Pink Peppercorns

Cheerful, bright Pink Peppercorn is a small, round berry with a light citrus-rose scent. These peppercorns are almost hollow and have a fragile exterior shell that gives way to a tiny interior nut. It has a sweet, fruity flavor that is reminiscent of juniper, balanced by a bit of a peppery bite. The volatile oil content for Pink Peppercorns comes in at about 4%; it is overwhelmingly composed of sesquiterpenes, which is the volatile oil content in other woodsy-fruity items like cedarwood and myrrh.  Pink Peppercorns are the fruit of the Brazilian peppertree and were mis-named because of their unescapable resemblance to standard black peppercorns, to which they are not related. Take note: Pink Peppercorns are a member of the cashew family, so customers with a tree nut allergy should approach this product with caution.

Pink Peppercorns were exceedingly trendy in high-end restaurants in the US in the late 1970s and early 1980s, until a panic began that claimed they were poisonous. The pepperberry tree was labeled as a relative of poison ivy, and researchers claimed that eating pink peppercorns would cause a host of maladies, from red eyes to shortness of breath, and beyond. The US banned imports of pink peppercorns in 1982; the French government, who oversaw a majority of the exports on pink peppercorns, presented the US Food and Drug Administration with numerous studies detailing the non-toxic nature of pink peppercorns. Eventually science won out, as it was shown that Pink Peppercorns are not harmful for general consumption.

Tips From Our Kitchen

The light, sweet flavor of Pink Peppercorns is ideal for accentuating light cream sauces for chicken and fish. Their sweet-and-citrus flavors are an excellent accent for salmon. Pink Peppercorns are very popular in French dishes such as côte de boeuf with Pink Peppercorn sauce. Pink peppercorns work well with fruit and love pomegranates, so try a pomegranate/pink peppercorn panna cotta. They add an unexpected fruit flavor to caramel sauces and ice cream. They also work ground together with sea salt, so try it on the rim of a margarita, or muddle the peppercorns into gin for a new twist on a classic gimlet.

This product is a relative of the cashew tree so use caution if you have an allergy to tree nuts.

Our Pink Peppercorns are grown in Brazil.

This product is certified kosher.

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