Q: The majority of the time, the recipes I use call for freshly ground pepper, which is no problem and I agree with because it tastes better. But what confuses me is when they specify a measurement of the freshly ground pepper. Am I supposed to use my pepper mill over a teaspoon? Guesstimate how much each turn of the grinder is? Why include a measurement if it’s nearly impossible or cumbersome to measure?
A: This was a question that came up during our weekly live chat, where we help you level-up your skills in the kitchen. Here’s how to think about measuring spices for recipes.
You are 100 percent correct that freshly ground pepper tastes so much better than the pre-ground stuff and will make a big difference in your cooking. To best measure it, I grind it into a small bowl when developing recipes.
There are also some pepper grinders, such as those made by PepperMate or this cast iron model, that come with a compartment to grind the spice into, which makes measuring easier. Or if you feel comfortable, you can just eyeball it, which is what I do when I’m just cooking for myself.
The point of including a specific amount of black pepper in recipes — or any seasoning for that matter — is to enable people at home to replicate the dishes as closely as possible.
However, there will always be some variability that is unavoidable. For example, if I tested a dish with a jar of freshly opened dried herbs, and you can’t remember when you bought the one in your spice cabinet, our dishes will probably taste slightly different as spices lose strength over time.
To that end, when it’s safe to do so, you always want to taste and adjust recipes as you see fit. Yes, with salt and pepper, as is often specifically mentioned in recipes, but with any other seasonings that are called for, too. This can account for differences in potency as well as overall differences in taste preferences, and it’ll help you end up with a dish that tastes as best as it can to you.
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