Pink peppercorn
pink PEP-ur-korn
Schinus terebinthifolia
Sweet, fruity, mild, faintly peppery.
What it is
Pink peppercorns are not true pepper at all but the dried berries of a South American shrub, Schinus, related to cashews and mangoes. They have a sweet, fruity, faintly piney flavor with only a hint of peppery bite, and their rosy color makes them a popular finishing touch. They appear in French cooking, often blended with other peppercorns, and scattered over fish, salads, and even desserts. Because they belong to the cashew family, people with tree-nut allergies should be cautious. They are prized more for fragrance and color than for heat.
What it pairs with
Goes wrong with: dishes needing real pepper heat.
Common in French cooking.
Whole vs ground
The delicate rose-colored berries have a brittle papery shell and are used whole or lightly crushed. They are fragile, so they crumble easily.
How to handle it
Crush lightly over finished dishes for color and a sweet, resinous pop. They are decorative as much as flavorful, often used alongside other peppercorns.
Storage
Airtight and dark. The brittle berries keep their color and aroma for several months.
Buying note
Buy whole; they crush easily. Note they are botanically unrelated to pepper and sit in the cashew family.
Classic dishes
four-peppercorn blends, salmon with pink pepper, fruit desserts, cream sauces.
Out of pink peppercorn? Substitutes
No substitute is exact. These are the closest by flavor behavior, with the ratio to start from and how the result will differ.
| Use instead | Ratio | How it differs |
|---|---|---|
| a mix of black pepper and a little crushed dried cranberry | to taste | approximates the fruity-peppery note and color, imperfectly |
One odd thing
Pink peppercorns are not pepper at all, but berries from a relative of the cashew and mango trees.