Voatsiperifery

I want my first blog posting to be about voatsiperifery.  It's a recently discovered spice and all but impossible to get in the United States.  The spice is the dried berries of a plant that is a close relative of black pepper, and the taste of it is unmistakably similar.  Yet, it's significantly distinct to be of interest by itself.  It's described as being mild black pepper but with a woodier, more citrus and flowery taste.  The berries are similar in color and texture to black pepper, but their shape is more ovoid (football) and the stems are usually still attached.  Below is a photo I had done by a commercial photographer.

Close up of voatsiperifery berries

The spice goes well with white meats, seafood and fois gras.  I put the berries in a pepper mill and used it as I would use black pepper.  I've experimented and discovered that it's a perfect match for chicken soup.  I've found it worked well in tuna salad, on chicken, salmon steaks, and sea bass.  I have yet to try it on pork or lobster, but I've read that those are a good fit too.

Voatsiperifery bought at Izrael in Paris

Voatsiperifery is also called poivre sauvage (French for "wild pepper") or Madagascan wild pepper, because it had yet to be grown commercially.   Voatsiperifery berries, like black pepper, are hand-picked from woody vines that grow on trees.  The species name is Piper borbonense.  The vines grow mainly on Madagascar and the French island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean.

Voatsiperifery bought in Madagascar

In 2005, the spice was brought to the attention Gérard Vives, a French chef, who made it his mission to introduce this taste to the rest of the world.  I picked up voatsiperifery at Izrael, l'epicerie du Monde in Paris.  Another good spice shop in Paris is l'epicerie de bruno.    As of yet, none of the stores in Europe that sell this spice will ship to the United States.  I've been sharing this information with the local spice shops here in Portland.    I've arranged a source in Madagascar and will consider importing it if there is interest from others.

If anybody out there is reading this and has some more recipes, I'm sure I'd like to hear from you.