Trending
A few years ago, I found a bumper crop of spicebush berries and dried a large jar-full. I harvested a small batch while green, and the rest when fully ripe and bright red.
To me, they taste mostly like pepper, but with the slight addition of allspice flavor as well. I liked the flavor and expected to substitute them for black pepper, and be set for the spice for quite a while.
Part of my expectation was due to the fact that I'd harvested a goodly amount. The other part was that my daughter dislikes black pepper, so I use it sparingly.
The lack of this particular spice in most of my cooking has made me appreciate it all the more (the Kettle brand salt and pepper potato chips always hit the spot for me).
Finding the spicebush berries in my woods made me happy to have a home-foraged alternative for the rare occasions when I sneak pepper into a dish.
But then, disaster struck - another family member expressed that the allspice flavor in spicebush berries was unpleasant to them.
Now, I occasionally add them to chai tea or baked goods with a similar profile, but am using them even more slowly than expected.
Having gone back to peppercorns, I wondered where and how this spice is grown. I figured they grow somewhere warmer, and vaguely remember from my homeschool history lessons peppercorns being involved in the spice trade.
Reading an article on the Farmers Almanac refreshed my memory, and taught me some new things. Peppercorns originated in India, but now are mostly grown in Vietnam.
They grow on a vine (I hadn't realized), and black and white peppercorns are from the same plant, Piper nigrum.
Black peppercorns are harvested as the green fruit, and sun dried. Green peppercorns are harvested at the same stage, but treated with preservatives or brined like pickles. I read that they have a fresher, grassier taste than black peppercorns, and are somewhat more perishable.
White peppercorns are harvested ripe, fermented (resulting in the skins coming off), and then dried. Red peppercorns are also harvested when ripe, and like green are treated with preservatives to maintain their color.
I've had blends of various colors of peppercorns, but never tried the green and red on their own.
Pink peppercorns are from entirely different plants, Schinus molle and Schinus terebinthifolius. These berries grow on a shrub in South America, and are in the cashew family. Some people with allergies to cashews may have sensitivity to pink peppercorns as well.
Pepper apparently stimulates the release of stomach acid, aiding in digestion. It can also help absorption of curcumin, the active chemical in turmeric.
I've found that drinking golden milk (turmeric tea, with other spices) helps me with joint aches and pains - the recipe I used has black pepper in it. I enjoyed the added spice, but now know that it serves another purpose.
My favorite restaurant, Apteka in Pittsburgh, serves a pepper soda. It tastes like pepper, plus slight sweetness, and is carbonated. I've tried making it at home by adding peppercorns to simple syrup and mixing it with club soda, but it wasn't quite the same.
I can see why peppercorns were used as currency, and so important in trade. They taste delicious, are shelf-stable and have health benefits.
Now, if we could collectively decide that spicebush berries could be used as currency or worth trading, that'd be great - then my family and I could all agree that they are worth harvesting.