Went 8 years swearing by white pepper until a sous chef caught me

Honestly, I was that guy who put white pepper in everything because I thought it was "cleaner" and "more professional" than black pepper. Last month at a Sunday brunch service, the new sous chef pulled me aside and showed me how my white pepper was actually making my sauces taste dusty and flat. He had me do a blind taste test with 3 different dishes and I guessed wrong on all of them. Now I'm on a black pepper kick using it fresh ground and my mushroom soup actually has actual flavor now. Has anyone else been clinging to a kitchen myth that got completely wrecked by a coworker?

2 comments

2 Comments

wesley38522d ago

Isn't that how it goes? We overcomplicate everything until someone shows us the simple truth.

jesse_williams6222d ago

Man I gotta say I lasted about 4 years on that white pepper train before a line cook called me out at 3am during a closing shift... He straight up told me my Alfredo tasted like old socks and I was so mad until I tried his version with fresh black pepper. Turns out white pepper is just black pepper with the outer layer stripped off and it loses all that nice volatile oil in the process. Now I keep a little pepper grinder in my pocket like some kind of addict but at least my food actually tastes like something. The whole "white pepper is more refined" thing is just marketing nonsense that chefs back in the 80s pushed to feel fancy.