I find myself being really fascinated by how much power our spice racks hold. There was a time when herbs and spices were precious, rare items. They were used for medicinal purposes and there was also all sorts of superstitions connected to their use. My strange little interest has led me to write a mini-series on medicinal and magical properties of herbs and spices. Today class, we will be talking about Black Pepper so take out your pencils and note books, or maybe just pin it. This is one of my favourites. Enjoy xoxo babs
Medicinal:
Black pepper is said to help all sorts of belly issues, it alleviates gas,
helps constipation and improves digestion. Pepper is also known to have
anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant effects but most importantly it breaks down fat
cells, yey!
Magical/ Superstitious: Like I said, it breaks down fat
cells. It is also said that if you spill pepper it means you are going to have
an argument with someone.
Random: In the middle ages, when someone wanted
to cure grey hair, they mixed up a potion with half a cup of curd, the juice of
one lemon and a table spoon of ground black pepper. This reportedly helped the
hair pigments restore themselves. Best not to hold your breath though, you need
to do this once a week for 6 months before any changes appear. It is, as you
can imagine, far from scientifically prooven but similar recipes still do the
rounds.
Check out the rest of the series here.
interesting stuff!