Once you've tasted the searing, numbing, lemony-metallic flavor of Sichuan peppercorns, you'll never forget them. As one commentator wryly observed, "It felt like my tongue died." Beginning in 1936, these shrub buds (they're not really peppercorns) were illegalized in the U.S., not as a result of any narcotic effect, but because they sometimes harbor the citrus canker bacterium. The prohibition was loosened in 2002, and lifted in 2005, but the bud retains vestiges of its outlaw status. Appreciation turns to craving, and craving to downright addiction, and Sichuan peppercorn junkies like me always need a sure place to... More >>>