Peppercorn 101

A pepper cheat sheet

I wasn’t planning on writing this week’s newsletter on pepper but I fell into an internet deep hole of pepper hand harvesting videos in Vietnam. I had just foraged Alexandra (a pepper alternative) which got me really thinking about pepper in general. I obviously then decided I had to know EVERYTHING about this spice.

Quick Overview

Common in most cuisines, pepper accounts for 20% of the world's total spice trade. The pepper flavor punch is due to the presence of the chemical piperine in each little fruit. Not only does piperine bring the heat, but it is also known to stimulate your taste buds and increase saliva production. Thus, when added to food, pepper enhances flavor and also is known to improve digestion.

Native to the Malabar coast in India, the black peppercorn has been used in cuisine as early as 2000BCE! Its alternate name was “black gold” as it was used as a form of currency.

Turns out, there many different varieties with different levels of pungency (and some aren’t even really pepper) so let’s get into it.

How Pepper Grows

Peppercorns are actually just mini spherical fruit which grow on a flowering vine called piper nigrum (part of the Piperaceae family). This vine is native to India but grows in most tropical areas. If the vine happens to reach a temperature below 65°F/18°C it will completely cease all growth.

They are also commonly interspersed in coffee or tea plantations. Today, most of the pepper on our table comes from primarily Vietnam - the country accounts for nearly 35% of all pepper export! Indonesia, India Brazil, Sri Lanka and China are also up on that list.

It’s only upon harvesting these little fruit that different pepper types come to life.

Peppercorn 101

Black, white and green pepper are all “true peppercorns” but the others are not and come from entirely different fruit.

Scott Suchman for The Washington Post

Black Peppercorns: the green pepper berry dried in the sun. It’s the easiest to produce so it is the cheapest as well. Their taste is warm, spicy and bitter.

White Peppercorns: the same vine as the black peppercorn above; however, it is picked closer to maturity so the berry is redish in color. The berries are then soaked which removes their outer shells and then dried. There is less complexity in flavor but some can taste a bit funky due to the soaking process which can cause some fermentation. Their taste is spicy but more neutral? They’re a common addition in French cuisine as to not overwhelm the other ingredients in the dish and just give off a hint of pepper.

Green Peppercorns: the exact same green pepper berry that produces black pepper. Instead of drying them in the sun, they are freeze dried, frozen or pickled (and sometimes treated with sulfur dioxide to preserve the color). As the color suggests, these taste spicy but fresh, crisp, and herby.

Pink Peppercorns: these do not come from the Piper nigrum family but rather come from Schinus molle, the Peruvian Pepper Tree. They are members of the cashew family!* These provide a sweeter, fruitier citrus-forward flavor than the above while still packing a punch. They are great used in desserts.

*Anyone with a nut allergy should be aware of this and spread the word!

Sichuan Peppercorns: also not peppercorns but rather “Chinese coriander”. A main component of Chinese 5 Spice and an ingredient in Chinese beer, these give off a mouth numbing sensation quite common in Sichuan cuisine.

Pink & Sichuan Peppercorns

How to Eat Peppercorn

Now, I’m sure you know how to eat pepper but here are a few tips for you just in case:

Grinding the peppercorns will allow for maximal flavor as the aroma will be released immediately prior to eating. Only grind once you’re ready to eat.

Whole peppercorns can be used in stocks, pickling brines, jam, jelly, marinades, desserts, infusions and more!

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I am going to get a lot of backlash for this but I am not a fan of pepper whatsoever. As a super taster, some ingredients completely overwhelm my palate and pepper is one of them. I like the flavor of it BUT after eating it, I can’t taste anything but it. Trust me, I wish I loved steak au poivre… Anyways, this was extremely interesting for me to learn nonetheless so I hope you enjoyed.

Claire x