Kampot pepper is available in four different types, from the freshly picked green pepper that can only be found locally in Kampot, to the three dried types that each have their own distinct flavours and characteristics.
Green Kampot Pepper
The fresh, undried green peppercorns are only available during harvest season between April and May and are typically fried fresh with meat or seafood. Once picked from the plant, fresh pepper does not travel well or keep for long, but its life can be extended by pickling or being preserved in salt.
Black Kampot Pepper
Intensely spicy with complex flavours, black Kampot pepper is the world renowned taste that has traversed generations since the height of popularity under French colonial rule. Strong, substantial pepper with flavours unlike any other pepper in the world. The black pepper is made by harvesting the berries when they are fully developed but still green in colour, then dried in the sun.
Red Kampot Pepper
When the pepper berries are left to mature on the vine they turn from green to red. These are harvested and hand sorted to pick out the best of the best. The red peppercorns offer a sweeter, fruity flavour of pepper that can be used in all sorts of unexpected ways, suchs as in fruit salads, on ice cream, chocolate or strawberries. It is also perfect for more gamey red meats such as lamb or venison.
White Kampot Pepper
White pepper is made from the ripe berries by soaking them in water for 48 hours to remove the outer skin and the flesh, leaving behind the seed of the peppercorn which is naturally white in colour. Popular amongst top chefs when preparing dishes that have a delicate flavour, white Kampot pepper adds a a touch piperine spice that wakes up the taste buds without overpowering the dish with the strong pepper fruit flavours found with black and red peppercorns.