Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
:


> A special greeting to the amazing, generous Chris Dieckmann, who
> answered my plea for Szechuan peppercorns with the offer to send me
> three packages. Chris not only charged a ludicrously small amount but
> sent back the extra $2 I had enclosed to cover any extra shipping and
> for "going to the store for me." Thanks again, Chris, my chicken with
> cashews now tastes like it should.

Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked everywhere
without success.

I understand the agricultural restrictions, but I'm a very careful cook and
gardener and would use my Sichuan peppercorns only for good, never for
evil.

sq

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 01:37:36 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
> wrote:

>Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
:
>
>
>> A special greeting to the amazing, generous Chris Dieckmann, who
>> answered my plea for Szechuan peppercorns with the offer to send me
>> three packages. Chris not only charged a ludicrously small amount but
>> sent back the extra $2 I had enclosed to cover any extra shipping and
>> for "going to the store for me." Thanks again, Chris, my chicken with
>> cashews now tastes like it should.
>
>Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked everywhere
>without success.
>
>I understand the agricultural restrictions, but I'm a very careful cook and
>gardener and would use my Sichuan peppercorns only for good, never for
>evil.

Can't definitively answer your Sichuan pepper query. Although I
understand it has been banned from import into the US for quite some
time, I have seen posts in the cooking groups saying that it is
becoming available again (but verify the reliability of the vendor).
You might do a Google groups search on "Sichuan".

Are you any relation to the reknowned late Col. I.F.
Khuntilanont-Philpott ) who posted great Thai
recipes regularly to rec.food.cooking? For example:

<http://groups.google.com/groups?q=colonel+authorhilpott&hl=en&lr=&safe=of f&scoring=d&as_drrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=5&as_miny =1981&as_maxd=4&as_maxm=12&as_maxy=2004&selm=rec.f ood.veg.cooking/336D6948.52E9%40vu-korat.ac.th&rnum=4>

Jed > wrote in
:
> On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 01:37:36 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
> > wrote:


>>Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked
>>everywhere without success.

>>I understand the agricultural restrictions, but I'm a very careful
>>cook and gardener and would use my Sichuan peppercorns only for good,
>>never for evil.

> Can't definitively answer your Sichuan pepper query. Although I
> understand it has been banned from import into the US for quite some
> time, I have seen posts in the cooking groups saying that it is
> becoming available again (but verify the reliability of the vendor).
> You might do a Google groups search on "Sichuan".

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.

> Are you any relation to the reknowned late Col. I.F.
> Khuntilanont-Philpott ) who posted great Thai
> recipes regularly to rec.food.cooking? For example:

'Fraid not, though I wish I were. Those were some stupendous recipes.

sq

"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 . 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.

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.

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We had
people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the energy to go
back. We call them Canadians."
---Grover Norquist in Newsweek, November 22, 2004

Thanks for these links/resources. And simply for the info that some of
Szech corns are back on the US market. I'll try locally again, now that
they can be aboveground, but good to know I can mailorder if needed.

"Rona Yuthasastrakosol" > wrote > >
>
> You must have missed http://tinyurl.com/5ugcf . 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.
>
> 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.
"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We had
> people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the energy to
go
> back. We call them Canadians."
> ---Grover Norquist in Newsweek, November 22, 2004
>
>
>

I tried a general (not specifically Asian) spice shop yesterday and they had
not heard of any ban lifting, though sounded interested. Their recommended
substitute was "Tazmanian" peppercorns (is this just Tasmanian misspelled or
?). Does anyone know what those are and whether they work?

Also, at the link below (Adriana's Caravan), they only report Sz P'corn's
availability as of September 2004. What's the January date based on?

"ggull" > wrote
> Thanks for these links/resources. And simply for the info that some of
> Szech corns are back on the US market. I'll try locally again, now that
> they can be aboveground, but good to know I can mailorder if needed.
>
> "Rona Yuthasastrakosol" > wrote > >
> >
> > You must have missed http://tinyurl.com/5ugcf . 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. <snip>

"ggull" > wrote in message
...
> I tried a general (not specifically Asian) spice shop yesterday and they
had
> not heard of any ban lifting, though sounded interested. Their
recommended
> substitute was "Tazmanian" peppercorns (is this just Tasmanian misspelled
or
> ?). Does anyone know what those are and whether they work?
>
> Also, at the link below (Adriana's Caravan), they only report Sz P'corn's
> availability as of September 2004. What's the January date based on?

<some shifting of posts, to maintain continuity>

Head on to e-Gullet and do a search for their thread on Szechuan
peppercorns. Then scroll through the 12 pages until you find a quotation
from the Chicago Tribune and read that. You can search the Chicago Tribune
archives, if you want, for the actual article but I'm certainly not paying
for it just to give you proof that what I say is true. And while you're at
it, go to http://www.aphis.usda.gov and do a search on their site or e-mail
them to find out when the ban was, in fact, lifted.

As for Adriana's Caravan, the description says, "back as of September 2004."
That, to mean, meant they started carrying them as of September 2004, not
necessarily that the ban was lifted in September 2004. Really, who the hell
cares *when* the ban was lifted?

rona

--
***For e-mail, replace .com with .ca Sorry for the inconvenience!***

"[America] is filled with people who decided not to live in Europe. We had
people who really wanted to live in Europe, but didn't have the energy to go
back. We call them Canadians."
---Grover Norquist in Newsweek, November 22, 2004

"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

Rona Yuthasastrakosol wrote:

> "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 . 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.
>
> 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.
>
> rona
>

adrians caravan is recommended in Fuschia Dunlop's 'Land of Plenty' book.

Ian

On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 04:11:50 -0800, Jed >
wrote:

>On Sat, 04 Dec 2004 01:37:36 -0000, "mroo philpott-smythe"
> wrote:
>
>>Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
m:
>>
>>
>>> A special greeting to the amazing, generous Chris Dieckmann, who
>>> answered my plea for Szechuan peppercorns with the offer to send me
>>> three packages. Chris not only charged a ludicrously small amount but
>>> sent back the extra $2 I had enclosed to cover any extra shipping and
>>> for "going to the store for me." Thanks again, Chris, my chicken with
>>> cashews now tastes like it should.
>>
>>Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked everywhere
>>without success.
>>
>>I understand the agricultural restrictions, but I'm a very careful cook and
>>gardener and would use my Sichuan peppercorns only for good, never for
>>evil.
>
>Can't definitively answer your Sichuan pepper query. Although I
>understand it has been banned from import into the US for quite some
>time, I have seen posts in the cooking groups saying that it is
>becoming available again (but verify the reliability of the vendor).
>You might do a Google groups search on "Sichuan".

possibly the thing to do is to ask your relatives, if they are heading
into canada to get prescription drugs, to smuggle you some back from
there.

your pal,
blake
>
>Are you any relation to the reknowned late Col. I.F.
>Khuntilanont-Philpott ) who posted great Thai
>recipes regularly to rec.food.cooking? For example:
>
><http://groups.google.com/groups?q=colonel+authorhilpott&hl=en&lr=&safe=of f&scoring=d&as_drrb=b&as_mind=12&as_minm=5&as_miny =1981&as_maxd=4&as_maxm=12&as_maxy=2004&selm=rec.f ood.veg.cooking/336D6948.52E9%40vu-korat.ac.th&rnum=4>

"mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
...
> Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
> :

> Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked everywhere
> without success.
> sq

Yes, I bought a few ounces in the last few months from CMC Company in
Avalon, NJ. Hopefully they have some left! They said they had a dwindling
supply...

Judy

"Judy Bolton" > wrote in
:

>
> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
>> :
>
>> Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked
>> everywhere without success.
>> sq
>
> Yes, I bought a few ounces in the last few months from CMC Company in
> Avalon, NJ. Hopefully they have some left! They said they had a
> dwindling supply...

Well, it must've dwindled, I have their catalogue and it didn't show so
much as a berry.

And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for taste-testing,
and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!

sq

"mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
...
> "Judy Bolton" > wrote in
> :
>
>>
>> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
>>> :
>>
>>> Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked
>>> everywhere without success.
>>> sq
>>
>> Yes, I bought a few ounces in the last few months from CMC Company in
>> Avalon, NJ. Hopefully they have some left! They said they had a
>> dwindling supply...
>
> Well, it must've dwindled, I have their catalogue and it didn't show so
> much as a berry.
>
> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for taste-testing,
> and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!


Taste-testing?

What kind of chicken stock is it that requires Sichuan peppercorns??

Anyway, I just inherited some fresh peppercorns from supposedly the best
growing region for them in Sichuan. Yet I still have some older ones on
hand. Email me, and I'd send you some of my older batch. (They are also
hand-smuggled from Sichuan, so even though they're a few years old, I'm
guessing they're still better than the kind one gets here in the US.)

Peter

"Peter Dy" > wrote in
. com:
> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Judy Bolton" > wrote in
>> :
>>> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
>>> ...
>>>> Cape Cod Bob > wrote in
>>>> :

>>>> Does anyone know where I can get sichuan pepper? I have looked
>>>> everywhere without success.

>>> Yes, I bought a few ounces in the last few months from CMC Company
>>> in Avalon, NJ. Hopefully they have some left! They said they had a
>>> dwindling supply...

>> Well, it must've dwindled, I have their catalogue and it didn't show
>> so much as a berry.

>> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for
>> taste-testing, and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!

> Taste-testing?

I always taste my stock after making to decide whether the recipe is a
keeper. %^)

> What kind of chicken stock is it that requires Sichuan peppercorns??

Barbara Tropp's China Moon Single Stock.

> Anyway, I just inherited some fresh peppercorns from supposedly the
> best growing region for them in Sichuan. Yet I still have some older
> ones on hand. Email me, and I'd send you some of my older batch.
> (They are also hand-smuggled from Sichuan, so even though they're a
> few years old, I'm guessing they're still better than the kind one
> gets here in the US.)

Wow. May the Cooking Deities always favor you with the best of
ingredients!

Thanks a bunch, check your mailbox.

sq

"mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
...
> "Peter Dy" > wrote in
> . com:
>> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
>>> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for
>>> taste-testing, and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!
>
>> Taste-testing?
>
> I always taste my stock after making to decide whether the recipe is a
> keeper. %^)


Aha. I thought you maybe were in a competition or something!


>> What kind of chicken stock is it that requires Sichuan peppercorns??
>
> Barbara Tropp's China Moon Single Stock.
>
>> Anyway, I just inherited some fresh peppercorns from supposedly the
>> best growing region for them in Sichuan. Yet I still have some older
>> ones on hand. Email me, and I'd send you some of my older batch.
>> (They are also hand-smuggled from Sichuan, so even though they're a
>> few years old, I'm guessing they're still better than the kind one
>> gets here in the US.)
>
> Wow. May the Cooking Deities always favor you with the best of
> ingredients!
>
> Thanks a bunch, check your mailbox.


Nothing yet. I get a lot of spam; maybe I deleted it by accident. Give it
an obvious subject heading, not "Hi!" or "Remember me?" or "My husband isn't
home!"

Peter

"Peter Dy" > wrote in
om:
> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
> ...
>> "Peter Dy" > wrote in
>> . com:
>>> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message

> >>> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for
>>>> taste-testing, and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!

>>> Taste-testing?

>> I always taste my stock after making to decide whether the recipe is
>> a keeper. %^)

> Aha. I thought you maybe were in a competition or something!

The only competition in this house is to see who gets to finish anything
that tastes really good.

[fragarasnip]

>> Thanks a bunch, check your mailbox.

> Nothing yet. I get a lot of spam; maybe I deleted it by accident.
> Give it an obvious subject heading, not "Hi!" or "Remember me?" or "My
> husband isn't home!"


HAHAHAHA!!!

I haven't sent it yet. So sorry, I wasn't sure where to ask you to mail
it, since the mail carrier refuses to come up our stairs, and we've had
mailbox thefts lately. I would absolutely *die* if, after going to all
this trouble, some rotten thief ended up cooking Szechwan chicken with
*my* peppers.

I thought I'd have you mail it to the office, and then remembered that we
have a real twit for a mailroom clerk, who often forgets to tell people
they have packages, and once had me fighting with some online distributor
for *months*, with them insisting they'd shipped my order and me
insisting I had never received it.

Ah, the spousal unit has succumbed to my powers of persuasion (backed by
the offer of an authentic Bengali recipe for near-immediate consumption).

Check your mailbox in an hour. %^)

And thanks again.

sq

"mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
...
> "Peter Dy" > wrote in
> . com:
>> "mroo philpott-smythe" > wrote in message
>>> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for
>>> taste-testing, and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!
>
>> Taste-testing?
>
> I always taste my stock after making to decide whether the recipe is a
> keeper. %^)


Aha. I thought you maybe were in a competition or something!


>> What kind of chicken stock is it that requires Sichuan peppercorns??
>
> Barbara Tropp's China Moon Single Stock.
>
>> Anyway, I just inherited some fresh peppercorns from supposedly the
>> best growing region for them in Sichuan. Yet I still have some older
>> ones on hand. Email me, and I'd send you some of my older batch.
>> (They are also hand-smuggled from Sichuan, so even though they're a
>> few years old, I'm guessing they're still better than the kind one
>> gets here in the US.)
>
> Wow. May the Cooking Deities always favor you with the best of
> ingredients!
>
> Thanks a bunch, check your mailbox.


Nothing yet. I get a lot of spam; maybe I deleted it by accident. Give it
an obvious subject heading, not "Hi!" or "Remember me?" or "My husband isn't
home!"

Peter

mroo philpott-smythe wrote:

> Well, it must've dwindled, I have their catalogue and it didn't show so
> much as a berry.
>
> And I'm making two chicken stocks from scratch today for taste-testing,
> and one of them absolutely requires Sichuan pepper!
>
> sq

I'm kicking myself because I can't remember the name of this damn place.
It is in ?Maryland, they sell carbon steel knives, and many other less
available uppercrust equipment, almost all from France. They have a
little ecletic catalogue, and a stuttering website, and I know they talk
about their dogs in the catolog. They had them advertised in their last
catalog, which I have pitched. Does this place ring a bell to anyone?
I've been too emersed in civilizing a 28 month old to order any.
blacksalt