Igi-ata

In Africa, several species of Zanthoxylum grow, a plant genus to which Asian Szechuan pepper also belongs. One of these species is Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides, which grows in West Africa and is called igi-ata in Yoruba, meaning tree pepper. Perhaps less fragrant than the Asian species, even a little bitter, but truly African.

Other names are baies gangshu, baies de Malam and Bakumba pepper (after the regional name Bakumba) or Bamenda-Banso pepper, after a more northerly region in the high mountains.

Exclusive!

Pepper is cultivated on a very limited scale in Africa anyway, and this certainly applies to Szechuan pepper. In Nigeria, uzazi (Zanthoxylum gilletii) is grown on a small scale, but that is as far as it goes regarding the cultivation of citrus.peppers concerns. All other citruspeppers are picked from trees and shrubs in the wild, like this one, which grows in Bakumba, an area in the southwest of Cameroon where Yoruba is spoken, hence the name igi-ata, here also called ganshupeper after the French 'baies (de) Ganshu'.

It is a pepper that you rarely see on the European market, for a number of reasons. Because it is a difficult fruit to pick, and therefore relatively expensive, and because export is quite difficult. Moreover, the taste and aroma of the igi-ata are not uniform. These can vary considerably from harvest to harvest, from region to region, and perhaps even from tree to tree; experts are not yet in agreement on this. Sometimes the citrus aromas predominate, sometimes the camphor, and not everyone is charmed by the bitter notes.

This is caused by the seeds, which, just like with the andaliman, are more bitter than the fruit wall.

The igi-ata is a shrub or tree that grows to about six meters tall and is heavily branched. For West Africans, the tree has traditionally been more important as medicine than as food, and for that reason, the population of the species is under pressure in some countries, such as Benin.

Like other Zanthoxylum plants, the stem and branches of the igi-ata are equipped with thorns. Thick, woody thorns on the stem that develop a corky outer layer during growth, and vicious, sharp thorns on the branches. Just like the leaves of the uzazi, even the leaves of the igi-ata are equipped with thorns. They are located in the center of the leaf.

The unique sharpness experience of sanshol

Characteristic of all ZanthoxylumpeppersAnd so, for this Szechuan pepper as well, the tingling sensation you experience on the tip of your tongue is caused by a substance in the pepper called sanshool, named after the Japanese sanshō. The spiciness 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‰.

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

In Igi-ata the citrus scent is that Szechuanpeppers characteristic hardly present, and the seeds even taste pleasant, and less bitter than the seed husks can be.As a rule, the sharpness is not too bad (or bad), depending on how you look at it, and can be described as subtle rather than prominent. This is merely an anthology from the broad spectrum of tastes:

• sabinene, responsible for the woody, camphor-like flavor of black pepper, among others
  
• β-myrcene, spicy aroma, with notes of fruit (mango, grape, peach) and mint,
  
• germacrene D, spicy and woody,
• D-limonene (dipentene), sweetish orange flavor, occurring in modest amounts in nutmeg, mace, and cardamom
• β-caryophyllene, sweet, spicy and woody
• decanal, associated with the bitterness of grapefruit and orange peel, also found in buckwheat and coriander

Use igi-ata with products that pair well with citrus, such as shellfish, white fish and chicken, plantains (traditional use), and other fruits.

Usage

Crush the fruit to release the seeds. These are easier to grind in a mortar than the seed husks, which are best ground. The same applies to whole berries (with seeds). Prepare igi-ata as follows: Rub the berries between your hands so that the seed husks, seeds, and stems separate. Remove the seeds if you do not want the bitterness, and grind the pepper. You can also place the stems and seeds whole in a bag and cook or simmer them along with the dish. After cooking, simply remove the bag from the dish.

Igi-ata is less versatile than Chinese Szechuan pepper due to its robust flavor profile. It is best suited for typical African dishes, such as soups and stews, provided that ata-rodo (chili pepper) has not already been added in large quantities. The latter would push this subtle pepper into the background. Igi-ata also pairs excellently with (bitter) leafy greens.

Features:

• 100% berries from the Zanthoxylum zanthoxyloides
• origin: Ganshu, Bakumba region, Cameroon

Aassortment

• available in glass (30 grams), stand-up pouch (various weight classes)
• larger quantities than shown on request

Save

• batch number **220283
• best before November 2027 (11-2027)

General advice

• Igiata is a Szechuan pepper with a typical African character, primarily used in African dishes or, more generally, in fairly robust dishes; the spiciness is moderate.