Will it matter if I use black pepper instead of white pepper powder?

Question

in gumbo?

Also, is file powder absolutely necessary to gumbo?

Answer 1

White pepper has a little milder flavor than black pepper, but in gumbo it shouldn't matter. I routinely substitute black pepper for white pepper in my recipes. Keep this in mind... if you are making a cream soup or a lighter colored soup, usually the recipe calls for white pepper so it doesn't look like you have dirt floating around in your soup. You can't see the white pepper like you see the black pepper. But as long as you don't mind the color... the taste is usually just the same.

Bottom line... unless you are worried about the color... just use what you have! (unless you are entertaining Martha Stewart)

Answer 2

White Pepper Powder

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Will it matter if I use black pepper instead of white pepper powder?
in gumbo?

Answer 4

From Wikipedia:

Gumbos can be broadly divided into three categories: those thickened with okra, those thickened with filé powder, and those thickened exclusively with roux. Modern recipes of both okra and filé categories generally call for a dark roux that provides additional thickening and flavoring. Okra and filé powder are, at least historically, not used together in the same dish. You may, however, see a lighter roux combined with roped (sauteed plain to remove the 'stringy' effect) okra and topped with file' after cooking for the sweet flavor.

Filé powder, ground dried sassafras leaves, was in wide use by the native Choctaws (kombo,in the native language and likely the origin of the word gumbo) when European colonists arrived. In modern recipes, filé gumbos sometimes use roux as their primary thickener, with the actual filé powder added as preferred at the table by the eater.

A Dark Roux used in a Cajun gumbo and sometimes in a Creole gumbo is cooked until extremely dark. Butter will burn if used to make this type of roux, so lard or oil are the fats of choice. If the roux is to be used with okra, a lighter color may be desired, as the flavor of a dark roux is quite overpowering. Most Creole gumbos do not use as dark a roux as the Cajuns, but a medium reddish-brown type roux; the word roux comes from the french word "rouge", meaning "red." The "holy trinity" of onion, celery, and bell pepper will often be cooked in the hot roux itself before the stock is added.

The traditional practice of using okra in the summer (in season) and filé in the winter has played a role in defining the kinds of gumbo usually associated with each. These associations are not hard and fast rules, but more of a general guide. For example a purely seafood gumbo is usually not thickened with filé, while one that is purely meat and game would usually not have okra. This reflects traditional practices of fishing and crabbing in warmer weather and hunting and butchering in cooler weather.

Answer 5

The taste of black pepper and white pepper are similar. The main difference is in the appearance -- it'll have black flecks in it.

Answer 6

It won't make a difference in gumbo.I prefer the flavor of white pepper in most recipes,especially soup or cream sauces.
File Powder is more of a thickening agent.
Thanks for making me hungry for Gumbo!!! ;)

Answer 7

Doesn't matter on the pepper and you can use Okra instead of file powder(sassafras)

Answer 8

black pepper is a bit stronger than white, but in gumbo I think it would be fine.

Answer 9

No, it won't, i actually prefer black pepper, it is stronger and nicer flavoured I think

Answer 10

shouldn't matter in gumbo...if you were making a white sauce where you can see the pepper flecks, then it would matter