Large creamy white peppercorns from a small Indian estate in Kerala have a
pungent aroma, subtle woody or musky undertones and a fiery burn.
They’re not the flip side of the coin.
And they’re not from a different plant.
White and black peppercorns are both the fruit of the Piper nigrum, a woody tropical vine which flourishes in a narrow band around the equator. But differences in harvesting and processing do create distinctly different peppercorns.
Here’s the scoop on the white ones:
Plant family: Piperaceae
Botanical name: Piper nigrum
Key Regions: Malaysa, Indonesia; also grown in India, Cameroon
Description: Unlike black peppercorns which are harvested when the berries are still green, berries for white peppercorns are left on vine to ripen until they turn yellow or red. After the harvest, they are packed into jute bags or wooden barrels, then washed or soaked in cool water to loosen the outer shell. They are rubbed clean and washed again to reveal the pale inner core of the peppercorn, then dried in the sun or in a kiln.
White peppercorns tend to have a sharp. hot flavor and a relatively mild aroma since the outer pericarp where the fragrant compounds are located has been removed. White peppercorns that have not been properly dried and are still damp when packed develop an odor known as “dirty socks.” In the trade this refers to “a moldy, musty flavor” or a “soured aroma.”
The Best White Peppercorns are Named After Their Point of Origin:
Although white peppercorns share certain basic characteristics, terroir and the way they are processed accounts for subtle differences in aroma and flavor. There are two principal named varieties:
Sarawak white peppercorns: Long considered the ne plus ultra of white pepper. Very clean, creamy colored peppercorns from Malaysian Borneo, cultivated in small mountain plots by members of the Bidayuh tribe. Pepper berries are hand plucked when ripe and washed in cool running spring water for up to two weeks. After drying, they are sorted to remove any dark-colored corns and lab-tested for microbes before receiving the top government designation, “Sarawak Cream Label."
Sarawak white peppercorns have a musky or woody aroma, a hot flavor and a slight piney or balsamic after taste. It is the pepper to use for a quick shot of heat in pale soups or sauces where black flecks are not desired; it is also good for simply adding heat to a dish without also adding the more distinctive flavor of black peppercorns. White pepper blends well with ginger and dark chocolate, and adds zest to fruit compotes and other sweet spicy desserts.
Muntok peppercorns: White peppercorns shipped from the port of Muntok on the island of Bangka in Indonesia. Ripe pepper berries are soaked in barrels of cool water until the outer shell detaches and is removed. Pale cream to light tan in color, smaller than Sarawak peppercorns. A slightly musty aroma; hot with a mildly fermented taste.
Muntok white peppercorns are considered medium grade and are less expensive than premium Sarawak peppercorns. I like to mix them with black and green peppercorns when making dishes like pepper-crusted, grilled pork tenderloin or in blends such as ras el hanout or garam masala.
Other white peppercorns from named regions include:
Penja peppercorns: These large light tan peppercorns are said be to grown in the volcanic soil of the Penja valley in Cameroon. Their flavor varies with age and possibly with the specific terroir of the plots in which they are grown. Some Penja pepper is quite fiery and tastes of resin; other Penja peppercorns, particularly some I have found in France, are more subtle, warm rather than hot, with fruity or floral characteristics and a fresh eucalyptus-like after taste. Gerard Vives, a French pepper specialist, recommends grinding a little Penja pepper over raw oysters and serving them with buttered rye bread.
Small named estates in India are now producing superb peppercorns for export:
Parameswaran’s Special Wynad White Pepper is grown on an organic farm on the Wynad Plateau in Kerala, a lush coastal state famous for producing India’s finest pepper. Fertilized with compost and buffalo and cow manure, the berries are hand-picked at the moment of peak ripeness, soaked for 10 to 15 days in as many changes of fresh water, and dried on mats in the hot sun, before being vacuum-packed to preserve freshness. Para’s white peppercorns are very large and creamy; their aroma is vivid and quite pungent; hot with woody or musky undertones. Remarkably, they are so fresh—each bag is dated with the crop year--that they seem to taste of the sun.
To read more about pepper, see The Spice and Herb Bible by Ian Hemphill; Gernot Katzer’s Spice Pages and the Fall 2004 issue of SpiceLines: Black Pepper: King of Spices.