Tasting Pepper

Very few people ‘taste’ pepper in the way that connoisseurs taste wine or olive oil, meticulously assessing ‘nose’, ‘finish’, ‘bouquet’ and so on. Given patience and the necessary enthusiasm, I believe it is possible to do the same with pepper. The idea may seem bizarre and begs the question of how to taste a peppercorn, but it is certainly worth trying. Your palate will become receptive to pepper’s fascinating nuances of flavour and you’ll be able to use pepper in your cooking with greater discernment and confidence.