What’s up with that!?
The stuff stinks.
It’s the same thing as black pepper, but with the outer husk removed. It’s really just to avoid having unsightly black bits in dishes where it would detract from the appearance.
I have read that in a cook book, but I ain’t buying it.
When I say the stuff stinks, I mean, it, smells, bad!!!
Also
The only restaurants where I have ever noticed it, on the table, is Chinese???
It tastes quite a bit different. Indispensable for hot and sour soup.
I see it in Viet restaurants too. There it is the result of the French occupation of Vietnam. Perhaps it migrated north?
krisolov has it right. I used to wait tables at a family-owned Chinese restaurant, and white pepper was used instead of black.
I like it.
My husband worked for a caterer which specialized in Italian and American foods. They used white pepper in the potato salad, just for looks. I don’t notice too much difference from black pepper in either scent or taste.