Uziza Pepper is a berry from the Uziza plan that grows throughout tropical areas of Africa.
The reddish-coloured berries look like cubeb pepper berries, but are smaller and more oval shaped, and have less of a bitter aftertaste than cubeb pepper.
The berries are dried and then used as peppercorns are used. They have a peppery taste because they contain piperine.
History Notes
Uziza was used as pepper in France as early as 1364, particularly in Rouen and Dieppe where merchants imported it.
One of the other names for Uziza Pepper is Ashanti pepper. The Ashanti Empire used to be centred in southern Ghana.