The Ultimate Tex-Mex Chili Recipe, Spotlight on Urfa Peppers and Capsaicin, Plus How to Combat the Harmful Effects of Sedentary Behavior Cold days almost demand comfort foods, and one of my favorites is a hearty bowl of chili. I love the depth of flavor you can build with spices along with the convenience of cooking […]
Rack of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary Recipe, Spotlight on Lamb, Healthy Eating Debunked and The Stairs Count Having traveled around the world and sampled some of the most amazing grass-fed lamb dishes, from grilled chops to tandoori roasts to casseroles, I’m always shocked by the statistic that Americans barely eat one pound of lamb […]
Garlic- and Pepper-Crusted Beef Tenderloin Recipe, Spotlight on Black Peppercorns, How to Dry-age Beef at Home and Buying the Best Garlic Over the course of 20 years traveling the globe—originally as a food, wine, and travel writer and more recently as the Olive Oil Hunter®—I’ve marveled at the rich flavors I’ve experienced across dozens of […]
Ancient Indian and Egyptian cultures used peppercorns as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic. Rich in antimicrobial compounds, pepper acted as a preservative, too. Contemporary research has found that there’s science to back up those early practices, thanks primarily to the powerful compound piperine, the source of its spicy punch. It has enzymes that help the body better absorb both conventional and herbal medications—turmeric supplements often come with piperine for this reason. There’s even the possibility that it could play a role in the development of medications to combat illnesses as varied as Parkinson’s, cancer, and depression. According to studies in Phytotherapy Research and other journals, although research is still in the early stages (most has been done only in the lab), one day there could be value well beyond pepper’s great taste for making it an important part of the diet.
