The Seeds From This Tropical Fruit Are A Great Alternative For Black Pepper

You go to season that meal and find you're out of peppercorns, or worse, someone doesn't like them. Luckily, there's a viral alternative that may be just what you're looking for. It's a pretty natural process when eating a papaya to scoop out the seeds and toss them into the garbage without a second thought. However, these little papaya seeds could replace peppercorns, and with some papaya staring at me from my fruit bowl, I decided to put that theory to the test right away. Spoiler alert: While the trend isn't entirely wrong, it isn't entirely right either.

Fresh papaya seeds have a pretty strong bite that catches you off guard. You could definitely describe the flavor as peppery, but there's something else going on here, too, like a mustardy sharpness that almost reminded me of eating wasabi, or what I associate with it (luckily, there are ways to know if you're eating real wasabi). The texture is pretty good and the seeds are crunchy like peppercorns, although much bigger, but also slightly bitter, which doesn't quite hit the mark.

After experimenting with some fresh papaya from my kitchen, I found a jar of dried papaya seeds in the pantry that I gave a go as well. Once I threw those into a pestle and mortar, I found that they actually did have more of a black pepper effect than the fresh seeds. I'd say the flavor profile sits somewhere between black pepper and horseradish — spicy, yes, but with its own unique character.

The conclusion is: Papaya seeds aren't black pepper's identical twin, but nor should they be expected to be. They're more like pepper's quirky cousin that they only see at family reunions. You can definitely compare the spice levels, but the flavors are pretty different — black pepper hits you with much of a straight-forward heat, whereas papaya seeds have a more multi-layered experience, with notes of pepper; but it's milder, and has notes of mustard and wasabi and even radish, too.

The best course of action would be to use them in a salad where their mustard-like pepperiness adds some new depth to an otherwise bright salad dressing. You could try them in Ina Garten's favorite lemon vinaigrette for incredible results. While not tested by me, the flavor could also come through as a meat rub for pork or chicken. They would probably also do a great job marinating flavor into a jar of super crunchy homemade pickles.

The advantage here isn't that they are a perfect replacement for peppercorns, because they're just not. However, they're a great way to minimize food waste and diversify your spice cupboard with a new and fun addition. So, if you're ever cooking for anyone with dietary restrictions, or you simply enjoy experimenting with new flavors, then these seeds are definitely worth saving the next time you slice into a delicious papaya.