Peppercorn, Kampot Long Red

A cousin of the more familiar black pepper, long pepper is a cluster of tiny peppercorns, each slightly larger than a poppyseed and embedded in a blunt flower spike that looks like the center of a calla lily. Grown in a protected Southern microclimate in Cambodia, and picked when ripe and intensely flavorful, red long pepper is essential for Thai curries. Piquant and chocolaty with a mild funkiness, it is wonderful added whole to soups and stews.