Author Topic: Sansho Pepper  (Read 1910 times)

Oolie

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1282
    • San Diego
    • View Profile
Sansho Pepper
« on: June 18, 2019, 04:58:40 AM »
I didn't see much about this on the boards, so I thought I would share.
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2029109/

It's very interesting in that not only does it have the zesty appeal of citrus, but it has a very unique (to the west) bite.

When you have it on anything but the heaviest of dishes, it can be quite mouth numbing.

The leaves are also used at tender-green stage, and are an essential part of Spring cooking in Japanese cuisine.

It's very cold hardy as well.

The flavor is closest to mandarin, and it's a great topping for vanilla ice cream.

Walt

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 333
    • USA, Kansas, Kanopolis, zone 6
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2019, 12:49:38 PM »
It said Sansho is in the citrus family.  Do you know its genus and species?
Near the end, it said it is a good to sprinkle it on vanilla ice cream.  I was reminded that some like chiltipine powder on vanilla ice cream.  Chiltipine is the wild ancestor of domestic chili peppers and is extremely hot, but also with a strong pepper flavor aside from the hot flavor.

caladri

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 131
    • Canada, British Columbia, Salt Spring Island, USDA 8b/9a
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2019, 12:49:54 PM »
The prickly ashes, Zanthoxylum, are indeed in Rutaceae and might even be graft-compatible with Citrus and Poncirus, although that's less certain.  Like Murraya spp., Zanthoxylum spp. produce a lot of interesting compounds that are pungent, citrusy, or even sort of petrochemicaly (as in the case of very good Murraya koenigii.)  My fantasy is to have a single tree with Poncirus, Murraya, and Zanthoxylum — it would be a pretty interesting stink!

Now, saying the flavour is close to mandarin orange strikes me as a little silly.  Sansho is more citrusy than the green Zanthoxylum cultivars in China, and certainly moreso than the red huajiao that you'll find in most real Sichuan-style in North America (the green Chinese cultivars have only been available more recently.)  Still, there's a lot of other stuff going on there.  Very good for brightness, though!

There's at least one North American native Zanthoxylum, Z. americanum, and in the Hawaiian Islands, there's several (and if anyone has cuttings of any or all of them, I'm super interested in buying some from you!)

SoCal2warm

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1554
    • zone 10 and zone 8a
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2019, 03:54:51 PM »
I had fresh Sansho in Japan, it was very good. It was peppery, but in a more subtle way, a little bit like Szechuan pepper, but more green and had a slightly floral aroma to it, and was reminiscent of citrus, with a "salty" lime flavor, and Yuzu or Kaffir lime fragrance, but also half like lemongrass, and slightly sweet.

It would be great for making beef jerky.

You don't want to use too much of it though, it's best mixed with other spices in a smaller amount to add subtle unique flavor.

The berries taste better than the leaves (which can also be used). The seeds are shaken out and removed from the dried berries before use.

Of course like Szechuan pepper, it gives a tingly numbing sensation to the tongue, but it's half as strong. This numbing sensation is a little bit like drinking highly carbonated water while having a device applying high frequency vibration to the tongue, and on top of that pins and needles, but it's not entirely unpleasant. In smaller amounts.
It's "peppery" in both a similar way to Black pepper and hot peppers, but also in its own unique way.

The Japanese sometimes use it in Japanese 5-spice as a condiment to Yakitori, or in the broth of fatty fish dishes, when they need something to "cut through" the fat/richness. (like Saba mackerel)

You need both the male and female plants if you want to get any berries to form, so you'd probably need to grow several seedlings together. (Although the leaves can also be used)
« Last Edit: June 18, 2019, 04:02:03 PM by SoCal2warm »

deRoode

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 69
    • The Netherlands
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #4 on: June 20, 2019, 05:50:43 AM »
It said Sansho is in the citrus family.  Do you know its genus and species?
Near the end, it said it is a good to sprinkle it on vanilla ice cream.  I was reminded that some like chiltipine powder on vanilla ice cream.  Chiltipine is the wild ancestor of domestic chili peppers and is extremely hot, but also with a strong pepper flavor aside from the hot flavor.

I had no idea that it is used on ice cream, I have to try that  ;D


You need both the male and female plants if you want to get any berries to form, so you'd probably need to grow several seedlings together. (Although the leaves can also be used)

I have a Sansho bonsai, and I was hoping to have some fruit this year, but I guess I will have to find another one
« Last Edit: June 20, 2019, 05:53:19 AM by deRoode »

deRoode

  • Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 69
    • The Netherlands
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #5 on: June 20, 2019, 05:51:24 AM »
.

SoCal2warm

  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 1554
    • zone 10 and zone 8a
    • View Profile
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #6 on: June 20, 2019, 02:44:16 PM »
Zanthoxylum (Szechuan pepper and Sansho) is indeed a relative of citrus, but I'm not sure that it's really appropriate to have them posted in the Citrus section.

They're not that closely related.

However, one old source does say this:
"Pollen from some citrus cultivars was sufficiently compatible with Z.
americanum for pollen germination and pollen tube growth, but offspring from attempted
Z. americanum x citrus crosses showed only Z. americanum morphology."
https://conservancy.umn.edu/bitstream/handle/11299/174819/Munter_umn_0130M_15987.pdf?sequence=1

It might just have been possible the citrus pollen was inducing parthenocarpy in the Zanthoxylum, in which case the offspring might turn out to be haploid versions of Zanthoxylum.

The article went on to say:
"Seedlings germinated from Z. americanum x citrus crossings showed only Z. americanum morphology with no obvious indications of any citrus parentage.  The seedlings will be examined as they mature for any indications of citrus parentage as it is possible that the Z. americanum x citrus seedlings have not yet exhibited their citrus characteristics.  Nevertheless, the Z. americanum x citrus crosses were likely unsuccessful in producing intergeneric hybrids.  If Z. americanum x citrus sexual crosses do prove to be futile, somatic hybridization or microprotoplast fusion are future avenues to explore for intergeneric gene exchange to develop truly cold hardy citrus that combine Z. americanum cold hardiness with citrus fruiting traits"
« Last Edit: June 20, 2019, 02:53:42 PM by SoCal2warm »

Sylvain

  • Sr. Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 263
    • Bergerac, France
    • View Profile
    • Looking for Wakonai.
Re: Sansho Pepper
« Reply #7 on: June 20, 2019, 07:25:37 PM »
> It might just have been possible the citrus pollen was inducing parthenocarpy in the Zanthoxylum, in which case the offspring might turn out to be haploid versions of Zanthoxylum.
When you say 'parthenocarpy', I presume you mean 'apomixis" because there is no offspring with parthenocarpy (even haploid).