Whole Long Pepper

Produit livré en sachet refermable 

°°°

Uses:

Its flavor is warm, wild, with an earthy undertone, making for a very surprising presence in the world of peppers! It has a reasonable heat that develops slowly but lingers in the mouth, accompanied by a remarkable smoky background. It is often found in Indian cuisine.

To use it, there are two options: either coarsely grind it in a mortar and then pass it through a mill, or leave it whole and infuse it directly into the dish. While it can withstand heat, it’s still best, as with all spices, to avoid prolonged cooking to preserve its flavor.

It pairs very well with goat cheese, certain soups (where it is allowed to infuse), and is ideal with delicate meats like lamb and chicken, as well as certain vegetables and in rice. Like many peppers, it is excellent with "sweet" foods, such as chocolate and fruits, whether in salads, jams (like strawberries), or compotes.

Like all peppers and several other spices, long pepper has bactericidal and insecticidal effects, giving it food preservation properties.

In Indochina, long pepper is more commonly used as a medicinal plant than as a spice.

Historically, some of its catkins were also used to make small flutes.

Who am I?

Origin: India or Indonesia

Scientific name: Piper longum

Common name: Java Pepper

Long pepper is the fruit of a vine that grows only 1 to 1.5 meters high, belonging to the Piperaceae family, native to India and growing wild on the foothills of the Himalayas. This vine can produce year-round but only for 3 to 5 years; afterward, the plant must be regenerated. Therefore, harvesting is often done from wild vines.

The fruits, picked before maturity and dried, resemble catkins similar to those of hazelnut trees, measuring about 3 to 6 cm long and dark brown in color. These catkins are actually composed of numerous tiny berries clustered together, forming the spice's elongated shape.

Only three species of plants are normally entitled to the name "pepper": Piper nigrum, which gives us the "classic" white, black, and green peppers (depending on the maturity and preparation of the seed), Piper cubeba (cubeb or tail pepper), and Piper longum, which we are discussing here.

A Little History:

Very popular in Roman and Greek times, it was one of the first spices to reach Europe, long before "true" black pepper.