Green sansho pepper - Sanshō-no-mi

Our sanshō or sansho pepper from Wakayama is undeniably one of the better sanshōs. To allow the subtle mint and citrus flavors to come into their own, the slightly bitter, oil-rich seeds have been removed.

Awaiting the autumn 2026 harvest. Since 2024, the price of sansho has risen enormously, the number of suppliers of Sansho from Japanese soil has shrunk considerably, the supply is limited. Consumer prices in Europe of € 1.500 and higher (!) per kilogram are no longer an exception. The purchase price continues to rise, partly due to a chronic shortage of labor in Japan. We have therefore put the sale of sansho on hold since 2024, awaiting a wider supply and more acceptable prices, should they materialize. We are very sorry.

The sanshō, or Japanese pepper, is related to the Chinese Szechuan pepper and the Nepalese timur, but unlike these two siblings from the Yellowwood genus (Zanthoxylum), the leaves, flowers, and shoots of the sanshō tree are also eaten. Incidentally, sanshō means mountain pepper.

Sanshō pepper is believed to have been used as a spice for thousands of years, though there is no conclusive evidence to support this. During the Nara period in the eighth century, it was called naruhajika and used as a medicine for the treatment of diarrhea. It would continue to be used primarily as a medicine for a long time. It was not until the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333 AD) that it was reportedly used again as a spice by samurai during hunting. Unagi, a dish of freshwater eel with sanshō pepper, dates from that time.

It is now a prominent spice, even one of the few spices in Japanese cuisine. The unripe green berries are called sanshō-no-mi. These are sharper and more aromatic than the red sansho. The first green sanshōs appear on the market from May, the red ones in October.

One of the first preparations ever described using sanshō is in the 15th-century Okusa cookbook: an eel dish. Since then, eel in Japan has always been prepared with sanshō, or in extreme cases with shichimi tōgarashi (seven-spice powder).

In Japan, people eat the berries (fresh and dried), the leaves, and the young shoots. This is not the case in most other Asian countries. The unripe green berries are very popular due to their flavor profile and tartness. Although the red berries are more expensive, they are not appreciated by many as much as the green ones, which are called sanshō-no-mi, due to their more pronounced citrus flavor.

In Japanese cuisine, spices are generally used hardly at all. Sanshō is used almost always. When a Japanese person uses 'our' black pepper, they are very selective. Almost all black pepper in Japanese cuisine comes from Sarawak, the Malaysian part of Borneo.

Our sanshō pepper is cultivated and comes from Wakayama, the beating sanshō heart of Japan since the late 19th century. They are grown by the fourth generation of the Kaneichi family business, founded in 1880 by Yamamoto Katsunosuke.

The unique sharpness experience of sanshol

Characteristic of all Zanthoxylumpeppers, and so for sanshō too, the tingling you experience on the tip of your tongue is caused by a substance in the pepper that sans-school Hot, named after the Japanese spice. The pungency is caused by the amides in the skin of the fruit: α-, β-, γ- and δ-sanshool, α-hydroxy sanshool and β-hydroxy sanshool. γ-sanshool and α-hydroxy sanshool are primarily responsible for the numbing effect. The amount of α-hydroxy sanshool in the berries can reach (well over) 50‰ of the dry weight, while that of γ-sanshool is around 5‰.

Ripe berries are sharper than unripe ones.

The tingling is accompanied by a mild numbness, jokingly compared to tasting a 9-volt battery. A single berry is enough to experience this! This somatosensation, stimulation by touch, has been used for centuries as an anesthetic in traditional Asian medicine. Its mechanism of action is very complex and the subject of extensive studies. Hydroxy-α-sanshol, in particular, is thought to cause the tingling, and there are certain parallels with the sensation of sharpness from capsaicin, the pungent substance in chili peppers, but also with menthol and mustard oil.

Scent and taste

Sanshō is a member of the citrus family, which you experience in a fragrance that is a blend of grapefruit, lemon, lemongrass, and rosewood. Interspersed throughout, you taste and smell—very lightly—mint. Characteristic of all Zanthoxylumpeppers, and so for sanshō as well, the tingling you experience on the tip of your tongue is caused by a substance in the pepper called sanshool, named after the Japanese spice.

• linalyl acetate, responsible for a pleasant citrus, bergamot, and lavender scent,
• limonene, the scent of lemon peel,
• citral, the scent of grapefruit,
• geraniol, rose scent,
• geranyl acetate, lavender scent.
• β-pinene, pine resin, and
• linalol, responsible for the scents of rosewood and coriander

A ripe berry contains significantly more linalol, geraniol, and geranyl acetate than a green berry. The aromas develop during ripening,

Combinations

Sanshō pepper pairs excellently with citrus (kaffir lime leaves, yuzu, or lemongrass), coconut, coriander and curry leaves, miso, and soy sauce.

Usage

Besides dishes with freshwater eel—don't forget how severely the eel stock is under pressure—sansho is delicious with white and red meat, duck, fish and shellfish, squid, and desserts, especially those with chocolate. Sanshō is an important ingredient in Shichimi Togarashi, Japan's 7-spice seasoning, and is used in Japanese noodle and miso dishes.

Features:

• 100% dried fruitlets of Zanthoxylum piperitum
• premium quality: max 5% seed
• origin: Wakayama, Japan

General advice

• Sanshō pepper is the Szechuan pepper for fine dining, and can be used both hot and cold.
• Use sanshō in moderation, and add it after or at the end of the preparation.
• Give the sanshō berries time to absorb moisture so that the flavor can develop optimally.

Save:

• save your sansho pepper in sealed packaging
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before (n.v.t. )

Stock item

Due to severe supply problems, our stock is (virtually) depleted. We are currently awaiting positive news from Japan. If you would like to be kept informed, please let us know. s.v.p. know.