The final ingredient, the garnish, all add that little something just needed for the dish which is essential to spice up the dish and make it more delicious. Here are some of the most exotic and amazing ingredients that are sourced from different parts of the world that people do not even know exist.
Voatsiperifery Pepper (Piper Borbonense) – This spice is harvested from wild plants in Madagascar. The name originates and is derived from “Voa” meaning ‘the fruits’ and “tsiperifery” which is the Malagasy for this variety of pepper vine.
The wild vines grow high in the trees above the tropical forest floors of Madagascar. The fruits grow only on the young shoots in the forests that are hand-harvested by locals who enter the forest to pick them once a year. This is one of the world’s rarest peppers and only around 1500kg is harvested each year.
These black peppercorns which look like tiny tadpoles have a beautiful earthy and woody flavor and a gingery aroma with a hint of cloves. It goes well with lamb and pork as well as fruits and chocolate.
Jamaican Pepper – This pepper is also known as allspice and is the dried fruit of the Pimenta dioica plant. It is picked when green and young and dried in the sun until they become brown .It has a hot pepper flavour combined with a cinnamon, clove and nutmeg aroma. It is one of the most vital ingredients in Caribbean cuisine. It is used in Caribbean jerk seasoning, in moles and in pickling. It is also a requisite in Middle Eastern cuisine .
Smoked White Penja Pepper– It is cultivated in the remote Penja Valley of The Cameroon (Africa) and is one of the world’s finest and rarest peppers. The peppercorns are left to ripen fully on the vine. Once picked, they are packed into sacks and covered in cool, running water to release the outer husks that are then detached to reveal the creamy-white core.
The peppercorns are then smoked slowly over an oak wood fire to develop the full aroma and flavor.
Salade de Fleur (Salad Flowers) – These cautiously picked and dried marigold, cornflower and rose petals add colors of blue, red and golden yellow to salads and desserts. They can be used to top citrus and polenta syrup cakes, coated truffles, and garnished panna cottas with them.
