Black pepper is more than a table-top staple. Alongside its familiar warmth and aroma, it naturally contains a compound called piperine — the same compound that gives pepper its distinctive bite.
Turmeric, meanwhile, is best known for curcumin, the yellow pigment that gives the spice its golden colour. Curcumin has been the subject of extensive research, but on its own the body doesn't absorb it particularly well.
This is where black pepper earns its place in the pairing. Piperine is widely recognised for increasing the body's absorption of curcumin found in turmeric. In practical terms, that means a small pinch of freshly ground black pepper alongside turmeric — in a curry, a rice dish, a golden latte or a simple salad dressing — helps the two spices work together, rather than pass each other by.
A good rule of thumb: whenever you reach for turmeric, reach for the pepper jar too. A little fat — olive oil, ghee, coconut milk or yoghurt — completes the picture, since curcumin is fat-soluble.