For two decades, the quality of the products we eat has become an essential subject in our daily lives. Traceability, authenticity, naturalness, quality and the producer behind them have become important criteria. So over time we have learned to better choose our products, whether in oils, vinegars, coffees, chocolates, etc., we have acquired notions allowing us to better guide our choices towards quality.
But curiously, we are a little less knowledgeable about spices, vanilla and pepper. Know how to choose a good spice or pepper. Here is some information on how to choose good quality premium peppers. A spice, a vanilla, a pepper are all products of nature, depending on the origin, the harvesting process, the processing work, we can find both exceptional and poor quality products.
We will only talk here about the Piper type, the pepper that we all have in our kitchen.
How do we define the quality of a pepper?
Several specifications…
There is no international quality classification in the world of pepper. Some countries define specifications for the quality of a pepper taking into account criteria of grain size, grain purity, sorting, moisture content, percentage of low density berries.
In India we will talk about TGSEB (Tellicherry Garbled Special Extra Bold) TGEB (Tellicherry Garbled Extra Bold) TG (Tellicherry Garbled) from Malabar; Garbled Black Pepper MG-1, MG-2 , Malabar Ungarbled Black Pepper MUG 1 to 4. In Vietnam we will talk about Bold, Asta, BB2, FAQ, Pinhead , this time we largely take into account the apparent density of the pepper ( density of several peppercorns in a container). In Indonesia we will find the ASTA system (which comes to us from the USA, American Spice Trade Association). In Malaysia a similar system is introduced, but this time, based on colors indicating the label ( Brown label, Yellow label, Black Label, etc.) for black peppers and Cream, Green, Blue Label for white peppers. From time to time we can find these mentions on commercial peppers in France. Little known here, they are rarely used. Even if this is a guarantee of quality, it will be difficult to remember all these sovereign quality labels.
How to choose quality pepper?
The origin, a certain guarantee of quality.
The origins of pepper are, however, very useful for the consumer. Like wine, pepper has its own great vintages. They are internationally recognized for their aromatic expression. The flavor of the pepper will differ depending on the terroir, the climatic conditions, and the work of the producer.
The most famous wines include:
Karimunda , Malabar and Tellichery from Kerala, India. Cambodia 's
Kampot Muntok
white pepper , from Sumatra, Indonesia. Sri Lankan
black pepper
Phu - Quoc , named after its island of origin, in the South-West of Vietnam .
The Lampong , originally from Sumatra, Indonesia.
Sarawak originates from the north of the island of Borneo , which is part of Malaysia.
The Penja of Cameroon. Black pepper
from Madagascar Voatsiperifery
from Madagascar. (it is a cousin of piper nigrum, piper borbonense) Note that Penja pepper from Cameroon and Kampot pepper are the only two peppers to benefit from a PGI (protected geographical indication). Their specifications are stricter than other peppers. The origin is certainly a very good guarantee of quality. If this is clearly indicated on the container, you will definitely have a good product. Carefully check what you are told on the container or what the seller will tell you. Do not hesitate to question him, through his answers, you will see if he masters the sourcing of his products. However, within each origin we can note qualitative differences. Pepper is like wine, from a good bunch of grapes you can make a good wine or an exceptional vintage. The notion of single producer can be an asset, it certifies that the pepper comes from one and only one farm, transformed by one and only one producer. We are on a great vintage. The parallel to wine will enlighten you: it will not be a cooperative pepper. (from several producers) What are the tests to validate my choice? It is often difficult to assess the quality of a food with visual, touch and smell alone. It's the same thing for the pepper, taste it!
Take the time to taste it, to understand all its flavors. A premium pepper has heat but a whole host of flavors that accompany it. Like a perfume, you will have top, heart and base notes. A quality pepper will express itself over time (a few minutes) in your mouth. Unlike a low-end pepper which only stings for a few seconds.
There is also a test, which is repeated regularly, which consists of immersing peppercorns in water and then saying: “if the grains float, it is because it is of poor quality, they are not concentrated. in essential oil. We will see here that this one brings nothing, worse it will guide you in bad directions. Peppercorns immersed in water How to recognize good pepper? Appearance : Observing the grains can already tell you a lot about the quality of the pepper. The grains must be whole, they must not be damaged or broken. Each grain must be neat, clean without dust. The homogeneity of the grains is an indication of the sorting carried out. Fragrances : Peppercorns have subtle scents that should be smelled. They will indicate the beginning of their aromatic expression. Unlike false peppers such as Zanthoxylum (Timur, Sichuan, etc.), piper nigrum releases less power to the sense of smell. When you inhale, pepper should not make you sneeze. If this is the case, then you are in the presence of pepper dust; most likely an old pepper that no longer has much flavor. The ideal is to smell a pepper that has just been crushed, all its fragrances are then released. Flavors : The best test is simply to taste a grain and appreciate its flavors.