Seasoning terminology

[Rik vonTrense]

In a fish sausage recipe I am following there are the following additives....

powdered cereal filler.

Pepper salt.

Now there is ordinary salt and garlic salt and also cayenne pepper...... but what is pepper salt? is it a mixture of salt and pepper if so what ratio?

Also what is cereal filler ?

Answers on a fifty pound note please..............

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[TJ Buffalo]

Hi Rik
My guess is that cereal filler would be something like finely ground oatmeal, breadcrumbs, or rusk. As for the peppersalt, I've never heard of it, is it possible that someone forgot to put a comma and space between the two words?

[Rik vonTrense]

TJ.....

I am sorry there should be a space between the two words but this recipe also contains Rusk and salt and pepper besides the "pepper salt" and the "cereal filler".I thought there would be something different as they would hardly have two lots under different names.....would they?

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[TJ Buffalo]

Hmmm, I find out something new every day. Out of curiosity, I did a search on 'peppersalt' and found it as a 'made' ingredient in several Chinese dishes. It's simple, somewhat:

Peppersalt
2 Tbsp Salt
2 Tbsp Szechuan peppercorns
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-low heat 1 minute. Add peppercorns and stir-fry 5 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and let cool. Grind peppercorns into a fine powder with a mortar and pestle or pepper grinder. Add salt; mix well. Store in a tightly convered container. Makes about 1/4 cup.

The szechuan peppercorns are the kicker, I guess, they're actually not a peppercorn, but from a different plant entirely:
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Sichuan pepper and others (Zanthoxylum piperitum, simulans, bungeanum, rhetsa, acanthopodium)

Used plant part

Dried fruits. The aroma and, if present, also the pungency reside in the mostly brown fruit wall (pericarp, �shell�), not in the deep black seeds. Often, the seeds are omitted. I have repeatedly read that the seeds have bitter taste, but was never able to find that for myself. A better reason to remove them is their unpleasant, gritty texture that almost feels like sand between the teeth.

The Korean species Z. schinifolium has aromatic seeds which are preferred for usage, although the pericarp could also be used, as the flavours are the same.

The spice as commercially available very often contains significant amounts of stem material, mostly the very tough and pointed thorns, which can be harmful if swallowed; it's best to remove them before usage.

In Japan, young leaves of the Sichuan pepper tree are used fresh, both as flavouring and decoration (kinome or konome [木の芽, きのめ, このめ]).
Plant family

Rutaceae (citrus family).
Sensory quality

The dried fruits of sichuan pepper and its relatives have an aromatic odour that, for most species, can be described as lemon-like, with more or less pronounced warm and woodsy overtones. Some of the species have deviating flavour, e.g., Z. alatum (spicy) and Z. avicennae and Z. schinifolium both of which have an anise aroma.

The taste of most species is pungent and biting; it may take some time to develop, but in the end produces a strangly numbing, almost anaesthetic feeling on the tongue. Again, Z. schinifolium is an exception because it has only small pungent quality.

Sichuan pepper (Z. piperitum) leaves have a fresh flavour somewhat in between of mint and lime.
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This was from Gernot Katzer's spice pages at
http://www.uni-graz.at/~katzer/engl/index.html
it's a really good resource on spices. I'd use the stuff sparingly, I just bought some of the Sichuan pepper, and he's got the taste dead on. As for the cereal filler, if rusk is already in the sausage, I'd say try things without additional filler and see what develops.

[tristar]

TJ,

You may be a genius! You have possibly found the answer to my sausage making problems,

it may take some time to develop, but in the end produces a strangly numbing, almost anaesthetic feeling on the tongue.

with this ingredient in sufficient quantities, nobody would be able to tell how bad my sausages actually are!

Regards,
Richard

[Rik vonTrense]

Thanks TJ.....

I keep szechuan peppercorns in my spice rack as we have a lot of chinese food and it has a smokey woody flavour........

I though it was a made up thingy in this country they often use the term "Chefs seasoning" which is a mixture of salt and pepper and sometimes MSG
but if this is used there is normally an explanation of the contents.

Tristar....

Just chuck in more chilli that will do the trick of numbing tongues.


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