ISO: ISO info on drying pink peppercorns. I just found out that those $10 jars are from a common street

[joe]

tree in California we call the Brazilian Pepper, which grows like a weed. (Also known as Florida Holly; it has become an invasive pest there).

I want to keep making kpinky's Pink Peppercorn Feta, but I don't want to pay so much for berries that litter the streets of my neighborhood! I can't find any info on how to gather and dry them. Does anybody know? I suppose I could just pick them next summer, wash them and air dry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schinus_terebinthifolius

 

[curious1]

You're kidding, it's an invasive pest here, also. The state is removing them along

I-75, much to the distress of some homeowners and golf course users. They spread rapidly and provide quite a buffer between the interstate and adjacent properties. My husband took one out at the edge of our yard and the greenbelt when we first moved in and what a job it was. Then you have to use some kind of poison on the stump to keep it from growing back. They're beautiful when the berries are ripe, I guess that's why people were drawn to them in the first place.

 

[joe]

Maybe you can keep them from speading by gathering every last seed and selling them.

You'll get rich AND save the ecosystem.

They're not as invasinve in CA because they need irrigation, but they're hard to remove--the roots will sprout even if you dig the stump out.