Accept this handful of Sichuan pepper, and we'll be making babies together in the future
When I was little, a story the adults in my hometown in Sichuan told me is one I still can't forget: in the days before modern medicine, if someone with a toothache needed a tooth pulled, others would help him rub Sichuan pepper powder into the gum near the bad tooth, tie one end of a sturdy silk thread around the bad tooth and the other end to the door handle, then slam the door shut, and the tooth would be out before the person even knew it.
Thinking about it now, that story is probably unreliable. But precisely because of stories like this, the first few times in my life I accidentally bit down on a wholeSichuan pepperwhile eating, that heart-striking jolt became full of amusing aftertaste, and it made me feel that the jolt of Sichuan pepper was harmless, even beneficial, that its existence could ease my pain. In the end, I embarked on a road of no return where every time I go back to Sichuan, I have to find a bowl of extra-numbing chaoshou to satisfy my craving.
Today's protagonist: Sichuan pepper. Image: Susan L. Kelley / efloras.org
What does numbing feel like?
In 2013, several researchers in the UK revealed through experiments: unlike the pain caused by capsaicin stimulating nerves, thetingling numbnessbrought by Sichuan pepper is an experience of alcohols confusing sensory nerve fibers, similar toapplying a mechanical vibration of about 50Hz to the fingertip, orapplying about 9V of voltage to the tip of the tongue(not recommended to try) - spiciness and numbness are both chemical defenses of plants, yet masochistic humans are simply addicted to these "flavors."
Digging for meat in a pile of chilies and Sichuan pepper is also one of the pleasures of eating shuizhu roupian. Image: Imaginechina
American prickly ash is not the only Zanthoxylum species in North America. In the image, different colors represent the distribution ranges of different species. Interestingly, there is no Zanthoxylum at all in the west. Image: A. Barra / wikimedia; data: Little et al./USGS; graphics: Zi Yu
So here's the question: before Columbus, were Sichuan people's tastes actually milder? Not necessarily. Because Sichuan pepper is a plant that was used very early on, and the Sichuan flavor tradition is to cook food and then accompany it witha dry "salt-and-pepper" dip, where the "pepper" has always been Sichuan pepper powder, while spiciness could be absent. If further seasoning is needed, the pungency of scallions, ginger, and garlic can make it just as delicious, and there are also other pungent plants such as water pepper (Polygonum hydropiper) (for example, the traditional Luzhou-style "smartweed tofu pudding"). As for chili, in Sichuan and Chongqing it is called "sea pepper," showing that it truly is a newcomer from after the Age of Discovery. Of course, newcomers are not refused.
A full spoonful of Sichuan pepper powder. Image: Tuchong Creative
A quick aside about the story of black pepper. Although wild Piper plants are also quite numerous in China, what can be confirmed is that only in the Tang dynasty did we introduceblack pepper。
for seasoning from India. In any case, before the Age of Discovery, Sichuan did not lack pungent seasonings. By the way, the Japanese word for "pepper" is actually "sea pepper," so combined withthe previous articlealso introducing a species calendar entry from the Rutaceae, the so-called "yuzu pepper" condiment uses neither yuzu nor pepper...
A "spiked club" as a token of love
Back to the main topic: Sichuan pepper is also a member of the Rutaceae, so those who love eating it value not only the stimulation brought by itspungent numbness, but also itsaroma, an aroma that comes from limonene as well as various fragrant alcohols and esters.
The ancients of the pre-Qin era oftenpraised "pepper" as something beautiful. In the Chu Ci, the verses of Qu Yuan mention the image of "pepper" ten times, often together with orchid, taking the meaning of fragrance. For example, in "Nine Songs: The Great One, Eastern Emperor" there is "Hui yao zheng xi lan jie, dian gui jiu xi jiao jiang," which may perhaps bethe earliest literary elevation of eating fragrant food and drinking spicy drink. It seems the Sanlü Grand Master was also a lover of Sichuan pepper soup. Next year at Dragon Boat Festival, wrap a few more Sichuan peppercorns in the zongzi.
As a native of present-day Hubei, Qu Yuan might say: "More Sichuan pepper, please." Image: Wang Qi / "Sancai Tuhui"
The ancients also treated Sichuan pepper asa token of love. In the Book of Songs, "Chen Feng: Eastern Gate's Elm," it says: "I see you are like a mallow flower, and you give me a handful of pepper," meaning that seeing the woman before him was as beautiful as a flower, and she responded to his feelings by sending a handful of Sichuan pepper. How romantic! Another piece in "Tang Feng" says: "The fruit of the pepper tree, abundant enough to fill a sheng. That person, so grand and without peer." So a girl who sends a handful of Sichuan pepper is basically saying"I want to make babies with you".
Accept this handful of Sichuan pepper, and from now on we'll make babies together (heavy fog). Image: Max Ronnersj? / wikimedia
The reason Sichuan pepper can be associated with fertility is that its cymose panicles usually have many small flowers, and the fruits they bear naturallysymbolize many children and much blessing, so much so that the palace chambers of Han dynasty empresses and consorts were called"pepper chambers", with the walls even hung full of Sichuan pepper. Of course, the name "pepper chamber" may also derive from its fragrant meaning.
The inflorescence of the Zanthoxylum plant Z. humile. Image: Penny English00 / wikimedia
However, the people of North America did not think this way. From the thick thorns on the stems of Zanthoxylum they associatedHercules' club(Hercule's club), and the ones with smaller thorns were"prickly ash"(prickly ash) - these are also two English common names for Sichuan pepper.
The "spiked club" of Sichuan pepper. Image: Susan L. Kelley / efloras.org
In fact, thorns, cymose panicles, and pinnate compound leaves are also found in many members of other genera in the Rutaceae. The most important shared characteristic of the Rutaceae is still thoseoil gland dots full of aromatic oils, which are thoseprotrusionson the Sichuan pepper shell (the exocarp of the follicule), similar to the dots on orange peel. They are not only on the fruit; on some leaves they can also be seen when held against the light.
The protrusions on the shell are the source of Sichuan pepper's fragrance. Image: Ragesoss / wikimedia
A peerless abundance of "peppers"
In fact, the word"pepper" in pre-Qin texts may not refer to just one kind. China's Zanthoxylum species are widely distributed. Besides today's protagonist, Sichuan pepper (Z. bungeanum) itself, many other species have also long been used by us as "Sichuan pepper," such as wild Sichuan pepper (Z. simulans), found only in Hunan and areas to its east.
China has 41 species of Zanthoxylum, while the world has more than 250 species of Zanthoxylum plants, covering the tropical and subtropical regions of the African continent, Madagascar, Asia, and the Americas, and even landing in the Hawaiian Islands. However, those Zanthoxylum in Hawaiiare so gentle that even the thorns are gone。
Although the Chinese word "Sichuan pepper" does not correspond to just one species, the "Sichuan pepper" we can eat, including American prickly ash and Japan's sansho (Z. piperitum), basically come from one subgenus of Zanthoxylum (subgenus Zanthoxylum). Compared with their tropical ancestors, they evolved the ability to bemore cold-resistant, and can spread as far north as Liaoning in China and southern Hokkaido in Japan, or the banks of the St. Lawrence River in North America.
In these narrow-sense Sichuan peppers, the calyx and petals can no longer be distinguished. Other species in Zanthoxylum that do not have this characteristic are generally called"cliff peppers", among which some can only be used medicinally, and some are even poisonous and inedible. Among the plants belonging to "cliff peppers," many are also very famous in China, such asliangmianzhen(Z. nitidum), named for the thorns on its leaves, andgreen Sichuan pepper(Z. schinifolium), which occasionally gets mixed into the Sichuan pepper ranks, among others.
Liangmianzhen is named for its leaves. Image: Li Shijin / efloras.org
Speaking of green Sichuan pepper, here I must once again seriously clarify: the "green Sichuan pepper" popular in the Sichuan-Chongqing region in recent years is not the species called green Sichuan pepper (Z. schinifolium) in the Flora (not fragrant at all, only outsiders who don't know the trade would get it wrong), but rather comes from the subgenus Zanthoxylum, and was even found in the sachets unearthed from the Western Han Mawangdui tomb:Zanthoxylum armatum（Z. armatum）。
Someone who loves eating Sichuan pepper can tell you the difference between Xilu pepper and Dahongpao (different cultivars within the species) just by smelling it, let alone distinguish thefresh, unique, citrus-scented aromaof Zanthoxylum armatum. Unlike the traditional dried Sichuan pepper with its pungent numbness, it is mainly valued for the aroma of its fresh fruit. You can directly pick a fruit cluster and put it into a dish, which is called "tengjiao," or presstengjiao oilfrom it to use as seasoning. Ah! Writing to this point, I'm drooling.
Ah, unfortunately this branch of the subgenus Zanthoxylum, which is my favorite, did not "escape Africa and enter Europe."
Drool-inducing tengjiao chicken. Image: Shushu's Kitchen / Douguo Meishi
Although the ancient Zanthoxylum conquered every continent except Antarctica, as the ice age arrived, in Europe they still left only fossils, as well as evidence that the North Atlantic land bridge once existed.
During my school years, every time I went home, I could never avoid bringing back a jar of Hanyuan Sichuan pepper. The aroma of this fresh Sichuan pepper may be an important reason why I ultimately chose not to stay long-term in continental Europe.
This article is the 282nd article of the 4th year of the Species Calendar, from Species Calendar author @Zi Yu.
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