A Guide to the Peppers of the World

As an undergrad Classics major, I first heard of long pepper as something the Ancient Romans ate. Scientifically known as Piper longum, this elongated cousin of black pepper tastes more complex, but carries a similar zing thanks to piperine, a different compound from the capsaicin that gives chilies their heat. Roman elites imported it from its native India as a luxury for spiced dishes and beverages.

Today, you can purchase long pepper from South Asian grocery stores. I’ve used it in modern dishes like rasam, a South Indian sour soup, as well as in recreations of Roman recipes. One year for my college Classics department’s graduation party, I even rubbed powdered long pepper on a whole sheep before roasting it (in a rented electric spit, off-campus).

The English word pepper traces back through Latin to the Sanskrit pippali, which specifically meant “long pepper” (and still does in Hindi and Urdu). Europeans once loved long pepper so much that they called all “hot” spices by its name: First its relatives, black and cubeb peppers, then unrelated plants like Mexican chili.

If it’s an edible plant that burns your tongue, somebody has probably called it “pepper.” Chilies alone could take up a whole book, and we’ve covered long pepper here at Gastro Obscura, but there is still a plethora of peppers left to explore.

Cubeb Pepper (Piper cubeba) and Uziza or “False Cubeb” (Piper guineense)

Like long pepper, cubeb was once widely exported from Asia for food and medicine (including remedies for gonorrhea). Recognizable by its “tailed” appearance, cubeb tastes warmer than black pepper and is sometimes likened to a mix of black pepper and allspice. It can still be found in spice blends and stews in West and North Africa, as well as Southeast Asia. Cubeb also flavors spirits like Russian pertsovka and Bombay Sapphire gin.

A relative, Piper guineense, or “false cubeb,” is very similar in appearance and flavor. However, this species is native to West Africa, where it’s known as uziza in the Igbo language of Nigeria, among other names, and both its seeds and leaves are eaten. I’ve used it in West African dishes like pepper soup. Check for a scientific name when buying these cubeb lookalikes, because both are sold at West African stores.

Black, White, and Green Pepper (Piper nigrum)

The world’s most popular spice didn’t attain that status until relatively recently, thanks to a series of economic shifts that included market manipulation. In 1640, the King of Portugal banned the sale of cubeb to increase demand for black pepper, which was earning higher profits for Portugal at the time through its ports in Asia.

Green, white, and black peppercorns are whole dried fruits from the same vine, processed in different ways. Roasting and drying turns the unripe green fruits black. Other treatments like dehydration or pickling preserve their green color. And when the ripe red fruits are dried and hulled, they appear white.

Compared with black, green pepper tastes sharper and more aromatic, while white is more earthy and musty. Uses can vary from one cuisine to another. In China, white pepper is the most widely-used pepper (I keep it in the East Asia section of my geographically-organized spice collection), while in France, it’s only used for aesthetics, so as not to spoil the color of white dishes like béchamel sauce. Ripe red peppercorns are difficult to find commercially, and often confused with pink peppercorns, which come from a different plant.

Pink Pepper (genus Schinus)

Pink peppercorns have a fruity, sweet flavor with a mild bite, and are sometimes sold mixed with green, black, and white peppercorns for visual effect. However, these dried fruits come from two South American plants, the Brazilian and Peruvian peppertrees. While unrelated to “true” peppers of the genus Piper, peppertrees are related to cashews and pistachios, which means that pink peppercorns may cause allergic reactions in people with tree nut allergies. They can also clog pepper grinders because they are softer than true peppercorns. Try them in spice rubs, or add them as a finishing touch to pastas or salads to take full advantage of their brilliant color, which can fade with cooking.

Grains of Paradise (Aframomum melegueta)

The Romans called this spice “African pepper” for its place of origin in present-day Liberia, but the plant is more closely related to cardamom. Its colorful English name may have been devised by medieval merchants as a marketing ploy. Other names include melegueta pepper (not to be confused with malagueta pepper, a chili from Brazil), and Guinea pepper, which is also applied to other spices, after the historical name of “Guinea” for West Africa.

Fortunately for confused shoppers, grains of paradise seeds have a distinctive pyramidal shape. In flavor, the spice resembles black pepper with zippy notes of citrus, and can be used as a substitute. Grains of paradise is also used in West African dishes like the Ghanaian rice and beans dish waakye, and, like cubeb, in Bombay Sapphire. I’ve used it in my Ancient Roman recipes, including honey-soaked, nut-stuffed dates.

Sichuan Pepper or Prickly Ash (genus Zanthoxylum)

There is no one species of Sichuan pepper; the spice comes from several related trees in the citrus family. Their tiny fruits are packed with hydroxy-alpha-sanshool (named for sansho, a Japanese species), which produces a numbing, mouth-tingling effect. In the Chinese province of Sichuan, chefs often combine this spice with chilies to create the characteristic flavor profile málà, literally meaning “spicy-numbing.” Zanthoxylum species are also popular in the Himalayas in dishes like chukauni, a Nepali potato salad that was a big hit when I brought it to a party last summer. Still more species, like Nigerian uzazi and Indonesian andaliman, will also have you feeling comfortably numb.

The two most widely-available Sichuan peppers are red and green, which come from different species. Green or “rattan” pepper is more fragrant, flowery, and numbing than red. It’s my personal favorite, especially in Sichuan fish dishes like téng jiāo yú, fish poached with green vegetables and chilies. Today, Sichuan pepper can be purchased from Chinese grocery stores, but the United States formerly banned its importation due to fear that it could spread disease to domestic citrus. The ban was lifted in 2005 after a method was introduced to treat the peppercorns with heat, which sterilizes them, but also reduces their flavor.

Mountain Pepper or Pepperberry (Tasmannia lanceolata)

Australia has its own clan of “peppers” in the genus Tasmannia, sold commercially in the country’s native food industry, which centers on local flora found nowhere else. These deep purple berries work as a sparing substitute for black pepper, as they have a more intense flavor and a tendency to stain dishes pink.

Outside Australia, mountain pepper may be ordered online or found at specialty ingredient shops (I’ve seen it at Kalustyan’s in New York City). You can use it anywhere you’d use black pepper. Some vendors combine mountain pepper with other native Aussie spices for a unique spin on dukkah, a Middle Eastern blend that’s popular in Australia.

But if you’re looking for a unique pepper, you may not have to look further than your own backyard. North Americans can forage from the wild for spicy native edibles like peppergrass, water pepper, and alder pepper, derived from the flowers of the alder tree.