Pipers, Picks, Pecks, and Other Pepper Possibilities

Piper brethren

THREE MEMBERS of the genus Piper have been substituted for black pepper throughout ­history. All contain the alkaloid piperine, a flavoring substance that has a taste and aroma of clove, cinnamon, and allspice combined.
Long pepper (P. longum), the first pepper species to reach the Western world but rarely available in the marketplace today, closely resembles black pepper in flavor but is less pungent and has a hint of sweetness.
Cubeb or tailed pepper (P. cubeba) is pungent with a turpentine-allspice aroma.
Ashanti or West African pepper (P. guinense), which produces mild-flavored but aromatic peppercorns, is often added to ground black pepper as an adulterant.

Szechuan pepper

Szechuan (or Sichuan) pepper—also known as fagara, anise pepper, Chinese or Japanese pepper, or flower pepper—is the rusty brown berry of a prickly ash tree, Zanthoxylum piperitum. The berries have a spicy-woody aroma and a slight numbing effect in the mouth rather than the sharp, bitter taste of other peppers. They are excellent for seasoning poultry and meat.

Along with cinnamon and ginger, Szechuan pepper is one of the oldest ­established seasonings in China. The ground berries are an essential ingredient in Chinese five-spice blend, an important symbol of the Chinese proverb proclaiming that the universe is made up of five elements: wood, metal, water, fire, and earth. In Japan, the berries, called sanshô, are one of the few spices used in food preparation.