How to Recognize A Good Pepper?

Spice, especially peppercorns, are products of nature, and depending on their origin, harvesting, and processing methods, you can find both exceptional quality and poor-quality stuff.

How do you define the quality of a pepper?

While there is no international classification of pepper quality, exporting countries define pepper quality by taking into account various criteria such as seed size, seed purity, sorting, moisture content, and percentage of low-density berries.
In Malaysia, the MPB (Malaysia Pepper Board) introduces a system similar to the ASTA system (American Spice Trade Association), is using specific colors indicating the label (Brown label, Yellow Label, Black Label, etc.) for black peppers, land Cream, Green, Blue Label for white peppers. Specification Criteria are listed as below.

Sarawak Black Pepper Grading

Sarawak White Pepper Grading

These labels are the guarantee of quality, and Sarawak peppers are among the best in the world.

How to choose a quality pepper?

Origin is a sure guarantee of quality. Pepper's origins are very useful for the consumer. Like wine, pepper has its own grands crus. They are internationally recognized for their aromatic expression. The flavor of pepper will differ according to terroir, climatic conditions, and the work of the grower.

• The best-known crus include: Karimunda, Malabar, and Tellichery from Kerala, India
• Kampot from Cambodia
• Muntok white pepper from Sumatra, Indonesia
• Black pepper from Sri Lanka
• Phu-Quoc, named after its island of origin in southwest Vietnam
• Lampong, from Sumatra, Indonesia
• Sarawak, from northern Borneo, part of Malaysia
• Penja from Cameroon
• Black pepper from Madagascar

Origin is certainly a very good guarantee of quality. If it's marked on the container, you're sure to get a good product. Pepper has been commercially grown in Sarawak for well over 150 years and it is still farmed in small plots on local family-run farms. Grown in relatively small quantities with no chemicals, hand-reared in rich, fertile soils, and left to dry in the golden tropical sun, no wonder Sarawak pepper is so exquisite that it is considered a gourmet pepper and is sought after by chefs around the world.

What tests can be used to validate your choice of pepper?

It's often difficult to assess the quality of food by sight, touch, and smell alone. It's the same with pepper: taste it!
Take the time to taste it, to understand all its flavors. Premium peppercorns are spicy, but they also come with a whole host of fragrances. Like a perfume, you'll find top notes, middle notes, and base notes. A quality pepper will express itself over time (a few minutes) in your mouth. Unlike a low-grade pepper that only stings for a few seconds.

How to recognize a good pepper?

• Appearance:

Observing the peppercorns can tell you a lot about their quality. Peppercorns must be whole, not damaged or broken. Each peppercorn should be clean and dust-free. The homogeneity of the peppercorns is an indication of how well they have been sorted.

• Fragrances:

Peppercorns have subtle fragrances that should be smelled. They'll give you a hint of their aromatic expression. Unlike false peppers such as Zanthoxylum (Timur, Sichuan, etc.), piper nigrum is less powerful in the sense of smell. When you inhale, the pepper should not make you sneeze. If it does, then you're in the presence of pepper dust; most likely an old pepper that no longer has much flavor. Ideally, you should smell a pepper that has just been crushed, to release all its fragrances.

• Flavors:

The best test is simply to taste a grain and appreciate its flavors.

Sarawak black pepper has a big, rounded, woody aroma with a noticeable citrus pinch, but the taste is mellow, with a balanced woodiness that’s slightly sweet.

Sarawak white pepper has a musk-like, slightly licorice aroma. It’s medium-strength in spiciness, with lemony notes, and leaves a light, tongue-tingling sensation in the mouth.