st edn, Macmillan, Sydney, 2002
- Shrem M, ‘When did salt and pepper become a pair?’ Slash Food, August 2008
- The International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (Icsid), 9 April 2010
- Wakely L, ‘Piperine homepage’, Allatomes.com, 2002
- ‘Where did salt and pepper come from?’ Professor’s House
Lesh Karan - Lesh is a professional writer and editor. She has a background in pharmacy and pharmaceutical science, and is currently studying ...
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