Timut pepper | whole

Timut pepper, the Nepalese variant of Szechuan pepper, grows in the untouched Nepalese mountains of the Himalayas. At altitudes of 2000 metres and more, the fruits growing on bushes are laboriously collected, dried and hand-picked by local farmers. This spice with pleasant citrus and grapefruit notes is mainly used in the aromatic fruit or seed capsules. It usually grows wild on bushes and shrubs up to high mountain regions. Harvesting takes place in autumn, after which the ripe fruits are dried in the sun until they open. The small black seed then falls out. Most of the taste is in the capsule walls. The rather medium hot timut pepper is indispensable for Asian cuisine and is often combined there with hot chilli varieties. Characteristic are the tingling taste and a slight numbness on the tongue. Until a few years ago, timut pepper was hardly available outside Asia. Timut pepper is ideal with all wok dishes, light poultry and fish dishes. Pepper mixtures give the pepper a citrus-fresh note. Mixed with cinnamon, fennel, star anise and cloves, this seasoning is known as the classic ¨Chinese Five Spice¨ spice.