Timut pepper
Zanthoxylum armatum · Spice
Top 10 pairings
Timut pepper (also spelt timur) is the dried fruit husk of the Himalayan prickly-ash Zanthoxylum armatum, a close relative of Sichuan pepper grown chiefly in Nepal. It is neither a true pepper nor a chilli but a member of the citrus family, and it is prized for an unusually clean, vivid grapefruit aroma carried over the same buzzing, lip- and tongue-numbing tingle that defines its Sichuan cousin.
Picking a good onedrag
Bright grapefruit, a full buzzing tingleDusty husk, no lift and no buzz
Good dried stockEveryday bestThe all-rounder. Whole husks into hot oil, achar and momo dipping sauces; sieved and ground over seafood or into a spice salt.
Smell of a crushed huskClear grapefruit on the crush, nearer zest than juice, and gone again quickly
The tingleA clear fizzing tingle, slower to arrive and shorter to fade
Husk, seed and twigWhole husks, with loose black seed and the odd twig to sieve out first
The husks in the bagBrowner and duller overall, but dry, loose and rattling in the bag