Lightly camphoraceous, astonishingly piquant with a good length on the palate, Long Pepper pearls can be used in dips (ground with salt, kumquat, or green lemon juice), as a marinade for meat, fish, and can even be infused in stocks. The little grains are brittle, and can easily be sprinkled whole on to dishes that would benefit from some texture and a generous modicum of heat!
Long Pepper pearls or grains are in fact the result of Vietnamese long pepper that is harvested only once very ripe. The clusters are soaked in water, then hand-rubbed until the grains are separated from the skin. The grains are then filtered and placed in the sun to dry.