WHAT IS SELIM PEPPER?

Selim Pepper comes from tropical African countries and is known by a large number of different names. The most common ones to appear are "Kili pepper", "Kiki pepper" or "Guinea black pepper".

It has an elongated shape that might suggest that it belongs to the Piper longum family, but it is part of what are called "fake peppers".

Selim Pepper grows on a tree that can grow up to 20 metres high called Xylopia aethiopica (family Annonaceae). This tree is mainly found along rivers, mainly in Guinea but also on the entire west coast of Africa.

What visually distinguishes it from a Piper longum is the appearance of this pepper. It does not come in the form of a kitten (like the long peppers we offer on our website) but rather as a slightly bumpy, brown bean pod, measuring 2 to 5 cm long, very fibrous and containing small glossy grains (about 5 to 8 grains per pod). About twenty pods are grouped together in clusters on Xylopia aethiopica.

The name "Sélim berries" evokes both the pods and the seeds they contain, as they are so inseparable.

There is no real cultivation of Selim Pepper. Its germination and the development of young plants are the only interventions of Man to allow its harvest.

This takes place when the berries have a red appearance (they can be eaten fresh at that time). By drying them, they will cover a pretty ebony color. Remarkable fact: the grains contained in these pods do not see their color change regardless of the stage of maturity, before or after drying.

HOW TO USE SELIM PEPPER IN COOKING?

Selim Pepper has a particularly pleasant aromatic palette, which will invite you to travel throughout your meal. It should be noted that all these flavours and odours are due to the fibrous pod of Selim Pepper and not to the grains it contains (the latter being almost tasteless)

On the nose, one can easily detect its notes of nutmeg and coconut, and even others reminding us of the smell of dry straw

Once in the mouth, the attack is rather resinous (always on a coconut base) with an undeniable hint of freshness. The perfume that will caress the palate is a clever blend of cubeb, clove, ginger, turmeric and eucalyptus leaf. Then the musky notes that were detected on the nose reappear.

It has a rather light spiciness (which is why it is called "Guinea black pepper")

In terms of use, as grains and pods are inseparable, you are advised either to mix the whole thing (which can sometimes be complicated because of the very stringy aspect of the pod), to crush it with a pestle, or simply to twist it in all directions so that it reveals all its olfactory power.

Like most other peppers, the ideal solution is to use it at the end of the cooking process (especially since the grains have a slight natural bitterness that gives this berry a perfect balance that is better preserved to enjoy it)

RECIPE IDEAS WITH SELIM PEPPER

Like many peppers (real or fake), Selim pepper (or kili pepper) can be used in all sauces, from salty to sweet.

Savoury recipes :

Selim Pepper will form a very beautiful association with meats, whether white or red. You can include it in your beef dishes, as a skewer or as a stewed dish such as a stew. It will also reveal all its aromatic notes in a veal shank. It will also be very pleasant as an accompaniment to a piece of lamb or game. Nevertheless, the meat with which it is best served is poultry: chicken, turkey, duck, but especially pigeon, which the great French chefs like to combine with Selim Pepper.

Selim Pepper will be the ideal companion for your marinades for meat and fish!

Moreover, it will enhance your fish and seafood with its light spiciness and all its exotic flavours. Use it to subtly spice up a Filet de Bar, or a sauce for your shellfish.

By mixing it with oil, turmeric and a little fresh aromatic herbs, you can even coat your fish before cooking: a delight!

As for vegetables, as Selim Pepper has essentially musky notes, it will give pride of place to all autumn vegetables such as carrots, parsnips, pumpkins, squash in all its forms and, of course, potatoes. Now you have the delicately spicy and bewitching purées

With the same exoticism that we know about it, it will pleasantly surprise you if you use it in a traditional dish such as sauerkraut.

But he also likes more dynamic cooking and is happy to play with your wok-cooked vegetables. Cauliflower, celeriac, plantain banana, sweet potato..

You can also flavour your edible oils by letting 3 pods of Selim Pepper infuse.

Sweet recipes :

Like all peppers, Selim Bay is quite gourmet, and its notes of nutmeg and coconut are just waiting to accompany your desserts!

Whether it is a pie, a cake or a fruit compote of any colour, flavour and season: Selim Pepper will bring that spicy and balanced touch that will allow you to revisit those recipes you master, and to bring your personal touch to those you wish to make for the first time

The same applies to all chocolate delicacies. Who doesn't dream of combining coconut and nutmeg flavours with dark chocolate? A real treat that plunges you directly into the heart of the African savannah! The freshness of Selim Pepper will also allow you to experience this trip without suffering too much from the heat. What could be better than a chocolate mousse, very fresh, on which you will place Selim berries that you have just coarsely ground.

Selim Pepper in the world cuisine :

In Africa, Selim Pepper is used as a table pepper. It is commonly used to add flavour to meat and fish (in sauces or grilled), vegetables and in soups and soups.

It is also used in the preparation of Café Touba (a café created in Senegal at the end of the 19th century by Sheikh Ahmadou Bamba Mbacké, a resistance fighter whose peaceful struggle was to resist French colonization and who founded Les Mourides, the city of Touba with his disciples. This coffee was initially served during the ceremonies and became a common drink throughout Senegal from the middle of the 20th century. Its composition is quite simple: a few coffee beans, a few cloves and a few Selim berries.

Selim Pepper is also found in the composition of the spice mixture called Suya, in Nigeria and Ghana. It is a mixture of ginger, onion, garlic, salt, cayenne pepper, groundnut and, of course, Selim berries.

I invite you to compose an original menu using Selim Pepper in these few recipes

As a starter, you can, for example, integrate it into a Lobster Salad, Pigeon Breast and Black Truffle, in the style of Alain Ducasse

Then to continue with a revisited Pot-au-Feu by incorporating these berries.

Finally, you can prepare a very light Chocolate Soufflé Fruits Rouges.

ORIGIN AND HISTORY OF SELIM PEPPER

If its name seems unfamiliar to you, you should know that your ancestors knew it well, to the point of using it until the 16th century, when it was replaced by black pepper from India.

Between our kitchens and Selim's Pepper, it's a bit of a game of hide-and-seek. Indeed, geopolitical events have, among their consequences, the habit of making certain products appear and then disappear from our daily habits. Thus, Selim Pepper was given the task of replacing black pepper in French kitchens during periods of war and famine. During the 20th century, it made its last appearance in France at the end of the Second World War, only to disappear again at the end of the 1960s

OTHER USES OF SELIM PEPPER

In West Africa, after a birth, mothers and babies are also given an infusion of jar (Wolof diar) to ensure their strength and good health.

The infusion form is the most commonly used to benefit from all the properties offered by Selim Pepper. To prepare it, simply infuse 5 Selim pepper seeds in 1 litre of water, to which we can add, at our convenience and according to need, lemongrass, mint or cloves.

In addition to its health benefits, Selim Pepper has other uses parallel to medicine in Africa, particularly as a cosmetic product (it is transformed into soap, Ethiopia and Ghana).

In the past, Xylopia aethiopica wood was used to make bows and other crossbows, and today it is found in common carpentry in Africa (doors, boats, houses,...) because it has remarkable resistance to termite attacks.

Africa being a land of superstitions, Selim berries are also perceived as good luck, and are used in particular to purify or remove spells from houses and holy places in Black Africa, and to drive away misfortune in Tunisia.