Why do you suppose pepper became everyones spice of choice, rather than, say, nutmeg, mace or cloves?
The pairing of salt and pepper is actually relatively recent. Salt has been a mandatory table condiment forever, but pepper was restricted to the kitchen until the mid 19th century. Pepper shakers really took off in the mid 20th century in America. (This I learned while visiting the Salt and Pepper Museum. Yes, there’s a Salt and Pepper Museum.) People wanted a bit more flavor in their food, but quickly became a rather sad pile of black dust to be dumped on things. In the Middle Ages and Renaissance, recipes tended to just dump the whole spice rack in there. A 13th century for chicken soup: Cook them in wine and water, dismember them, and fry them in lard. Crush almonds with some capon livers and dark meat, steep in your broth, and put to boil on your meat. Take ginger, cloves, galingale, long pepper and grains of paradise, and steep in vinegar. Boil well together, and thread in well beaten egg yolks. It should be well thickened. (That “long pepper” is a different plant from the Piper
