Pepper - Is It Really Better to Grind Peppercorns Instead of Using Ground Pepper?

Last week, I was watching a rerun of the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network and I heard Ina Garten explain that she grinds her peppercorns in a spice mill and then keeps them in a little bowl next to the salt on her counter.  As she spoke, she took pinches of both salt and pepper from cute little white dishes and tossed them into whatever she was cooking. 

Switch to last night.  I had insomnia and pulled an old Josephine Tey off the shelf.  There, toward the end, the detective is thwarted by his captive tossing the contents of an entire pepper pot into Inspector Grant's face, and making his getaway.  Pepper pot? 

English Pepper Pots

So, this morning I went and searched for pepper pots and discovered an adorable antique pepper pot on sale for $51.00, made of sterling silver, over at Tias.com.  I also found antique condiment sets, where salt and pepper were joined by dry mustard on tables of the past. 

Pepper Grinders

Of course, today we see grinders everywhere.  They're even selling pepper in little throw-away plastic grinders at the grocery store.  But is this better than having your pepper ground before you use it?

Grinding Peppercorns versus Buying Ground Pepper

I've done some web surfing on the subject of pepper this morning, and here's what I've learned.  First, ground peppercorns are better than buying pepper that's already been ground for you.  Freeze a peppercorn, and it'll last almost indefinitely.  Ground pepper, just like any other spice, has a shelf life.

However, grinding peppercorns as you need better may not be the best thing, either.  A stiff grinder doesn't produce that much pepper - and you may stop grinding before you've obtained all the spice that you need (or that the recipe calls for).  Watch for this -- I know this is true for me.  Grind onto a white cloth, and see how little is coming out despite all your elbow grease.

So, the Barefoot Contessa does it again. 

Grinding peppercorns in a spice mill (me, I use a $20 coffee bean grinder with a handmade "Spices" label on the side) for a couple of weeks worht of ground pepper at a time, keeping the rest of the peppercorns frozen, is the best option. 

Plus you get to go find yourself a really cool pepper pot. 

Strokes Are Preventable Reports MainStream Medicine

Yesterday, there was an article in USA Today that gathered information from several different sources to report that strokes are preventable, for the most part - and by the way, people living in 8 states have a 12% higher chance of getting a stroke than the rest of the country.

Those Southern states are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. 

Not much to report on why the populace of these select states are at higher risk.  You'd think they'd be checking into diet, shared vegetation, and the like - but nothing was said (er, written) about that, and this struck me as interesting. Or suspect.  Why not Kentucky or Florida here?  Where's Texas, if you've got Arkansas and Louisiana? 

The article goes on to give various tips to avoid a stroke.  You've heard them.  Don't smoke.  Don't drink.  Don't eat salt.  Walk regularly.  Don't get fat and lose it if you are. 

There's lots more information regarding strokes over at the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the Stroke Association. 

 Diet and Exercise Keys to Preventing Stroke, Heart Disease, and all Degenerative Diseases

However, just a couple of months ago ABC News reported that following the Mediterranean Diet could prevent strokes - and dementia.  This, from researchers at Columbia University - where they admit there's just not that much mainstream research into this sort of thing. 

Meanwhile, on the alternative medicine front, Dr. Mercola has been telling folk for a long while that the key to preventing strokes (and all degenerative disease, including dementia) is to get physically fit and stay that way -- and to eat the right chemicals for your body.   

Interestingly, Dr. Mercola also points to studies that show one of the biggest stroke factors is STRESS.  The higher the stress level, the more at risk you are for a "brain attack." 

Food is just a bunch of chemicals that you ingest in order to keep your body going, after all.  And everything that you imbibe as well as put on your skin (think make-up and deodorant) impacts your health. 

So, to prevent stroke:

Follow a good diet.
Get fit.
Walk every day.
Keep your stress level down.

In other words, follow the lifestyle that we talk about here!!!!  Have a great week, Dear Reader!

Image:  Edward Arthur Walton's A Morning Walk (1886), Wikimedia Commons public domain

Seeking Wisdom? Read a Chapter of Proverbs Every Day

Reading a chapter from the book of Proverbs every day is an old-time tradition -- the fact that there are 32 chapters is such a nice overlap with the monthly calendar, after all.  And, it's not hard to do -- the chapters are short (though there's a lot in them to ponder).  In fact, BiblePlan.Org will email you a Proverbs chapter every day (whichever version you prefer) if you subscribe for free to their online service. 

Today's chapter (May 2nd, so Proverbs 2) is a great example. I've cut and pasted a version of the chapter below (from the Bible Gateway), and I've also taken out the standard margins and individual verse references. 

Why?  Not only does it read easier this way, but it's closer to how the author wrote it.  Those verse references throughout the Holy Bible are great for organization, but I find that they can be a stumbling block to me when I'm reading ... so I will often cut and paste portions into a document and take the numbers out.  It's interesting to see what comes through when I do this, and I thought I'd share this learning tool with you, too, Dear Reader. 

Reading Proverbs and Voluntary Simplicity

How does this help in living a simple life?  Live a life of voluntary simplicity means going against the flow of today's modern American culture - and sad to say, there's a lot of foolishness out there.  Probably not new, right? 

For me, starting the day out with Proverbs helps keep me grounded.  It helps me to remember that as I make choices during the day, that I need to ask myself "is this wise?"  and to monitor what's influencing me.  As dedicated to this lifestyle as I am -- and I walk this talk -- I'm only human and I can be influenced into purchasing stuff I don't need, or buying some fast food because I'm running late and there's so much left on the task list. 

Reading Proverbs is a practical tool that really helps me.  As amazing as that is, as I sit here on May 2, 2010, reading words written by King Solomon, son of David, ancestor of Jesus, around 2500 years ago. 

Sidenote

What I find interesting as I write this is how I have come to take for granted how practical it is to live as a follower of Christ -- something that I think gets lost a lot, at least by me.  Living a simple life is living a Christian life from my perspective.  More on this pondering in another post, on another day.....

Here is Proverbs 2 (New Living Translation):

The Benefits of Wisdom


My child, listen to what I say,and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom, and concentrate on understanding.

Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver; seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord, and you will gain knowledge of God.

For the Lord grants wisdom! From his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
He grants a treasure of common sense to the honest. He is a shield to those who walk with integrity. He guards the paths of the just and protects those who are faithful to him.

Then you will understand what is right, just, and fair, and you will find the right way to go. For wisdom will enter your heart, and knowledge will fill you with joy.

Wise choices will watch over you. Understanding will keep you safe.
Wisdom will save you from evil people, from those whose words are twisted.

These men turn from the right way to walk down dark paths.
They take pleasure in doing wrong, and they enjoy the twisted ways of evil.
Their actions are crooked, and their ways are wrong.

Wisdom will save you from the immoral woman, from the seductive words of the promiscuous woman.
She has abandoned her husband and ignores the covenant she made before God.
Entering her house leads to death; it is the road to the grave.
The man who visits her is doomed. He will never reach the paths of life.

Follow the steps of good men instead, and stay on the paths of the righteous.
For only the godly will live in the land, and those with integrity will remain in it.
But the wicked will be removed from the land, and the treacherous will be uprooted.

Image:  The Wisdom of Solomon by James Joseph Tissot (1836-2902), public domain, Wikimedia Commons.