Why are salt and pepper the "classic" dinner table seasoning?
Is there a reason we use salt and pepper on so many dishes and they can be found in any kitchen table at dinner time? Does it have to do with their flavor synergies, or were they just more available "back in the day"?
Best Answer
Salt is perhaps the most basic and effective flavour enhancer, and so it's fairly obvious why we have it on our dinner tables.
The popularity of pepper is down to the Romans, who were crazy about it. Thanks to the longevity of the Roman Empire, pepper was imported for hundreds of years, helping to establish it as the most popular spice, and keeping the price high.
Bill Bryson reports in At Home that:
When the Goths threatened to sack Rome in 408, the Romans bought them off with three thousand pounds of pepper.
Pictures about "Why are salt and pepper the "classic" dinner table seasoning?"
Why is there salt and pepper on tables?
Salt and pepper is the common name for edible salt and ground black pepper, which are ubiquitously paired on Western dining tables as to allow for the additional seasoning of food after its preparation alongside Ketchup.Why is everything seasoned with pepper?
While salt is a mineral that enhances the flavors of food, black pepper changes the flavor of food, adding depth and some spice.Why is salt and pepper king?
Because of the French king\u2026 But it was not until the seventeenth century when French started to pair spice and pepper as table accessories. Famous French king Louis XIV, the builder of Versailles, brought salt and pepper together on his dining table. Salt was often used in combination with sugar.Why is salt the most important seasoning?
Salt releases molecules within food that would otherwise be locked away. Some of these molecules are released into the air helping with the aroma of food and which is also important to our perception of flavour. Taste is something we detect on the tongue and salty is one of them along with sweet, sour, bitter & umami.Spice up your dinner table with this Salt \u0026 Pepper Shaker - 2 Pcs
More answers regarding why are salt and pepper the "classic" dinner table seasoning?
Answer 2
Here is a snarky but historically enlightening article on the combination from Slate magazine.
1) Salt enhances flavors that already exist in the food. Here is an article discussing the science behind the phenomenon from the ScienceFare site.
2) Pepper brightens flavor, and masks off-putting notes, such as staleness or blandness from overcooking. Black pepper was, at the time, cheap to produce, durable in shipping and shelf-stable for a long time, so the Romans settled on that, and we picked up the habit from them. Other cuisines have other condiments for the same effect - in Lebanon, they have sumac upon the table, in Morocco it's cumin, and in Jordan, za'atar. Here is an entertaining discussion on tabletop condiments around the world from Legal Nomads.
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Pixabay, ROMAN ODINTSOV, Karolina Grabowska, BULBFISH