Steenbergs Lampung Black Pepper comes from comes from a small region called Kota Bumi in Lampung Utara in Southern Sumatra in Indonesia. Here spice farmers still use the classic farming practice of using pepper vines on shade-growing trees. Glos...
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Steenbergs Lampung Black Pepper comes from comes from a small region called Kota Bumi in Lampung Utara in Southern Sumatra in Indonesia. Here spice farmers still use the classic farming practice of using pepper vines on shade-growing trees. Glossy leaved pepper vines grow up the trunks of tropical shade trees providing protection from heat and harsh sunlight. On the forest floor, nitrogen-fixing legumes are planted in rings around the pepper vines, offering a constant source of nutrients and protecting valuable biodiversity such as beneficial insects that act as natural protection against diseases that affect these pepper vines.
The black pepper berries themselves are incredibly pungent when grown like this, developing pungent heat like a chilli pepper fruits. The quality of this Lampung black pepper compared to the kit you get from high street stores is amazing – like the difference between home grown tomatoes and the junk you get from the supermarket. Steenbergs Lampung Black Pepper comes from only 1% of the total available pepper harvest in a shade-grown pepper field, with higher quality Steenbergs pepper berries specially selected and harvested at the peak of ripeness. Lampung black pepper has a very bold and pungent flavour - even stronger than Malabar black peppercorns like Steenbergs luxury black pepper berries. Steenbergs Lampung Black pepper is a perfect match to red meat, roasted poultry, grilled vegetables, tomato sauces, marinades and dressings, soft cheese, chai tea, and syrups.
Peppercorns are the fruit of a tropical, woody climbing vine, Piper nigrum, which can reach up to 10m in height (33ft). However, pepper vines need a host tree to grow up, with for example areca nut, eucalyptus or palm trees used or in Malaysia pepper vines are grown up poles or trellises. The pepper vine has dark-green oval leaves that vary in size depending on the cultivar grown, but thy average at about 18cm long (7 inches) and 12cm (5 inches) wide. Little flowers hang down in catkins of 3-15cm in length (1-6 inches) within the dense leafy foliage. From these, the peppercorn fruits grow on densely packed spikes of 5-15cm in length (2-6 inches), containing up to 50 individual berries. These pepper fruits start out an intense green then ripen to a yellow colour before turning a reddish-pink colour when fully ripe. for more on pepper, check out Gernot Katzer's Spice Pages or Wikipedia.
Black pepper is the quintessential spice - it has that depth of warm, oily, sensuous flavour that have a spicy bite, yet black pepper can blend with many different flavours amalgamating their special characteristics, whether they be sweet like cinnamon or earthy as in turmeric, to create a new whole that is greater than the sum of all flavours. Then black pepper seems to work with almost all types of food - perhaps it is its exoticism and its mouthwatering stimulating quality - whether it is vegetables like potato, poultry, red meat or fish like salmon. Nearly every type of savoury dish needs pepper, perhaps with its favourite partner - salt, so try Steenbergs' recipes or Allrecipes, or how about my Pepper Chicken Recipe?
Steenbergs Lampung Black Pepper is part of Steenbergs UK spice range of exclusive spice ingredients that we've tracked down from remote parts of the world, and they're spice products that you will just not get on the high street. Browse our website for more ideas or call us on 01765 640 088.
Spice - season - savour - sustainably with Steenbergs.