# "Freshly ground black pepper" and other cooking show nitpicks
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [April 1, 2016, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793 "2016-04-01T00:35:29Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/21 "2016-04-01T14:56:17Z")
What, you don’t wash your hands before you cook?
I usually cook with kosher salt, which doesn’t work in a shaker. I keep it in a jar with a little metal scoop inside.
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### Author:  [@Orwell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orwell)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/22 "2016-04-01T14:57:47Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#):
>
> What, you don’t wash your hands before you cook?
Before I cook? Sure. But while I’m preparing, I don’t’ wash my hands before adding every spice.
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### Author:  [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/23 "2016-04-01T14:58:19Z")
Mise en place isn’t just about looking nice or looking like a cooking show. It’s necessary since some of the steps in a recipe come so quickly there’s not enough time to prep the next ingredient before it’s needed. Plus I need time after chopping the vegetables to clean the blood off the blade, and apply the antiseptic and bandages.
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### Author:  [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/24 "2016-04-01T15:04:27Z")
I was given an electric pepper grinder in an office gift exchange. I remember thinking how useless this would be. Until I used it. Big burst of pepper flavor from the freshly-ground corns that you do NOT get from the pre-ground stuff. Much like the difference between fresh herbs and dried herbs. Same item, but not the same taste.
And yes, those darn tv chefs ARE arrogant. They squeal and fuss if forced to cook with canned fruit or veggies, for example, and God forbid they have to work with anything premade. Always makes me laugh. I suspect most, if not all of them, grew up with exactly that kind of food served to them and they seem to have survived. We get it, it’s not your preference, but get over yourselves.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/25 "2016-04-01T15:12:38Z")
> [@Orwell](#):
>
> OK, I can kind of understand wanting to use fresh ground pepper, yet having it ready to go in a bowl. But I am mildly perturbed at all of the TV chefs using bowls of salt, and taking pinches out with their fingers. Well, la de da. You just shoved your dirty fingers into the salt supply to use maybe one-tenth of it. What’s wrong with a salt shaker?
I have an open canister of kosher salt. I can measure our surprisingly accurately between my fingers, which is faster than a spoon. Shakers suck, the only way to measure from a shaker is to shake our into my palm or a dish and then measure, and that wastes salt.
I wash my hands a lot when I cook. And if a little bacteria ends up in my salt…so what? It’s salt. It will kill anything short of a tardigrade.
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### Author:  [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/26 "2016-04-01T15:48:13Z")
Does American pepper not come as whole peppercorns with an attached, practically disposable, grinder as almost the default, nowadays? That’s certainly [the case in South Africa](https://secure.robertsons.co.za/uploads/Black-Peppercorns-Updated.png), I don’t think I’ve loaded a dedicated grinder with pepper in years, although I do reuse the 'disposables" for other spices, not just throw them out.
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### Author:  [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/27 "2016-04-01T16:01:32Z")
They do, but some people still haven’t gotten the word on fresh pepper, whilst others of us prefer our own blend of peppercorns, which necessitates a separate grinder.
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### Author:  [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/28 "2016-04-01T16:02:16Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> Does American pepper not come as whole peppercorns with an attached, practically disposable, grinder as almost the default, nowadays? That’s certainly [the case in South Africa](https://secure.robertsons.co.za/uploads/Black-Peppercorns-Updated.png), I don’t think I’ve loaded a dedicated grinder with pepper in years, although I do reuse the 'disposables" for other spices, not just throw them out.
A lot of it does, that for certain. I buy my spices in bulk from a local spice store because I don’t use huge quantities of anything and this way I can keep my inventory nice and fresh, so in my case at least, I have a little baggie of peppercorns that I load into my grinder.
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### Author:  [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/29 "2016-04-01T16:07:15Z")
That sort of thing is getting to be more and more common. We have a pepper grinder and just buy whole pepper corns and refill it.
But generations grew up with “salt and pepper” on the table, and it was always pre-ground pepper that could be months or literally years old. I had no idea until 20 years ago that pepper had a flavor besides “hot”.
Yeah, it makes a huge difference. I actually have a grinder with whole cloves and one with cumin in the drawer as well.
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### Author:  [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/30 "2016-04-01T16:17:50Z")
I like when the TV chefs measure with their hands. “Toss in a pinch of salt.” TV chef then grabs a fistful of salt, with salt granules spilling from in between chef’s fingers, and throws it in the pot. (This may be a slight exaggeration, but not much.)
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### Author:  [@DrCube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrCube)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/31 "2016-04-01T16:24:39Z")
> [@MrDibble](#):
>
> Does American pepper not come as whole peppercorns with an attached, practically disposable, grinder as almost the default, nowadays? That’s certainly [the case in South Africa](https://secure.robertsons.co.za/uploads/Black-Peppercorns-Updated.png), I don’t think I’ve loaded a dedicated grinder with pepper in years, although I do reuse the 'disposables" for other spices, not just throw them out.
It’s more expensive than bulk peppercorns and the disposable grinders suck compared to the dedicated ones. But they certainly are sold in every grocery store I’ve been to in the last decade or so.
In my house, the salt and pepper on the table is a [pig](http://www.amazon.com/Blue-stoneware-Including-Spoon-Keeper/dp/B000F7DTKG) full of kosher salt and a pepper grinder. No more shakers for us. (Okay, we have shakers and could dig them out if guests prefer, but we hardly ever use them.)
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### Author:  [@Bill\_Door](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_Door)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/32 "2016-04-01T16:46:01Z")
> [@Orwell](#):
>
> Before I cook? Sure. But while I’m preparing, I don’t’ wash my hands before adding every spice.
Well yeah, but you wash your hands and they’re clean, right? And then say you add a few leaves of basil, are your hands dirty now? Do you need to wash them before you add a pinch of salt? No, your hands are clean, your ingredients are clean, as long as you use the spices to avoid cross contamination you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t mix up a bunch of ground beef and raw eggs by hand and then stick my fingers in the salt, but mostly using your hands is fine.
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### Author:  [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/33 "2016-04-01T16:51:31Z")
> [@Orwell](#):
>
> OK, I can kind of understand wanting to use fresh ground pepper, yet having it ready to go in a bowl. But I am mildly perturbed at all of the TV chefs using bowls of salt, and taking pinches out with their fingers. Well, la de da. You just shoved your dirty fingers into the salt supply to use maybe one-tenth of it. What’s wrong with a salt shaker? There are all sorts of salt shakers that can deliver just a little or a lot at a time. And salt doesn’t have to be freshly ground to taste good.
>
> Now this complaint doesn’t apply to the pre-measured amounts in a small bowl, like on Test Kitchen. I get the time savings when preparing the dish if the spices are pre-measured. I’m talking about the ubiquitous open bowl of salt.
Huh. That’s exactly how the salt in our house is used. No shaker, just a salt bowl/cellar or ramekin full of it to sprinkle on your food and use in cooking. I find it far more convenient.
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### Author:  [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/34 "2016-04-01T17:21:09Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#):
>
> I’m watching Martha Stewart on PBS right now. She just said (something that TV chefs often say), “Add half a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper,” as she scoops out half a teaspoon from a bowl on the counter that contains a cup or more of ground black pepper.
>
> Did she or one of her [del]slaves[/del] helpers grind that huge quantity of pepper before the show so she would have half a teaspoon for this recipe?
Did she actually say that she was using freshly ground pepper, or did she just recommend using freshly ground pepper while doing stuff?
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### Author:  [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/35 "2016-04-01T17:34:20Z")
I always wonder about the lowly person who has to wash all the dishes when the show’s over. Some of those chefs go through so many! Bonus points to the Chopped dishwashers where sometimes they have to deal with burnt-on disasters.
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### Author:  [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/36 "2016-04-01T17:45:34Z")
> [@Bill\_Door](#):
>
> Well yeah, but you wash your hands and they’re clean, right? And then say you add a few leaves of basil, are your hands dirty now? Do you need to wash them before you add a pinch of salt? No, your hands are clean, your ingredients are clean, as long as you use the spices to avoid cross contamination you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t mix up a bunch of ground beef and raw eggs by hand and then stick my fingers in the salt, but mostly using your hands is fine.
The proper term is “clean enough.”
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### Author:  [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/37 "2016-04-01T18:07:46Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#):
>
> Did she actually say that she was using freshly ground pepper, or did she just recommend using freshly ground pepper while doing stuff?
Congratulations on being more nitpicky than me. :rolleyes:
She reached into the bowl of ground pepper, pinched some, and sprinkled, while saying, “Add freshly ground pepper.”
Since it was Martha Stewart, I did not interpret this as a case of, “Do as I say, not as I do,” or, " **You** be sure and use freshly ground pepper even though **I’m** using pepper that has been sitting out here on the counter for a month."
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/38 "2016-04-01T18:09:16Z")
It very well may be pepper from a cardboard tube. Nobody has to know what it tastes like, after all, and the product that comes out of the oven probably isn’t the one that goes into the oven.
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### Author:  [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/39 "2016-04-01T18:23:50Z")
Am I the only one whose pepper mill gets clogged with steam if I ground pepper above a pan on the stove?
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### Author:  [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)
#### Post date: [April 1, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/freshly-ground-black-pepper-and-other-cooking-show-nitpicks/750793/40 "2016-04-01T18:28:21Z")
Remember to _use the good kind_…
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