SICHUAN PEPPER

Sichuan pepper is a small berry obtained from plants of the genus Xanthoxylum, and is a very popular spice in Asia.
It is also called Anise Pepper or Szechuan pepper and belongs to the rutaceae family (the same as mandarin and star anise), originally from China.

It has a very distinctive flavor: spicy, but not pungent like pepper or chilli.
After the spicy fact, it has a strong lemon flavor and leaves a slight numbness in the mouth.
Precisely for this numbness, in Chinese medicine it has always been used as a remedy for toothaches (as well as for other beneficial properties).