Balsamic Pepper - Cameroon

What is balsamic pepper?

Balsamic pepper is a spice that comes to us from Cameroon. It presents beautiful berries with warm colors that will revolutionize your kitchen. In this country, it is a pepper that cannot be ignored. Here, it comes to spice up the famous chicken DG, this fried chicken stew served with plantain and vegetable fries. Chicken DG (Director General), bears this name because it was created in the 1980's for people of high social standing. The Bamilékés, a Cameroonian people who are none other than the largest ethnic group in the country, are particularly fond of balsamic pepper, both in cooking and in providing ancestral care. Note that, despite its name, it is not really a pepper since it does not come from the piper negrum family. It comes from the Zanthoxylum fagara, a species of woody plants that belongs to the Rutaceae family. Balsamic pepper is actually a berry. Good to know: the Rutaceae family includes 900 species. Citrus fruits belong to this family just like the famous Sichuan pepper which comes to us from China.

What is the flavour of balsamic pepper?

Balsamic pepper has fruity, spicy and balsamic notes. Quite spicy and complex, it reveals quite surprising, but interesting flavours, to say the least.

The balsamic pepper harvest in the plantations

Balsamic pepper, despite its name, is not a pepper, but a berry. It is not cultivated in a traditional way, it is rather a wild pepper. It grows wild all over Cameroon, but mainly in the department of Mungo and on the coast. The harvested bay is round and has a small brown tail like cubeb pepper.

How to use balsamic pepper in cooking?

Balsamic pepper is very versatile. It will enhance all your dishes in the best way. If you want to be inspired by Cameroonian cuisine, you can make the famous chicken DG. We suggest you to make a Cameroonian Koki, also called Cornille cake. It is a dish made with flat beans, palm oil and balsamic pepper that can be eaten with plantain banana. Another Cameroonian dish to discover: ndolé. It is composed of ndolé leaves, meat or fish, peanut paste, dried shrimps and garlic. The balsamic pepper comes to give it this power and this character which make all the difference. Naturally, balsamic pepper can be perfectly imagined in a vinaigrette, sauce or marinade. If you like spices and strong, pronounced tastes, marinate a beef skewer with this pepper. As a dessert, this berry also finds its place. In a chocolate dessert or in a strawberry jam to break this sometimes too sweet taste, balsamic pepper is perfect.

Health benefits of balsamic pepper

The balsamic berry is perfect for treating colds and reducing fever. It is also used by the Bamilékés to treat digestion problems.

Conservation of balsamic pepper

Balsamic pepper should preferably be stored away from light and humidity. I offer it to you in a resealable hermetic bag which offers a very beautiful conservation in the best conditions.