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Tag - Kampot Pepper

First harvest of Pepper

October 19, 20193 min read

Pepper is a beautiful and an amazing product

I have loved cooking since as far back as I can remember. It all started from the time I was about 11 I think and after months of hoping and asking my best friend at the time to let me come to his house.

Finally, it happened Gulvinder Singh was allowed to bring his best friend home from school for dinner.

This was a long time ago and in those days cultures were so different and mixing was hard. In fact, I believe I was the only one who was allowed to go to his house and then only on certain occasions.

The thing that stood out for me in those days, was the fact that dad was in the kitchen cooking. Always under the impression that the mother cooked, and this was a new thing to witness.

Watching in awe, as he went about making the most amazing Indian curry I have ever tasted. Mesmerised as he not only did everything but also explained things to me as well. He told me it was important for a man to know how to cook.

I think it was at that point I fell in love with Indian food.

Kampot Pepper

Fast forward 30 odd years and I am now working on a Pepper farm in Kampot, Cambodia. My feet firmly planted in the ground just like the pepper.

Origins of the Pepper here, Oh, life is so good sometimes. Piper Nigrum is … you guessed it from India.

We all forget that before Chillies came across from America’s everyone was using Pepper as their spice. If you wanted a hot spicy curry, ( and why wouldn’t you) you used Pepper.

Note: Mr Singh used pepper not chillies in his curry, in fact during the 1980s I don’t recall seeing chillies that readily available, but then I didn’t do the food shopping🤣

 

Harvesting (or Récolte if you are French) 😉 the Pepper

 

So in Cambodia, there is a special place that produces the best pepper in the world. The French discovered how good this was and exported it all back from here to Paris to use in their cooking.

No wonder they have the best cuisine in the world.😃

Anyway, check out my post on working on the Pepper farm and the one about Kampot Pepper to learn more.

We start our harvest around late Jan, early Feb and continue until around May collecting pepper as it becomes mature from the plants. If you leave it as long as you can, it gives you an even stronger taste when washed and dried.

4 Colours from one Plant

The plant itself produces 2 colours Green, and Red, just like Tomatoes they start green and become mature and turn red making the berries sweet because of the skin.

Green

Fresh green is used in locally in the Seafood here in Kampot and the Famous Crab in Kep.

Black

Wash and dry this green pepper and it becomes black which is used in your peppercorn sauces and with strong meats and vegetables.

Red

Take the red berries and again, wash and dry and they become your red pepper, so versatile and is used in everything from Lamb to salads and all kinds of pasta to Ice Cream, Chocolate, Fruit and Gin.

White

Soften the red berries in water for a long time and peel the skin, washing again before drying and you have in my opinion the best, the white. Fish, Chicken, Pork, white sauces, soups and excellent with Cheese.

 

 

 

June 2019

June 26, 20192 min read

The rains have arrived, but where are the tourists?

What will this month bring apart from the long-awaited the monsoon which will limit what we can do on the farm

but learning more each day and working with the farm team particularly with Mr. Wang as we embark on building another choc house or hammock dwelling as well as swing and climbing frame for the visitors when they start to arrive again in the high season.

I will post images of the farm as the season changes as we look forward to getting on with some big projects this year as we have some good ideas from the volunteers on making the area around the visitor centre more appealing, including replacing the floor on our floating pontoon.

TIP OF THE POST

Having a new young volunteer from Scotland here on the farm who has a willingness to try pepper in just about everything, we quickly discovered that our salted green pepper goes really well with peanut butter and chocolate.

Try it out it really is good, however, if you are a bit more conventional then stick with the red pepper as with the skin being sweet it goes with both sweet and spicy dishes.

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Kampot

February 15, 20192 min read

Home to quaint French-style colonial buildings, beautiful views of mountains, parks and waterfalls.

The best Pepper in the world?

Well like your Champagne, Darjeeling Tea, Cornish Pastry and many more which have a regional award to specify that it is the genuine article so does Kampot Pepper.

Governed by strict guidelines and constant checking of the process from Farm growth to harvest and packaging and selling this is a region that has been growing pepper for over 1000s of years

I have had the pleasure of working on a pepper farm that allowed me to see the whole process and learn about the production of pepper in this region- see my work away post and Kampot pepper one

However, there is still a beautiful town at the heart of this amazing farming province and it is really worth spending more than a few days here if you are able.

They also have some lovely restaurants that provide the chance to try the Kampot pepper in local dishes or try western food you simply cannot do without whilst travelling.

  • For a Taste of India try Simon’s where you will get a spicy madras or Rogan Josh
  • For light food and drinks try the Tapas Bar Baraca who make small dishes with local and imported ingredients
  • If you fancy entertaining try either Twenty Three or Seafood & Kampot Pepper restaurant

 

 

 

 

They have a Rabbit Island, as well as a Snake Island not to mention a hugely contested Vietnamese/Cambodian island. Although around here, many countries lay claim to Islands that are maybe not theirs? or could be disputed. At least that’s what the locals say anyway.

 

 

 

 

 

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