A surprising and extremely rare Indonesian pepper.

Andaliman pepper has long been cultivated by the Batak, Christians from the northern island of Sumatra, Indonesia. The best soils for growing this spice are near Lake Toba, one of the largest volcanic lakes on the planet. Ours comes from a single plantation, which is literally inside the crater. The Batak use this pepper much like black pepper in the West. It is their everyday pepper and is found in almost all meat and fish dishes. Its aroma is comparable to that of Szechuan pepper, with much more intense citrus notes (tangerine, lime). Its anesthetic properties, more subtle than those of its Szechuan relative, reduce the burning sensation that hot chilies can cause. It can be added whole to sauces and stews, or combined with spices such as galangal, ginger, chili, turmeric and garlic to flavor fish or poultry dishes.