Zanthoxylum piperitum

''Zanthoxylum piperitum'', also known as Japanese pepper or Japanese prickly-ash is a deciduous aromatic spiny shrub or small tree of the citrus and rue family Rutaceae, native to Japan and Korea.

It is called sanshō () in Japan and chopi () in Korea. Both the leaves and fruits (peppercorns) are used as an aromatic and flavoring in these countries. It is closely related to the Chinese Szechuan peppers, which come from plants of the same genus.

Names

"Japanese pepper" ''Z. piperitum'' is called in Japan, but the corresponding cognate term in Korean, ''sancho'' () refers to a different species, or '' Z. schinifolium'' known as ''inuzanshō'' or "dog sansho" in Japan.

In Korea, ''Z. piperitum'' is called ''chopi'' (), with the English common name given as "Korean pepper" by Korean sources. However, in several regional dialects, notably Gyeongsang dialect, it is also called ''sancho'' or ''jepi'' ().

"Japanese prickly-ash" has been used as the standard American common name.

Varieties

The variety ''Z. piperitum'' var. ''inerme'' Makino, known in Japan as "Asakura zanshō" are thornless, or nearly so, and have been widely cultivated for commercial harvesting.

The forma ''Z. piperitum'' f. ''pubsescens'' (Nakai) W. T. Lee, is called ''teol chopi'' () in Korea, and is assigned the English name "hairy chopi".

Range

Its natural range spans from Hokkaido to Kyushu in Japan, southern parts of the Korean peninsula, and Chinese mainland.

Description

The plant belongs to the citrus and rue family, Rutaceae.

The tree blooms in April to May, forming axillary flower clusters, about 5mm, and yellow-green in color. It is dioecious, and the flowers of the male plant can be consumed as ''hana-sanshō'', while the female flowers yield berries or peppercorns of about 5mm. In autumn, these berries ripen, turning scarlet and burst, scattering the black seeds within.

The branch grows pairs of sharp thorns, and has odd-epinnately compound leaves, alternately arranged, with 5〜9 pairs of ovate leaflets having crenate (slightly serrated) margins.

It is a host plant for the Japanese indigenous swallowtail butterfly species, the citrus butterfly ''Papilio xuthus'', which has also spread to Hawaii.

Chemical analysis has revealed that the seeds contain remarkably high concentrations of sugar-modified derivatives (glucosides) of N-methylserotonin and N,N-dimethylserotonin, also known as bufotenin.

Cultivation

In Japan, Wakayama Prefecture boasts 80% of domestic production.prefectural website: Aridagawa, Wakayama produces a specialty variety called ''budō sanshō'' ("grape sansho"), which bears large fruits and clusters, rather like a bunch of grapes. The thornless variety, ''Asakura sansho'', derives its name from its place of origin, the Asakura district in the now defunct ', integrated into Yabu, Hyōgo.

Uses

Culinary

The Japanese pepper is closely related to the Sichuan pepper of China, and they share the same genus.

Japanese cuisine

The pulverized mature fruits ("peppercorns" or "berries") known as "Japanese pepper" or ''kona-zanshō'' () are the standard spice for sprinkling on the ''kabayaki-unagi'' (broiled eel) dish. It is also one of the seven main ingredients of the blended spice called ''shichimi'', which also contains red chili peppers. Finely ground Japanese pepper, ''kona-zanshō'', is nowadays usually sold in sealed packets, and individual serving sizes are included inside heat-and-serve broiled eel packages.

Young leaves and shoots, pronounced ''ki-no-mé'' or ''ko-no-mé'' (, ) herald the spring season, and often garnish grilled fish and soups. They have a distinctive flavor which is not to the liking of everyone. It is a customary ritual to put a leaf between cupped hands, and clap the hands with a popping sound, this supposedly serving to bring out the aroma. The young leaves are crushed and blended with miso using ''suribachi'' (mortar) to make a paste, a pesto sauce of sorts, and then used to make various '' aemono'' (tossed salad). The stereotypical main ingredient for the resultant ''kinome-ae'' is the fresh harvest of bamboo shoots, but the sauce may be tossed (or delicately "folded") into sashimi, clams, squid or other vegetable such as ''tara-no-me'' ( angelica-tree shoots).

The immature green berries are called ''ao-zanshō'' (), and these may be blanched and salted, or simmered using soy sauce into dark-brown ''tsukudani'', which is eaten as condiment. The berries are also available as ''shoyu-zuke'', which is just steeped in soy sauce. The berries are also cooked with small fry fish and flavored with soy sauce ('), a specialty item of Kyoto, since its Mount Kurama outskirts is a renowned growing area of the plant.

There is also a dessert named ', rice cake dessert flavored with ground Japanese pepper. It is a specialty in the north.

In central and northeastern Japan, there is also non-sticky rice-cake type confection called ''goheimochi'', which is basted with miso-based paste and grilled, sometimes uses the Japanese pepper as flavor additive to the miso. Also being marketed are sansho flavored arare (rice crackers), snack foods, and sweet sansho-mochi.

Korean cuisine

Both the plant itself and its fruit (or peppercorn), known as ''chopi'' (), are called by many names including ''jepi'' (), ''jenpi'' (), ''jipi'' (), and ''jopi'' () in different dialects used in southern parts of Korea, where the plant is extensively cultivated and consumed.

Before the introduction of chili peppers from the New World which led to the creation of the chili paste gochujang, the Koreans used a ''jang'' paste spiced with chopi and black peppers.

In Southern Korean cuisine, dried and ground chopi fruit is used as a condiment served with varieties of food, such as ''chueo-tang'' (loach soup), ''maeun-tang

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