Product Review

Zanthoxylum piperitum, the Japanese pepper, Japanese pricklyash, or sanshō is a deciduous aromatic spiny shrub or small tree, belonging to the Rutaceae (citrus and rue) family. Natural range spans from Hokkaido to Kyushu in Japan. The plant is important commercially. The pulverized mature fruits ("peppercorns" or "berries") known as "Japanese pepper" or kona-zanshō are the standard spice for sprinkling on the broiled eel (kabayaki unagi) dish. It is also one of the seven main ingredients of the blended spice called shichimi, which also contains red chili peppers. The tree blooms in April to May, forming axillary flower clusters, about 5mm, and yellow-green in color. It is dioecious, and the flowers of the male plant can be consumed as hana-sanshō, while the female flowers yield berries or peppercorns of about 5mm. Around September to October, the berries turn scarlet and burst, scattering the black seeds within. The branch grows pairs of sharp thorns, and has odd-pinnately compound leaves, alternately arranged, with 5〜9 pairs of ovate leaflets having crenate (slightly serrated) margins.