PINK PEPPERCORNS
- These are the dried berries of the Peruvian peppertree, closely related to cashew trees and native to South America. Pink peppercorns are sweeter than black peppercorns, but with nearly the same level of heat. They are also more expensive, and are available packed in brine or freeze-dried.
- This Japanese spice belongs to the same genus (Zanthoxylum) as the Sichuan peppercorn, so the culinary effects are nearly the same, and two different varieties grow on the archipelago. It is used in pure powdered form on a few dishes (most especially eel), but is more commonly a component, along with six other ingredients including dried red chiles, in the shichimi blend of spices, often found in a small shaker on the tables of Japanese restaurants.
- There are other plants and their seeds that produce pepper-like effects: red peppercorns (a berry native to Cambodia usually used fresh, it spoils quickly and is not imported into the United States); negro peppers (brown seed pods found in Malawe and Ghana and used in dried form); and pepperleaf (aka cubeb, native to Argentina and Peru, said to taste like a cross between black pepper and cilantro).
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