Purple Peppercorns

Our purple peppercorns come from a small organic farm in Vietnam, where they are grown by two friends, Dūng and Thanh. They carefully pick the peppercorns at peak ripeness, producing a complex, fruity black peppercorn with an aroma like strawberries and a kick like a jalapeno.

Grind it fresh over grilled meat or veggies, tomato-based sauces or fresh fruit.

• Origin: Dak Lak, Vietnam
• Aliases: Red peppercorns, black peppercorns, black pepper
  
• Process: Sun-dried
• Ingredients: Vine-ripened black peppercorns (Piper nigrum)
• Tasting notes: Strawberry • Cacao Nibs • Pickled Plum

COOKING

• You know what to do: grind over everything
• Add to tomato sauces, braises, beans, soups and stocks
  
• Try pairing a little ground peppercorn with fresh fruit
• Pairs well with: Silk Chili, Smoked Pimenton Paprika, Wild Mountain Cumin
  

SOURCING

Peppercorns grow on vines in bunches like grapes. The red peppercorns are ripe, and the red fruit has a mild, sweet flavor. Allowing the peppercorns to ripen on the vine is tricky: peppercorns on the same vine ripen at different rates, and the peppercorns become a bigger target for birds and can mold as they ripen. However, when a skilled farmer can pull this off, the payoff is a warm, fiery peppercorn. These are black peppercorns, but they are fully ripened on the vine into a complete expression of their sweet, savory, fiery flavor. 

Meet the Farmers: Meet Dūng (left) and Thanh. We spent a couple of days on their farm, helping with the pepper harvest and learning about their biodynamic and regenerative agricultural practices. They're young (Dūng is 23 and Thanh is 30), and they started working together in 2013, with the goal of growing pepper better (and growing better pepper) than their neighbors. Pretty much every other farmer in the region uses chemical pesticides and fertilizers to maximize yields, but Dūng and Thanh believe in using organic growing practices, intercropping with coffee and chili pepper plants, grazing chickens and ducks, and using nitrogen-fixing trees to support their pepper vines.

We started Burlap & Barrel precisely to work with farmers like them, helping connect them with higher value markets and customers who will appreciate the thoughtfulness and care with which they're growing their peppercorns.