Assam long pepper

The Piper mullesua is a fairly rare Asian pepper variety. Although it is found in many countries in the Himalayas, in the west it is only available from Assam, a region characterized by mountains and high plains.

The Assamp pepper is only found in the wild, often on steep and rocky slopes. That is why it is called hill pepper in English. He is not cultivated. The Piper mullesua is called a long pepper because, like a long pepper, it has a fruit that is made up of many fused ovaries, such as a blackberry. The difference with the classic spike-shaped long pepper is, except for the shape of the fruit, the size of the fruit. With the long peppers these are as big as poppy seed, with the Assamp pepper comparable to corn of paradise.

This pepper grows on a climbing plant about four meters high, with slightly hairy twigs and lanceolate leaves. The inflorescence is bisexual. The flowering time in the Himalayas is from May to July, but on the west coast of India it blooms considerably earlier, from January to April. The fruit is barely a centimeter in size and stands on a stalk.

The pungent substance in real peppers is piperine, the trademark of the real peppers in the plant genus Piperaceae. This piperine is virtually absent in this pepper. Instead, this pepper has a slightly numbing, tingling sensation on the tongue, as you would expect from a Szechuan pepper. Very exceptional for a real pepper.

Not only the sharpness, but also the aromas develop during the maturation. The main flavor components of this ripe 'slope pepper' are:

• E-β-farnesene (22.8%), sweet, woody with citrus notes,
• myristicin (19.2%), warm spicy, like balsamic, in cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper,
• germacrene D (11.8%), spicy and woody,
• β-caryophyllene (4.9%), sweet spicy and woody,
• α-copaene (2.6%), woody, spicy, honey,
• Z-β-farnesene (2.6%), 'green' with citrus notes, and
• d-limonene (1.4%), responsible for the citrus aromas.

This subtle pepper fits in perfectly with the character of Assamese cooking, in which spices are used in moderation. Famous are the dishes with river fish, often from their own pond, such as sour fish, masor tenga. Tip: Instead of frying the fish, cook it in a mixture of ginger and assam pepper.

This special long pepper is also excellent to use in dishes in which other long peppers can also be used, such as in oso buco, with goat cheese and in winter soups. Due to the fruity accents, the pepper combines well with exotic fruit, coconut, but also strawberries and melon.

Attributes:

• 100% pepper berries from Piper mullesua 
• grows in the wild, hand-picked
• origin: Assam, Northeast India

Assortment

• available in glass and pouch (no test tubes)
  
• glass jars contain 45 or 60 grams
• standup pouches with a content of up to 30 to 500 grams
• larger quantities on request

Gift Wrap

• the jar is available in a tasteful gift box, consisting of a cube box filled with black tissue paper
• for an overview of our gift packaging, please refer to the section  gift packaging 

General advice

• crush the fruit and grind the peppercorns shortly before use
  
• the taste is very subtle, so add the ground pepper to your preparation at the very last moment, or give it time to incorporate into your dish, a sauce or curry for example

Save:

• keep your assam pepper in closed packaging
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before August 2025 (08/25)
• this best before date is an indication