Smoked Black Kampot Pepper PGI

Kampot pepper is harvested over a period of 3 to 5 months, in the middle of the dry season. The ripe clusters, of a beautiful dark green colour, are selected and picked one by one from the pepper plant. The pickers will visit the plantation many times throughout the season. The remaining bunches will be harvested the next time the pickers visit the plot.

To preserve the aromas, the Black Kampot Pepper is processed during the day. The seeds are separated from the bunches, then scalded and dried in the sun for 2 to 3 days, depending on the amount of sunshine. Natural drying enhances the unique flavours of Kampot Pepper.

After a hand-picked process, only black Kampot peppercorns larger than 4 millimetres will be commercialised as Kampot peppercorns, in compliance with the PGI standards. It is this careful work by hand that gives this pepper its unrivalled quality.

The traditional cold smoking process, lasting many hours, accentuates the woody flavour of Kampot black pepper, giving it warm, round, slightly liquorice notes with a very long finish.

The strength of the Kampot black pepper combined with the smoking develops a subtle, elegant flavour.

To preserve its aromatic notes, it is advisable to add smoked pepper at the end of cooking and not to cook it to avoid developing too much spiciness. Smoked black Kampot pepper is the ideal spice to add to oily fish such as salmon, mackerel and sardines, or to grilled meat.

Some recipe ideas for using smoked black Kampot pepper:

• Mix Smoked Black Kampot Pepper, salt, sugar and dill. Place this mixture between two pre-oiled salmon steaks and refrigerate for 36 hours. Remove the water regularly and turn the fish over in the dish. Use a weight to compress the fish. Serve with a sauce made from mustard (strong and mild), smoked Kampot pepper, sugar and a little vodka, which you can mix into a mayonnaise with vegetable oil.
• Grill some mackerel or sardines and grind some smoked Black Kampot Pepper at the last minute.
• You can also use freshly ground Smoked Kampot Pepper on pasta carbonara.
• And add a touch of originality to a Bloody Mary cocktail or a Gin & Vodka Martini with Smoked Black Kampot Pepper.

Once the bag has been opened, we recommend that you store your smoked black Kampot pepper in a cool, dry place. Inside your kitchen cupboards is ideal, as your Kampot pepper will be protected from light and humidity, and will retain all its flavour. To preserve its aromas as much as possible, we also recommend that you grind or crush the smoked black Kampot Pepper at the last minute.

To do this, you can use our own pepper mill, which has a ceramic mechanism, or our artisanal mortar, made by hand in the north of Cambodia. These two wooden tools are made to be kept on the table, to offer your guests a fresh and fun grind!