Specialty salts/peppers - what are your favorites?

[David M. Bueker]

Karen, Maldon would be a perfect finishing salt for someone with those concerns, as it's a manufactured salt.

Harumph. Spoofulation!

[Jenise]

I have to amend my list with one more, this salt:

http://www.kauai-hawaii.com/destinations.php?63

I'm using a New Zealand natural sea salt from Lake Grassmere in the Marlborough region. This salt is as good as any I've tried. Lately I've taken to adding fennel seeds to the salt grinder as well. OMG - delicious.

Just got one of these in the mail a couple of weeks ago. So far my favorite is the Vietnamese, though the Malabar runs a close second and is better liked by most of our friends who have tasted more than one. Have only tried half of them so far, though.

[Jenise]

Just got one of these in the mail a couple of weeks ago. So far my favorite is the Vietnamese, though the Malabar runs a close second and is better liked by most of our friends who have tasted more than one. Have only tried half of them so far, though.

What a cool gift, Lee. I'm going to bookmark that site for future gifting ideas. I feel a bit embarrassed and provincial in admitting that of those listed in your gift pack, I've only had only three of them (sarawak, tellicherry and malabar), I've not even heard of the other five. Malabar was once my preference, though I've come to prefer tellicherry.

I am the owner of Pepper-Passion, the site linked to in the earlier post. I wanted to advise that I have a coupon code for repeat customers and for visitors referred to us from forums such as this. The coupon code is "MALABAR" and it is good for a 10% discount on anything you order. Wine lovers seem to get what we are about and appreciate-the subtle flavor differences that are available if you go beyond the simplest generic products.

It is not surprising that some of the nine black peppercorns available at our site would be unknown to the average consumer. For years the trade was dominated by the mixes MLS or MLSB (Malabar, Lampong, Sarawak, Brazilian,with the cheapest blends being heavy on the Brazilian). Tellicherry is well known as a higher grade Indian pepper.

Vietnam has become a huge exporter of spices and they are now the largest exporter of peppercorns. The quality is very high and the taste is reminiscent of lemon pepper.

Madagascar pepper has a smoky aroma flavor and most of the production is sent o France so it is almost unheard of in the USA.

Pohnpei pepper was a "micro" production that was almost destroyed by government policies 20 years ago. Production is resuming but prices are very high and this organic peppercorn has a balanced slightly sweet flavor. It has a small but extremely loyal following and we always keep it in stock.

Kampot pepper was also highly regarded and mostly used in France until the civil war in Cambodia almost destroyed the industry. Production is recovering and this organic peppercorn has flavor hints of guava and eucalyptus. Very little of this pepper makes its way to the USA and we are one of the few sellers of this product.

Talamanca Del Caribe comes from central Ecuador and is also an organic micro production area. The aroma and flavor is earthy and bold and this is the hottest black peppercorn we offer. A true pepper lovers pepper.

Hope you will consider experimenting with us. More information is available at our web site.

Bruce Morgan
www.pepper-passion.com

[Jenise]

Bruce, welcome back, and thanks for the explanations and details of your offer.

I'll bet you know the answer to a question that came up this weekend when discussing pepper varieties with a friend who has yet to commit to a preference: what kind of pepper is used in the basic cheap ground pepper can pepper? I thought sarawak reminded me of that taste, but it's probably something much lesser.

The answer is the mix "MLSB" that I referred to earlier. Brazilan Black pepper is low in quality that few people sell it by itself. It is used as cheap filler to be added to the M, L, and S. I think they are aiming for a certain min qty of piperine and other essential oils and they need the better asian products to achieve that. I suppose they are now adding the Vietnemese as well since thy are such large producers. I do not come from a spice or food background so I get my information from others who do have that B/G. BTW, major producers also have varying grades thery offer and for exapmple the Sarawk we buy would be much better than what is added to the generic mixes.

What I DO know is that the products we buy are consistent in quality and each variety has a distinct and unique aroma and flavor. I can identify most of thenm by simply smelling and handful of whole peppercorns.

Bruce