Piper guineense

West African Pepper
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Piperales
Family:	Piperaceae
Genus:	Piper
Species:	P. guineense
Binomial name
Piper guineense
Synonyms
Piper clusii

West African Pepper, also known as Ashanti Pepper, Benin Pepper, False Cubeb, Guinea Cubeb, Uziza Pepper or (ambiguously) "Guinea pepper", called locally kale, kukauabe, masoro, sasema and soro wisa, is a West African spice that corresponds to the dried fruit of Piper guineense. As such it is a member of the genus Piper, like all true pepperseeds. It is a close relative of Cubeb pepper and a relative of black pepper and long pepper. Unlike cubeb pepper, which is large and spherical in shape Ashanti peppers are prolate-elliptically shaped, smaller and smoother than Cubeb pepper in appearance and generally bear a reddish tinge. The stalks of Ashanti pepper berries are also distinctly curved whilst those of cubeb pepper are completely straight.

The plants that provide Ashanti pepper are climbing vines that can grow up to 20m in length. These are native to topical regions of Central and Western Africa and are semi-cultivated in countries such as Nigeria where the leaves (known as uziza) are used as a flavouring for stews. Like other members of the pepper family Ashanti peppers contain 5-8% of the chemical piperine which gives them their 'heat'. They also contain significant proportions (10%) of myristicine, elemicin, safrole and dillapiol.

In terms of flavour Ashanti pepper is very similar to Cubeb Pepper but is much less bitter and has a fresher more herbaceous flavour. Though known in Europe during the Middle Ages (it was a common spice in Rouen and Dieppe in 14th Century France) these days its use is marginalized to West and Central Africa.

Use in cuisine

It is used in West African cuisine where it imparts both 'heat', 'pungency' and a spicy aroma to classic West African 'soups' (stews). Even in West Africa Ashanti Pepper is an expensive spice and is used sparingly. Often a few grains are in a pestle and mortar before being added (along with black pepper) as a flavouring to West African 'soups' (stews) or to boiled rice. The spice can also be substituted in any recipe using Cubeb Pepper where it imparts a less bitter flavour. Ashanti pepper is also one of the possible ingredients in the classic Berbere spice mix used in the cuisines of Ethiopia and Eritrea. However, West African Pepper is a highly esteemed spice in its region of origin and may be hard to get abroads; thus, long pepper is more often used in Berbere.

References

• Celtnet Spice Guide [1] (accessed August 21 2007)
• Tou d'Épices [2] (accessed July 22 2007) [in French]

External links

• Recipe for West African 'Ashanti Chicken' incorporating Ashanti Pepper