Black Peppercorns

One of the world's most common and widely traded spice, pepper has been used since ancient times as a seasoning classically paired with salt. A much-prized commodity in the old days, it was referred to “black gold” and was used as collateral or even currency. Pepper enjoyed the prestige of being “a favorite ingredient of the most expensive Roman cookery.” Because pepper loses flavor and aroma through evaporation (which happens faster with ground pepper) and light exposure, culinary experts recommend grinding whole peppercorns immediately before use.