If pink peppercorns have turned up in a recipe or caught your eye at the store, here's what you need to use them with confidence and how to choose them, cook them, store them, what to substitute, and 8 recipes to try them in.

What are pink peppercorns?

Pink peppercorns are the dried berries of the Brazilian pepper tree (Schinus terebinthifolius) or its relative the Peruvian pepper tree, not true pepper at all. Despite the name they are unrelated to the black peppercorn vine.

Each berry has a thin, brittle, rose-colored shell over a hollow interior that crushes to almost nothing.

The flavor is mild and fruity with a faint sweetness, only a whisper of peppery heat, and a piney resin note at the finish. Cooks reach for them when they want a pop of rose-pink and gentle fragrance rather than real fire.

How to Use Them

Pink peppercorns are a finishing spice. Their delicate shells shatter under a fingertip, so crush them lightly in a mortar or between your fingers and scatter them on at the end, where their color stays bright and their perfume carries.

They do their best work on rich, creamy, fatty foods that need lift without harsh heat. Crushed pink pepper finishes Smoked Salmon Fillet Wrapped in Spinach, and a scatter over Marinated Feta with Toasted Pita Triangles adds fragrance and a flush of color to the white cheese.

Their fruitiness also crosses into the sweet side. A few crushed berries give Pickled Pineapple Meringue with Raspberry Sauce an aromatic edge, and they sharpen citrus dressings like Citrus Vinaigrette. In pickling brines such as Pink Pickled Shallots, whole berries lend gentle perfume and reinforce the pink.

Toasting is unnecessary and risky. Their thin shells scorch fast and the perfume is fragile, so use them raw.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Pink peppercorns love fat and acid. They suit salmon and other oily fish, soft cheeses, creamy sauces, vinaigrettes, strawberries, and citrus, and they play well in a peppercorn blend with green, white, and black pepper for color and complexity.

The biggest mistake is expecting heat. If you swap them in for black pepper one for one and stop there, the dish will taste underseasoned, because pink berries bring fragrance, not pungency. Use them alongside black pepper, not instead of it.

The second mistake is heavy cooking. Long simmering dulls their delicate aroma and muddies the color, so add them late or use them raw.

A safety note worth knowing: because the Brazilian pepper tree is related to cashew and mango, people with tree-nut or cashew allergies can react to pink peppercorns. In ordinary cooking amounts they are fine for most people.

Substitutes

Nothing matches both the look and the taste, so choose by what the dish needs. For the rosy color and gentle perfume there is no real stand-in; a few crushed dried cranberries can fake the color in a garnish but not the flavor.

For the mild fruity-peppery flavor without the color, a light hand of freshly cracked black pepper plus a tiny strip of citrus zest gets you in the neighborhood. If you only need pepper bite, reach for ordinary black or white peppercorns and accept that you lose the pink.

Buying and Storing Pink Peppercorns

Buy whole pink peppercorns rather than pre-ground. The whole berries hold their fragile aroma far longer, and you crush them as needed. Look for bright rose color and intact shells; dull or shattered berries are stale.

Store them in an airtight jar away from heat and moisture, where whole berries keep their aroma for about a year. They are brittle and pick up humidity easily, so a tight lid matters.

When they smell flat rather than sweet and piney, their season is over.

Quick facts

Where to find pink peppercorns: Pink peppercorns are usually found in the condiments section or aisle of the grocery store or supermarket.

In Chinese

粉红胡椒

British (UK) term

Pink peppercorns

en français

grains de poivre rose

en español

granos de pimienta rosa

Recipes using pink peppercorns

There are 8 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 8 recipes