🇸🇦 Arabicar
فلفل تيموت
fulful timut
Nepalese Himalayas, Nepal
Timut Pepper
Nepal
sole origin
highland forests above 1,200 m
Zanthoxylum armatum
botanical name
kin to Sichuan pepper, not true pepper
Grapefruit
primary aroma
from the hydroxy-alpha-sanshool compound
2,000 m
harvest altitude
Upper Mustang and Solukhumbu districts
Visual atlas
Profile
Zanthoxylum armatum, also called winged prickly ash or rattan pepper in English, is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. It is an aromatic, deciduous, spiny shrub growing to 3.5 metres (11 ft) in height, endemic from Pakistan across to Southeast Asia and up to Korea and Japan. It is one of the sources of the spice Sichuan pepper, and also used in folk medicine, essential oil production and as an ornamental garden plant.
Timut pepper — Zanthoxylum armatum — is a relative of Sichuan pepper that grows wild and semi-cultivated on the mid-hill slopes of Nepal, between 1,500 and 2,500 m. The dried husks split along the seam to reveal black seeds (discarded) and deliver an unmistakable nose of pink grapefruit, passion fruit and fresh citrus zest. There is a light málà tingle, softer than Sichuan, and an almost floral finish. Timut took off in French three-star kitchens in the 2010s — it is used raw, freshly ground, over tartare, ceviche, white fish, dark chocolate or chilled apricot soup. Do not cook it: heat destroys the grapefruit volatiles.
Process
01Mar–May
Wild shrub in bloom
Zanthoxylum armatum puts out tiny yellow-green flowers on thorny branches. No cultivation — trees grow wild in Himalayan mixed forest.
02Aug–Oct
Berry harvest
Small red-brown husks are harvested before they split open; pickers use bamboo poles to reach high branches at altitude.
03Oct, 5–7 days
Shade-drying
Husks dry in shade — not sun — to preserve the volatile citrus-and-sanshool compounds. Direct sun bleaches aroma within 48 hours.
04Nov–Dec
De-seeding and sorting
Inner black seeds are removed: they add woody bitterness without fragrance. Only the husks are sold as timut pepper.
05Your kitchen
Crack, don't grind
Lightly crack husks in a mortar; grind only at the moment of use. Sprinkle on oysters, citrus-cured fish, or dark chocolate 72%.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
Timut shares hydroxy-α-sanshool with Sichuan pepper, but its essential oil is dominated by linalool and limonene — earning it the 'pepper that smells like grapefruit' nickname.
0%
Piperine
no Piper alkaloid
2.5%
Hydroxy-α-sanshool
tingle compound
5–7%
Essential oil
of dried husk
57%
Linalool share
of essential oil
Volatile compound profile
- Linalool57.2%
Citrus-floral, grapefruit-bergamot — Timut's nose.
- Limonene14.5%
Bright citrus, lemon zest.
- Linalyl acetate6.4%
Bergamot, sweet-floral.
- α-pinene4.8%
Pine resin, fresh entry.
- Hydroxy-α-sanshool2.5%
Tingling alkylamide — sensory.
- β-myrcene3.6%
Earthy, slightly fruity.
- Geraniol2.1%
Rose, sweet floral.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Piperine | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Timut (Nepal) Nepal · Z. armatum, 57% linalool | 0% | 5.8% |
Sichuan red China · Z. bungeanum | 0% | 6.5% |
Sichuan green China · Z. armatum | 0% | 8.2% |
Sansho (Japan) Japan · Z. piperitum | 0% | 4.2% |
Andaliman (Sumatra) Indonesia · Z. acanthopodium | 0% | 3.4% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
4 signature dishes
Timur is the everyday tingle of Nepali kitchens — ground into achars, dusted on momos, simmered in dal.
- Momo achargrade: timut
Tomato-sesame dipping sauce for steamed dumplings — timur is the fixed warmth and tingle.
- Aloo timurgrade: timut
Boiled potatoes tossed with timur, chilli and lemon — a Pokhara street snack.
- Khasi ko masugrade: timut
Goat curry where timur is roasted whole and ground fresh — citrus lifts the richness.
- Timur-ko-chhopgrade: timut
Mortar-pounded chutney of timur, chilli, garlic and tomato — the household relish.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇧🇩 Bengalibn
তিমুর গোলমরিচ
timur golmoricho
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
尼泊尔花椒
níbó'ěr huājiāo
🇳🇱 Dutchnl
Timut-peper
🇬🇧 Englishen
Timut Pepper
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Poivre timut
🇩🇪 Germande
Timut-Pfeffer
🇮🇳 Hindihi
तेजबल / तिमुर
tejbal / timur
🇮🇹 Italianit
Pepe timut
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
ティムールペッパー
timūru peppā
🇰🇷 Koreanko
티무트 후추
timuteu huchu
🇵🇱 Polishpl
Pieprz timut
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Pimenta timut
🇷🇺 Russianru
Перец тимут
perets timut
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Pimienta timut
🇸🇪 Swedishsv
Timutpeppar
🇹🇭 Thaith
พริกไทยทิมุต
phrik thai timut
🇹🇷 Turkishtr
Timut biberi
🇵🇰 Urduur
تیمور مرچ
timur mirch
🇻🇳 Vietnamesevi
Tiêu Timut
Pairings
Protein
- Scallops
- Salmon tartare
Sweet
- Dark chocolate 72%
- Citrus sorbet
- Strawberry & cream
Drink
- Grüner Veltliner
Substitutes
- Sichuan Pepper72% match· soon
- Pink Pepper50% match· soon
- Cubeb Pepper40% match· soon
Frequent questions
The compound responsible is hydroxy-alpha-sanshool, present in all Zanthoxylum species. It activates the same TRPV1 and TRPA1 receptors as chilli heat and carbonation, producing a mild electric numbness rather than capsaicin burn. The effect peaks within 30 seconds and fades after 2 minutes.