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Ground sansho, yellow-green and dusty
  • Spice
  • 山椒

Sansho

Numbs instead of burning.

Flavor profile

Tingletingle 90%
Citruscitrus aroma 55%
Heatfaint heat 30%
Bitternessbitterness 30%

The strengths are editorial judgments on a scale within the family, not measurements. They can be compared across the spices varieties, not directly against another family.

Sansho does not burn, it numbs. The compound is called sanshool and produces a tingling, almost electric sensation on the lips and tongue that is nothing like chili, and on top of that sits a clear citrus aroma. That is no accident: sansho belongs to the same plant family as the citrus fruits. The classic use is over grilled eel, where it cuts through the fat, and it is one of the seven spices in shichimi.

Sensory analysis

Pyramid and character

Aroma

from the jar

  • citrus peel
  • pine needles
  • pepper

Taste

on the tongue

  • tingle
  • citrus
  • faint heat

Finish

what lingers

  • tingling
  • long
  • fresh
HEATTINGLECITRUSAROMA STRENGTHBITTERNESSHEAT TOLERANCE

Character 0-100 per axis, set relative to the other entries in the same family. An editorial judgment of a typical serving, not measurements.

Background

Facts

Kinship
Zanthoxylum piperitum, in the family Rutaceae, the same family as citrus and rue; a relative of Chinese Sichuan pepper but a different species
The compound
sanshool, which gives a tingle that grows into numbness instead of heat; capsaicin in chili does the opposite
Parts
the ripe fruit husk is ground into kona-zansho; the young leaves are called kinome and are used whole as garnish; the unripe green berries are called ao-zansho
Use
kabayaki, that is grilled eel, is the classic pairing, and the spice often comes tucked into the package; it also goes into shichimi
Cultivation
Wakayama accounts for about 80 percent of Japanese production; the thornless variety asakura-zansho is the most common in cultivation

At the table

Use

Dosage
a pinch is enough, because the numbness builds quickly
Timing
sprinkled on finished food; it takes heat better than wasabi, but the citrus aroma fades in a simmering pot
Note
ground sansho loses both aroma and numbing power within months, so an old jar mostly tastes of wood

Keep exploring

Related in the Zukan

Evidence

Sources

  1. Zanthoxylum piperitum (Wikipedia) (retrieved 2026-08-12)
  2. Shichimi (Wikipedia) (retrieved 2026-08-12)