"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" > wrote in
:
> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
> ...

>> I did. No success. I've looked in every known web site and spice
>> catalog without success. If this keeps up, I'm trucking down to
>> Chinatown to find them.

> You must have missed http://tinyurl.com/5ugcf .

I did. Bless your boots for that link. They even have pandan leaves and
panch phoron!


> They've had them for
> a few months, now. FWIW, the ban has been revised (in January, no
> less) to allow heat-treated peppercorns on the market in the US. If
> the tinyurl link doesn't work, the homepage is www.adrianascaravan.com
> (range in price, depending on size of bag). Just do a search for
> "Szechuan peppercorns." Another option is www.buffalocreekspices.com .
> It's under "Peppercorns, Whole Sichuan" and is $8/lb. A third option
> is http://www.thecmccompany.com/chin.htm but it's $5.95/2 oz there.

Funny, I just googled last week, "Sichuan peppercorns," "Szechwan
peppercorns," even plain "pepper" and not a single link had them. This
week, it appears everybody does. Is Google suffering from sunspots?

> I have no experience with the above companies and cannot, personally,
> recommend them. I got the information from the good folks on e-Gullet
> and their 12-page thread on Sichuan Peppercorns. Several people there
> recommend, and have purchased from, both CMC and Buffalo Creek, btw.

Thanks.

I actually found some (old!) in a jar in my kitchen, squashed under a bag
of unlabeled grain (god alone knows what type of grain it is). Naturally,
the peppercorns were labeled "red pepper," probably by some nitwit of a
grocery clerk, but I recognized the stunning color and smell of good
fragara.

I used them in a double-stock this weekend, 1 tsp for 5 lb of chicken
bones + 2 qt water. Let's see if they burn our socks off.

Many thanks to all who replied. I will think good thoughts at you all as
I cook up the next peppercorn-using dish!

sq