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Sichuan pepper

Sichuan pepper
Ingredients: Sichuan Pepper from organic farming
Grown in Southwest France. Anise and citrus notes.
Rare spices
€17.00 20 g

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Recommendations

These Szechuan peppercorns grown in southwestern France can be used to add intense flavor to meat marinades (like caramel pork), Chinese noodle dishes, broths, bao or guo kui dumpling fillings, and salads. Use whole, or grind them to desired consistency with a mortar and pestle.
  • Allergens Absent, except for cross-contamination.
    May contain traces of sesame, celery, mustard, soy.
  • Origin France
  • Storage / Use In a cool, dark, dry place.
€850 / kg

The words of Mathilde Rœllinger

These berries with their woody and aniseed notes are delicious lightly roasted to season poultry, white meats, ducks and pigeons.

The scent of these exquisite Szechuan peppercorns grown in southwestern France is also reminiscent of blood oranges.

Their ‘electric’ intensity means they should be used sparingly

Story

Szechuan peppercorns have made their way into many western gardens. The small, thorny bush is so resistant that it can even stand up to the gales that blow along the coast of Brittany. Few gardeners manage to gather the feather-light berries at peak ripeness when they have turned a bright red. Even fewer take the time to husk them and thresh out all the tiny twigs.  

Sylvie and Philippe are among the rare individuals that have risen to the challenge to grow and harvest tiny Szechuan peppercorns (in the Zanthoxylum family) in southwestern France. The exceptionally flavorful berries are grown on 70 bushes that are tended using permaculture and organic methods.

The berries (Zanthoxylum simulans) are harvested from a small, thorny ash tree that is native to China but also found in Vietnam. They are not a true pepper (piper nigrum), but have a peppery flavor and can numb the palate when used to excess. Zanthoxylum species are members of the large rue or citrus family.  

Szechuan peppercorns are also sometimes referred to as Chinese peppercorns or flower pepper. During the Han dynasty, the bedroom walls of the royal court were festooned with the berries to lend them their warming fragrance. Szechuan peppercorns were thought to be linked to longevity as well.   

Today, Szechuan peppercorns are an integral part of southern Chinese cuisines and are one of the spice components in Chinese 5-spice powder.