White Muntok pepper GI

Muntok is a white pepper for general use, highly suitable for use in European cuisine, in delicate preparations, and in dishes where absolutely white and no black pepper is desired, such as in white sauces.

Protected geographical indication (Indonesian label)

White muntok is one of the most famous white peppers in the world, originating from the Indonesian islands of Bangka and Billiton. The pepper is named after the port town of Muntok on Bangka.

The islands off the coast of Sumatra are mountainous, and that is partly why the farmers specialize in the production of white pepper. Traditionally, they bring their freshly harvested (ripe) peppers into the mountains to rinse them in streams. That takes a week, after which the skins detach from the white, ripe flesh and can be separated from the berries.

After that, it is up to the sun to the peppers to dry, during which they acquire their creamy white color. To celebrate the white pepper harvest, the residents traditionally perform a dance called the nari meraca, the pepper dance.

In recent years, the traditional way in which white pepper is made (and celebrated) has come under pressure, not only through the theft of the valuable pepper from the streams, far away from the plantations. More and more farmers, united in cooperatives, prefer to grow the pepper close to home in a safer location. Can you blame them?

Climate change is also causing problems for farmers. It Dutch Verstegen has been active on Bangka since 2019 to help make cultivation more sustainable by growing peppers according to a model that is already running practice in many countries, in combination with ginger and turmeric, fruit bushes and trees, such as durian. The combination of Crops ensure that sufficient nutrients remain in the soil and do not deplete it, so less supplementary fertilization is required.

Usage

Muntok pepper is a classic pepper for delicate preparations of white fish, white meat such as poultry and lean pork, shellfish, rice, pasta, in white sauces, and with steamed vegetables. The ferment aromas are modest.

Features:

• White pepper from the ripe peppercorns of Piper nigrum
• protected by the Indonesian PGI label (international: PGI)
• origin: Bangka, Indonesia

Assortment

• available in glass (75 grams), stand-up pouch (various weight classes) and test tube (10 ml)
• larger quantities than shown on request

Save

• batch number **OB590411
• best before September 2029 (09-2029)