A pepper blend is a spice mix which features pepper as a central ingredient. Many cooks like to work with pepper because it has a distinctive zesty, tangy flavor which can liven up a wide variety of dishes, and pepper is so widely used around the world that it appears in most traditional cuisines. Most markets carry pepper blends, and it is also possible to make your own version at home to create an individualized flavor.
In the first sense, a pepper blend is a blend of various peppercorn varieties. Depending on when peppercorns are picked and how they are treated, they have various appearances and flavors, so a pepper blend might include white, green, pink, and black peppercorns, all of which come from the same plant. The blend of styles of peppercorn can create a very distinctive and layered flavor which some consumers find quite enjoyable.
At one time, peppercorns were quite valuable, with the spice being a very popular export. Because pepper is native to India, it should come as no surprise to learn that Indian cuisine often features exotic pepper blends and that the distinctive tang of pepper plays an important role in Indian food. From India, the spice trickled through the Middle East, reaching Egypt to be included in tombs by at least 1000 BCE, and probably much earlier. Europeans acquired a taste for the spice, where it was often used in food preservation in addition to various food preparations.
A pepper blend can also include some variety of pepper and other spices. For example, lemon pepper is a popular blend which combines the flavors of lemon and pepper, and pepper blends can also be made with sugar and various other spices. In Japan, pepper blends are often stationed on the table, allowing people to season their own food as desired.
Like other spices, pepper needs to be stored in a cool, dry place at room temperature, and it should be used within six months to a year for the best flavor. Ideally, pepper should also be ground freshly as needed, rather than being stored in a ground form. Some people like to keep blends of peppercorns in their pepper grinders to make it easy to grind a pepper blend as needed, and pepper blends can also be produced in spice grinders as needed. If you have a pepper blend in ground form, make sure to store it carefully, and date the container so that you know how old it is.
