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black peppercorn

vietnamese
fine ground
4.9
Based on 38 reviews
portion
0.25 oz
50¢
shaker jar
2 oz
$6
refill
2 oz
$5
large refill
8 oz
$13
PACKAGING GUIDE
VARIANTS
whole - vietnamese
cracked - vietnamese
fine ground - vietnamese
This fine ground version of our black peppercorns is ready to be added to dishes.

Black peppercorns are grown in a variety of locales and the environmental conditions in these areas lend different flavor notes for acidity, sweetness, and citrus. Vietnamese peppercorns have an intense aroma but a more mellow taste, with flavor notes of smoke or wood and medium heat. Quality black peppercorns are uniform in color, with darker berries being more flavorful.

The natural mate to salt, black pepper offers a pungency to everything from salads to steak.
QUICK INFO
black peppercorn , fine ground
INGREDIENTS
Black peppercorn
TASTING NOTES
Pungent and spicy with woody flavor notes
AROMA
Tangy and sharp
CHARACTERISTICS
Speckled dark brown and beige granules
PAIRINGS
Complements salt in all savory foods; excellent with juniper for game, thyme with chicken, and other peppers for rubs and marinades; natural for garam masala and chai spice blends.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Papaya seeds, capers or coriander seeds for a similar bite, or white, green, pink peppercorns for a milder taste. Other good substitutes for heat are chiles, cayenne, or Szechuan peppers.
USAGE
Ideal for salads or foods in need of texture; adds pungency to everything from salads to steak; perfect for brines in pickling or corning proteins like beef for pastrami or corned beef.
PLANT PART
fruit / drupe
PROCESSING / FORM
fine ground
BOTANICAL NAME
Piper nigrum
ORIGIN
Vietnam
BOTANICAL NAME
Piper nigrum
AKA
pepper
peppercorn
Black, green, and white peppercorn are all the same berry (or, more precisely, drupe) of the peppercorn plant. The difference in color is due to the way the berries are processed.

The peppercorn plant is a perennial climbing vine in the Piperaceae family. It is cultivated and grows best in hot and humid regions and primarily grown in tropical southern India. Other places where it thrives have similar steamy environments since for best production the vine requires a long rainy season with high temperatures. In some areas the climbing vine is trained to grow on trees, whereas in others it is grown on trellis supports. Sometimes these supports can be found interspersed in tea or coffee plantations.

The berries are actually drupes. A drupe is a fruit that contains one seed—think peaches, cherries, olives, or even nutmeg if you have some spice knowledge. These drupes become yellowish-red when mature (7-8 months after flowering) and when any one berry on a spike-cluster has this hue it indicates to the farmers that harvest time has begun. However since the berries mature at different rates the berry spikes are picked at intervals and always by hand.

For black and green peppercorns, the berries are picked while not yet ripe. Entire spikes are picked while they are still hard, shiny, green, and plump. Later the spike clusters are threshed to separate the berries from the stems.

For the production of black peppercorns, the berries can be immersed in boiling for a short time (1 minute) before being spread out in a field to sun dry. The blanching purports to create a more uniform color, as well as promote faster drying—reducing the drying time from 5-6 days to just 3-4 or four. The blanching and drying helps to disintegrate the pulp of the fruit; the peppercorn skin wrinkles, shrinks, and sticks to the inner kernel. Dark uniform color is the aim.

For the production of green peppercorns, after threshing, the unripe berry is sometimes preserved with steam blanching which can deactivate enzymes and retain the color, aroma, and flavor. Sometimes these green peppercorns are placed in a salt-water or vinegar brine and can be purchased preserved. Others are dried after steam blanching with drying methods that attempt to retain their unripe color.

White peppercorns require more work and more processing time. The berry must ripen on the vine, and then be allowed to ferment in water so that the outer skin can be rubbed off and removed. They are then sun dried as black peppercorn.

Note: Pink peppercorns are a different species!
USAGE HINT

A little goes a long way with black pepper. Taste as you season your dish to ensure that the pepper doesn't overwhelm the other ingredients. Like lemon, a dash of pepper adds excitement to every dish.

QUICK FACT

As with many spices, black peppercorn was at one time not just a luxury spice but also was used as currency. The phrase "as dear as pepper" was used to indicate something's tremendous expense.

 
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ARTICLES
a spice primer:
Peppercorns are captivating orbs of flavor; they have a storied history and an undeniable allure in the culinary world.
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Our Vietnamese black peppercorns have an intense aroma, but a more mellow taste with flavor notes of wood. In this cracked form they are ideal for salads or foods in need of texture.
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REVIEWS (38)
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