Chinese Prickly Ash
Chinese prickly ash is the dried pericarp of the fruit of Zanthoxylum bungeanum and related species, the spice known in Chinese as huajiao and in English as Sichuan pepper. Despite the name it is unrelated to black pepper and to chilli, belonging instead to the citrus family, which is evident in the lemon and terpene character of its aroma.
Its distinguishing property is not heat or aroma but a tingling numbness. That effect comes from a group of unsaturated fatty acid amides, principally hydroxy alpha sanshool, which act on the nerve endings of the lip and tongue and produce a vibrating tingle rather than a taste. The aroma fraction is a separate matter, dominated by linalool, limonene and other terpenes in the essential oil of the husk, which is why the spice is valued for two properties that can vary independently in a lot.
It is the split reddish brown husk, ideally free of the shiny black seed, which is bitter, gritty and carries little of either active. It is also sold ground, and as an essential oil and oleoresin. The sanshools are unstable, degrading with heat, light and oxygen, so the numbing intensity of ground material falls steadily during storage while the aroma changes character as the lighter terpenes escape.
We source bulk Chinese Prickly Ash from top China manufacturers for our partners. The manufacturer is in Hebei. A smaller requirement can ship in a combined container with other ingredients.
Please send the grade you need, the volume and your destination port, and we will come back with a solution and a price.
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- Function
- Flavours and Aromas
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Split reddish brown husk, or free flowing ground powder |
| Odour and taste | Characteristic citrus aromatic with pronounced numbing sensation |
| Seed content | To declared value, top grade 2.0 percent maximum |
| Moisture | 11 percent maximum |
| Volatile oil | 1.5 mL per 100 g minimum |
| Numbing intensity | Conforms to retained sensory standard |
| Total ash | 8.0 percent maximum on dry basis |
| Acid insoluble ash | 1.5 percent maximum on dry basis |
| Stalk and extraneous matter | 2.0 percent maximum |
| Particle size, ground grade | 95 percent minimum through 40 mesh |
| Total aflatoxins | 10 microgram per kg maximum |
| Lead | 2 mg per kg maximum |
| Arsenic | 1 mg per kg maximum |
| Total plate count | 100000 cfu per gram maximum, sterilised grade 10000 cfu per gram |
| Salmonella | Absent in 25 grams |
Common Markets Grades
Grading rests first on botanical type, seed content and numbing strength. Red prickly ash from Zanthoxylum bungeanum is the dominant type and carries a warm aromatic profile, while green prickly ash from Zanthoxylum schinifolium is more citrus led and generally more strongly numbing, and the two are traded as separate spices rather than as grades of one. Named production areas within China command different prices on the strength of their aroma profile.
Seed content is the quality figure a buyer specifies first, since the black seed is dead weight that dilutes the husk, and the highest grades are almost seedless. Numbing intensity is assessed by sensory panel or by assay of the sanshool fraction, and volatile oil content is declared for aroma. Beyond the whole husk, the trade covers ground spice by mesh, prickly ash oil produced by steam distillation or extraction, oleoresin, and infused seasoning oils. Sterilised grades treated with steam are used for ready to eat products, and organic certified lines require certified orchards and no fumigation.
Applications
- Sichuan cooking, providing the numbing half of the mala character alongside chilli heat
- Hot pot bases and braising liquors, infused whole and often strained out
- Five spice powder and other dry spice blends, ground with star anise, fennel, clove and cassia
- Prickly ash oil and seasoning oils, where the husk is heated in oil to transfer both aroma and sanshools
- Marinades and cured meats, particularly cured pork and sausage in western Chinese styles
- Dipping salts and table condiments, dry roasted and ground with salt
- Noodle sauces and cold dressed dishes
- Instant noodle and convenience food seasoning, in ground or extracted form
- Snack seasonings in a mala flavour direction, one of the fastest growing outlets
- Essential oil and oleoresin production for flavour houses
Brands Using Chinese Prickly Ash
Widely-distributed consumer products that list Chinese Prickly Ash on the ingredient label.
Brand names, product names and logos are the property of their owners. They appear here as published evidence that the ingredient is used, taken from the brand's own label or website. Their appearance is not an endorsement, and it does not mean the brand buys from us or from any manufacturer listed on this site.
China Manufacturers of Chinese Prickly Ash
Top Chinese Prickly Ash manufacturers in China.
Company names and logos are the property of the manufacturers themselves. They are listed here because our own directory records them as producing this ingredient. A listing is not an endorsement by them, and we do not represent them or speak on their behalf.
Regulatory Status
In the United States Chinese prickly ash is treated as a spice, and Zanthoxylum species appear among the natural flavouring substances and natural substances used in conjunction with flavours that are permitted for food use, with the material also covered by the general recognition applying to spices. Ground spice destined for ready to eat products falls under the preventive controls framework, which requires a validated treatment step. Imports of Zanthoxylum from certain origins have at times been restricted on plant health grounds rather than food safety grounds, since the fruit can carry citrus pathogens, and heat treatment has been the usual condition of entry.
In the European Union the spice is a food and carries no E number. Contaminant limits for mycotoxins and heavy metals in dried spices apply, as do pesticide maximum residue levels, and these are the practical constraints on imported lots. Where the essential oil or oleoresin is used as a flavouring rather than the ground spice, the flavourings regulation applies and any flavouring substance used must appear on the Union list. Codex addresses the material through its general standards on contaminants, food hygiene and labelling, and through its code of hygienic practice for spices and dried aromatic herbs, rather than through a commodity standard for prickly ash.
Manufacturing Process
The fruit is harvested when the capsules turn red and begin to split, since picking too early gives a weak husk and too late loses fruit to shattering. Harvested fruit is dried, traditionally in the sun over several days and increasingly in hot air driers, which is the step that determines colour and aroma retention: over rapid or over hot drying darkens the husk and drives off the volatile oil that carries the aroma, while slow drying in damp weather risks mould.
Drying splits the capsule and releases the seed, and the separation that follows is the core of the process. Winnowing, aspiration and gravity separation use the difference in density between the light husk and the heavy seed, and a specific gravity separator or an optical sorter is used to reach the low seed content of the highest grades. Cleaning over destoners, sieves and magnets removes stalk, sand, stones and metal. The cleaned husk is either packed whole or milled, with milling done under chilled air or with liquid nitrogen because the sanshools and the volatile oil are both damaged by the heat of grinding. Steam sterilisation under vacuum is applied where required, followed by drying and cooling, and the spice is packed in barrier material that excludes light and oxygen. Separate lines take husk to steam distillation for the essential oil and to solvent extraction for the oleoresin.
