Give your meat dishes the ultimate French touch with a bit of Bénédicta’s Pepper Sauce! Pepper sauce, or “sauce au poivre,” is a classic French sauce that stands out in its own right. Made with crushed black peppercorns, a dash of Cognac and whipping cream, it heightens the taste of a perfect steak, rich magret de canard, or elegant pork loin. Pepper has a long and intriguing history in Western Europe. The spice’s name comes from the Sanskrit "pippali," which became πέπερι (peperi) in Greek, then piper in Latin. Pepper originally grows on India’s West Coast, in Kerala, and its use in Greece began at the apogee of Alexander the Great’s reign. In the Middle Ages, spices like pepper were rare – so rare, in fact, that spices were used as currency. This is where the French expression for cash comes from: “espèces” is a distortion of “épices.” Attempts to monopolize the trade of pepper and other spices dominated the competition amongst seafaring European kingdoms for decades. Pepper did not become a mainstay in French kitchens until France became a colonial power. During the 18th century, the governor of Fort-de-France decided to plant pepper trees on Reunion Island; this allowed for a diversification of growing locations. A century later, in the late 1800s, Cambodia was integrated into French Indochina which allowed the French to trade the precious Kampot black peppercorn globally. Both of these stories are credited with making pepper much more accessible and driving its cost down; the truth is likely a combination of both. Bénédicta was originally founded in 1907 as an oil company. At the time, it was called “Bénédictin,” a Catholic reference indicating that the products were of good quality. Prosper Eeckman, Bénédicta’s founder, was the first to distribute oil in glass bottles, which were also called “bénédictins.” The first industrial mayonnaise was launched by Bénédicta in 1957, in a tube; four years later, the brand began producing emulsified sauces like the béarnaise! Ingredients: canola oil water spirit vinegar sugar salt egg yolk black pepper Armagnac Dijon mustard: water, mustard seeds, spirit vinegar, salt modified corn starch food coloring (beta-carotene) caramel coloring xanthan gum (thickener) flavoring Weight: 240 g Size: 8.46 oz
