"Pepe" is on the other hand a misnomer since, from the botanical point of view, that of Sichuan is a shrub of the Rutaceae Family and Genus Zanthoxylum - to learn more about the species, read the paragraph on botany. The pepper proper - the spice plant black pepper, white pepper and green pepper - is part of the Piperaceae family, genus Piper and species nigrum. Furthermore, while the fruits of the traditional pepper are consumed entirely - at the limit deprived of the pericarp - of the Sichuan pepper, the outer shells toasted and ground are used - the seed is discarded. Note: Flowers and leaves are spices in their own right.
In the kitchen it is used as the traditional pepper with respect to which it is distinguished by a pleasant but not too intense lemon flavor, and by the characteristic sensation of "numbness". An aromatic oil can be obtained from the drug, which is also widely used in cooking.
Sichuan pepper is also used in traditional Chinese medicine - especially the pericarp, but in some cases also the leaves and flowers. Timur - Nepali name - is a remedy for various stomach or digestive problems, mixed with garlic cloves and mountain salt in warm water.
and taste of the various species of the genus Zanthoxylum can vary significantly, most share the same essential properties - Z. simulans And Z. piperitum they are often, but erroneously, used interchangeably. Sichuan pepper is mainly consumed whole while abroad it is ground into powder; for some recipes it is recommended to toast the drug before adding it to the finished food.
Sometimes accompanied with garlic, ginger - fresh or dry - or star anise, Sichuan pepper is used to flavor various fishery products, meats - avian such as chicken, duck and pork - vegetables - onion, eggplant etc. The many types of Sichuan pepper appear in the cuisine of: China, Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Thailand, Korea, India (the Konkani and Uttarakhandi people), Japan and the Toba Batak peoples.
In Bhutan, Sichuan pepper proper is known as a thingye and is used in the preparation of soups, gruel and phaag sha paa (slices of pork). In Nepal, timur is used in popular momo, thukpa, chow mein, spicy chicken, and other meat dishes. It is also widely used in homemade pickle recipes.
From Sichuan pepper it is possible to obtain an aromatic oil typically used for the famous Chinese recipe of fried noodles, together with brown sugar and rice vinegar. The shells of the berries are not the only edible portion of the plant Zanthoxylum; in Japan, the leaves, called kinome, are also used, especially to enrich recipes of vegetable origin - bamboo shoots, tofu soups, etc. Male flowers, also edible, are marketed in the Japanese territory under the name of hana-sanshō.
Composite spices are also formulated with Sichuan pepper; the main ones are: málà and hua jiao yan (Chinese), and Japanese shichimi. A Beijing brewery uses Sichuan pepper and honey to flavor a particular beer.
and slightly numbing, similar to the "effect of fizzy drinks or a mild electric shock. Sanshool appears to act simultaneously on several types of nerve endings, possibly causing a kind of" general neurological confusion. "
Among the most important aromatic compounds, recognized in various species of Zanthoxylum, we quote:
- Z. fagara (Central and Southern Africa, South America) - alkaloids, coumarins (Phytochemistry, 27, 3933, 1988)
- Z. simulans (Taiwan) - beta-myrcene, limonene, 1,8-cineole, Z-beta-ocimene (J. Agri. & Food Chem., 44, 1096, 1996)
- Z. armatum (Nepal) - linalool (50%), limonene, methyl cinnamate, cineole
- Z. rhetsa (India) - sabinene, limonene, pinenes, para-cymene, terpinenes, 4-terpineol, alpha-terpineol. (Zeitschrift f. Lebensmitteluntersuchung und -forschung A, 206, 228, 1998)
- Z. piperitum (Japan [leaves]) - citronellal, citronellol, Z-3-hexenal (Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 61, 491, 1997)
- Z. acanthopodium (Indonesia) - citronellal, limonene.
e della ruta), Genus Zanthoxylum, species simulans And bungeanum.
On the other hand, many think that the botanical species of Sichuan pepper is there piperitum, to which are related other similar species and varieties widely used especially in Japan - Z. schinifolium And Z. armatum var. subtrifoliatum; this is a common mistake, due to the fact that the fruits of the various plants are apparently very similar to each other.
The genre Zanthoxylum from which the Sichuan pepper is obtained, it grows spontaneously in most of Asia - with the due differences related to the species. Other species, less related to the spice of Sichuan pepper, are also found in Africa and South America.
Curiosity:
Sichuan pepper, such as closely related Z. piperitum, Z. schinifolium And Z. armatum var. subtrifoliatum, is home to several species of indigenous Japanese butterflies, including the common one Papilio xuthus.
