Pantry Restock: Ultimate Peppercorn Blend
Every few months, I prepare a blend of peppercorns for my pepper mill. I, like many others, used to stick to Ol’ Reliable, black peppercorns, but now I stand by a blend of 4-5 different peppercorns. The result is multiple dimensions of flavor and I don’t think I can go back.
What are peppercorns?
Peppercorns are the fruit of a flowering vine called Piper nigrum. The stonefruit is about 5mm in diameter, dark red, and contains a single pepper seed. The unripe seeds are dried and cooked to make black peppercorn or simply dried to make green peppercorn. The ripened seeds are dried to make white peppercorn. Black pepper is native to India and is the most traded spice in the world and you can find it on even the barest of shelves in virtually every kitchen. Pink peppercorns are fruits of the Peruvian pepper tree, Schinus molle, while Szechuan peppercorns are fruits of various Zanthoxylum trees.
Peppercorn Blend
Equipment
- Pepper Mill
- Funnel
Ingredients
- black peppercorns
- white peppercorns
- pink peppercorns
- green peppercorns
- szechuan peppercorns
