Tasmanian pepper (bush pepper)

Tasmanian mountain pepper is an exclusive pepper that is counted among the 'bush food', products that are typical of the Australian bush. That certainly applies to this robust, tasty pepper. Experience how it 'explodes' in your mouth.

UPDATE March 2023
The drought in this part of the world continues for the third season in a row. Tasmanian suppliers of wild-picked and cultivated Tasmanian pepper (there is also one) choose to serve the internal market (Australia) due to scarcity. We simply don't get involved in the whole of Europe. Nevertheless, we will continue to try to get this fantastic product back to the Netherlands. With regard to the recent harvest of the cultivated pepper, we have definitely not succeeded for the aforementioned reason.

To our Australian and Tasmanian friends: Are you in a position to deliver Tasmanian and/or Dorrigo pepper from the wild, certified, please contact us.  

The Tasmanian mountain pepper is a plant from a genus that only occurs in Australasia and grows wild in many places. The two-lobed 'berry' contains polygodial, which provides a unique sharpness experience, but also eugenol, vitamins A and C and various minerals. It contains more antioxidants than most real berries.

In addition to the dried berry, the dried leaf of the plant is also eaten. The aborigines have been using the plant for medicinal purposes for centuries, against skin complaints and stomach pain, the leaf as a herb and the dried berry as a spice. The latter was also discovered by the European, mostly British, settlers at the end of the 18th century.

The alpine pepper, related to the Tasmanian pepper, grows in the highlands of Tasmania, and is therefore called mountain pepper. The British imported the plant and have been growing it in Cornwell since the beginning of the last century. They name the plant after the Cornish pepper leaf. The leaves have a sharp cinnamon flavour, the berries are spicy and fruity. The taste is reminiscent of myrtle. The berry initially gives a soft sweet taste experience, which gradually turns into that sharpness that is reminiscent of that of Zanthoxylum peppers such as Szechuan.

Use

A versatile pepper for fish and seafood, in marinades for meat, whether or not in combination with soy sauce. The cinnamon accent gives the berry a typical bush food taste, which combines well with cumin, coriander, lemon and red fruit. It also comes into its own in jams of stone fruits such as apricots. Put a few grains in your gin or gin cocktail; preferably soak in some gin beforehand.

The dried berry is quite crumbly and can be crushed very easily. It gives off a lot of color (deep red). Try the berry in ice cream (such as strawberry ice cream), yogurt or cream cheese. Delicious over raw or cooked fruit, such as banana or pineapple.

Smell and taste

In Tasmanian pepper you can taste cinnamon, myrtle and nutmeg, but also juniper, with which it combines well.

• 1,8-cineole, eucalyptol, the refreshing taste of mint and myrtle (and eucalyptus oil)
• linalol, responsible for the fresh floral scent
• α- and β-pinene, woody pine scent, as in cumin, pine (pine cone), juniper berry, black pepper and hemp
• safrole, sweet spicy with anise notes, as in cinnamon
• myristicin, warm spicy, like balsamic, in cinnamon, nutmeg and black pepper

Attributes:

• 100% pepper berries from the Tasmannia lanceolata
• origin: Tasmania, Australia

Assortment

• available in glass, pouch and test tube
• glass jar contains 45 grams
• stand-up pouches with a content of up to 30 to 300 grams
• available in 10 ml test tube
• 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 

Save:

• keep your Tasmanian pepper in closed packaging
• preferably store in a dark, dry and cool place
• best before ??
• this best before date is an indication

Do you want to know what this Tasmanian pepper tastes like?

You can also try a test tube (temporarily out of stock). The tube contains enough pepper to penetrate the flavor essence.