關於香料｜胡椒

相信來過店裡用餐的各位朋友們，應該都有發現我們的特色之一，

就是在菜餚當中，運用了各式各樣的香料！

今天就讓我們，從大家最熟悉的胡椒開始介紹起吧！

胡椒（學名：Piper nigrum，英語:Pepper）原產於南印度，在當地和其他熱帶地區都有著廣泛的種植。其果實與種子依照不同的加工方法，可分別得到黑胡椒、白胡椒、綠胡椒以及紅胡椒；而黑胡椒則是全世界使用最廣泛的香料之一。

胡椒味辛、性熱，入胃、大腸經；有溫中下氣消痰解毒的功效。 主治寒痰、食積、反胃、嘔吐清水、腹瀉等，亦可用於食物中毒解毒；一般人均可食用。

黑胡椒：味道嗆辣而帶有刺激性，香氣最為強烈而濃郁，適合用來去腥提味。

白胡椒：以成熟的胡椒漿果取出內部種子在烘乾製成。味道較淡，帶有些微嗆味，辣度低。

綠胡椒：帶殼未成熟的胡椒粒，辣味及香氣皆是所有胡椒中最低的，有淡雅芳香。

紅胡椒：帶有黑胡椒的強烈香氣以及綠胡椒的新鮮氣味，但是辣度明顯高於綠胡椒。真正的紅胡椒十分罕見，常見到的是另一種粉紅胡椒。

粉紅胡椒：來自於巴西胡椒樹，它和其餘三種胡椒屬於不同植物的果實，帶有些微花果香。

Have you noticed that we use a wide variety of spices in our cuisine？ Let's get to know about those spices we use and start with peppercorn, which is one of the most widely used spices in the world！

Black peppercorns： This is the most popular form of pepper in the whole world. Black peppercorns are produced by picking the mature but unripe berries as they are beginning to turn from green to yellow. Black Pepper is moderately hot, pungent and aromatic. They have the strongest, most pungent flavour. Freshly ground, they’re the ideal seasoning—along with salt—for pretty much anything.

White Peppercorns： These are fully mature berries that have been picked partially ripe and had their outer skin removed. The aroma is earthy and the taste is hot and creamy but not pungent or aromatic.

Green peppercorns： These are berries that are picked long before maturity in the green stage and either air-dried, freeze-dried or pickled in brine to prevent fermentation. They are aromatic with a fresh flavour but are not pungent.

Red Peppercorns： These peppercorns, left to fully ripen on the vine, turn a brilliant shade of red. It’s rare to find red peppercorns as is; they’re typically dried to then develop a black coat, or dried and stripped of their coat to become white peppercorns.

Pink or Rose Pepper： This is not a true pepper but is a dried berry from a small mastic tree related to the rose bush and found on the French Island of Reunion in the Indian Ocean. They are related to, but different from the berries of the "pepper tree" that grows wild in Brazil and some parts of the southern USA.

資訊參考:維基百科、自由時報文章（胡椒顏色好多種!黑胡椒、白胡椒怎麼用才對）

References：Peppercorn Varieties -SIR SPICE　The Difference Between Types of Peppercorns