Some recipes call for whole peppercorns. Why not crack them and use a lot less? In a cooking show I watched recently the host specifically said "Do not crack or grind them" but he did not explain why.
The only reason I can think of is to make it easier to take them out of a sauce or soup if you want the taste of pepper but not the texture/appearance.
Best Answer
Unless you're straining the soup, I'd assume that the whole vs. cracked isn't going to be helpful in removing them, although I will admit that I can't recall seeing a recipe that called for whole peppercorns that didn't require cracking them.
Part of the reason for whole pepercorns is the surface area -- if you crack it, you'll create more surface area, and for the same amount of pepper, there'd be more pepper flavor.
It's also possible that there's a difference between the chemicals available in the outer hull of the peppercorn vs. the middle, but I don't know how you'd compare, simply because the cracked pepper would be more overpowering.