Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin
Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin is a solvent extract of the dried pericarps of Zanthoxylum bungeanum (red Sichuan pepper) or Zanthoxylum schinifolium (green Sichuan pepper).
It carries the sanshool family of unsaturated alkylamides, which produce the cooling, tingling, almost electrical buzz that defines the má half of Sichuan málà cuisine. The same fraction provides the citrus-floral top note of the spice.
We source bulk Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin 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.
or call +86-21-6858 0751
- Packaging
- 25 kg galvanised drum, nitrogen blanketed
- ISO 9001
- HACCP
- Halal
- Kosher
Specifications
| Item | Specification |
|---|---|
| Appearance | Yellow to amber viscous liquid |
| Hydroxy-α-sanshool content | 3% to 12% (grade-dependent) |
| Volatile oil content | ≥ 10.0% |
| Refractive index (20 °C) | 1.480 to 1.510 |
| Specific gravity (20 °C) | 0.910 to 0.960 |
| Acid value | ≤ 10.0 mg KOH/g |
| Peroxide value | ≤ 5.0 meq/kg |
| Residual solvent (ethanol) | ≤ 50 mg/kg |
| Lead | ≤ 2 mg/kg |
| Total plate count | ≤ 1,000 cfu/g |
| Format | Liquid oleoresin, water-dispersible emulsion, or spray-dried powder per customer specification |
Common Markets Grades
Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin is typically sold on total sanshool content and on tingle intensity in arbitrary trade units relative to a producer reference.
Common grades carry 3 to 8 percent total hydroxy-alpha-sanshool by HPLC for general culinary use. Concentrate grades at 10 to 15 percent sanshools are produced for compound flavouring and sauce manufacture.
Red-pepper oleoresin (from Z. bungeanum) leads with a warmer, woodier base and stronger tingle. Green-pepper oleoresin (from Z. schinifolium) leans more citrus-floral with a brighter, less heavy tingle.
Carriers are usually refined vegetable oil or a propylene-glycol/ethanol blend for water-tolerant applications.
Applications
- Málà hot-pot bases, chili oils, and dipping sauces
- Mapo tofu pastes, dan dan sauces, and Chongqing-style noodle seasonings
- Snack seasonings for kettle chips, popcorn, and extruded snacks in numbing-spicy positioning
- Marinades and rubs for grilled chicken, beef, and rabbit in Sichuan-inspired menus
- Ready meals and frozen Sichuan-style entrees
- Bouillon, broth concentrates, and instant-noodle sachets
- Compound flavour systems where a tingle modifier is wanted as a sensation note rather than a heat note
- Craft beverages including numbing cocktails, infused gins, and sparkling waters
- Premium chocolate and confectionery experimenting with savory-tingle pairings
- Plant-based meat products seeking a distinctive regional Asian profile
China Manufacturers of Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin
Top Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin 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.
How We Help Source Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin
Direct Factory Sourcing
We run the whole process: selecting the manufacturer from the top Chinese food ingredient producers, negotiating the price, verifying quality, and coordinating the logistics. You deal with us instead of with several factories at once.
Original Packaging and Documents from the Manufacturer
The manufacturer sends your Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin out of its own factory in the original packing, through to your destination port. The COA, COO, MSDS, TDS and any certifications reach you from the manufacturer as well.
Free Samples and Lead Time
We send 100 to 500 g free for your own laboratory to test and you cover only the courier, usually within 2 to 3 working days. ETD is usually within 7 to 15 days once the order is confirmed, and we check that date against the factory's own manufacturing schedule before we give it to you.
Combined Shipment
We can load Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin together with other ingredients such as Capsicum Oleoresin, Ethyl Maltol and White Pepper into one 20' FCL. If your quantity is small, we can also ship LCL.
Regulatory Status
Sichuan Pepper Oleoresin is treated as a natural flavouring preparation in most markets.
In the European Union it falls under Regulation (EC) No 1334/2008 on flavourings. Zanthoxylum species are not on the restricted-substance lists of Annex III.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration lists Zanthoxylum (prickly ash) and its derivatives in 21 CFR 182.20 as generally recognized as safe (GRAS) for use as a natural flavouring substance.
JECFA has reviewed alkylamides of the sanshool family as flavouring agents in its evaluations of natural flavour complexes and raised no safety concern at the levels found in culinary use.
Residual solvent limits follow the relevant food-extraction-solvent rules, including Directive 2009/32/EC in the European Union.
Manufacturing Process
Production begins with sun-dried red or green Sichuan pepper pericarps, separated from their inner seeds because the seeds carry bitter oil that the trade does not want.
The pericarps are ground and extracted with food-grade ethanol or a hexane/ethanol mixture. Some producers run a steam distillation first to capture the volatile essential-oil top notes, then re-blend those with the de-volatilised oleoresin so that aroma is preserved through later processing.
The miscella is filtered and the solvent is stripped under vacuum at moderate temperature. Sanshools are heat- and oxygen-sensitive, so most plants run nitrogen blankets and short residence times.
The crude oleoresin is finally standardised on total sanshool content by blending and, where required, by adding a small amount of recaptured essential oil to lift the citrus aroma.
