Copper-red, with a cool, electric flavour, szechuan pepper is used as a catalysing ingredient in traditional dishes from the Sichuan province of China. The spice is not related to pepper or chillies, but comes from dried berries of a prickly ash tree. Szechuan pepper is for those who love to mix spicy with lemony and floral tones in order to achieve an artful, harmonic play of flavours. Its organoleptic properties tease the taste buds and elicit a tingling, electrifying sensation on the tongue and lips, known as paraesthesia, indicative of interaction with neurones involved in tactile sensation. The peppery and citrusy dried berries are often used as a table condiment in hua joa yan (a flavoured salt), or on its own. The spice imparts a pleasant aroma to salad dressings, stir-fries, noodles and rice dishes. Szechuan pepper combines well with star anise and ginger and adds an unusual earthy-spicy-floral flavour to pickled cabbage. Its warm and woody overtones enhance seafood, chicken and vegetable dishes. The spice is used liberally in crisp fried sichuan chicken with smoked chillies and peanuts, a fiery dish that lives up to the spicy reputation of Sichuan cuisine. It is also a common ingredient in homemade doubanjiang (broad bean paste). Szechuan pepper has a stimulating, local anaesthetic quality and is traditionally used to reduce fever and relieve stomach ache and indigestion. The alkamide fraction from Szechuan pepper produces a botox-like effect by reducing superficial wrinkles when applied topically. The spice contains a host of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin A, vitamin K, potassium, zinc and selenium. If you’re up for some serious fun start with a small mouthful of spiced pineapple & coconut ice cream, sit back and enjoy the tingling thrill of this mouth-numbing spice!