I do not toast them, but gently warm them first to be completely dry (dehydrator set at about 110 F for 15 minutes). If you smell the aromas and they aren’t captured in the food, the flavors will be weakened. What you smell is volatiles, lost in the air. Without air and frozen, the powder keeps many months without loss of flavor. I follow pretty much the same techniques as Huang Su-Hei and Kian Lam Kho; the pepper is added to hot wok oil, along with whatever other aromatics are called for, garlic, ginger, etc. When the fragrances rise, the wok is cooled by adding main ingredients.
Unlike many Indian spices, I’ve not heard of toasting Szechuan pepper first. In the many books I’ve read, own, it’s not mentioned. In the US, I’m pretty sure it’s mandatory that the spice is heat-treated to 70 degrees C/158 F. The Citrus canker bacteria can, theoretically be transmitted by the product. I’m pretty sure this practice is still followed with all imports, but I may be mistaken.
For braising and long-cooked sauces, I often use them whole and sieve them out later.
The burrs I refer to are unlike a coffee grinder’s, so may behave worse! I’m using a grain mill, which has two pressure -adjusted stainless burr plates. I normally use it for toasted Buckwheat flour, golden Whole wheat flour, grinding dal and Idli rice for instant Idli flour. The fineness is completely adjustable. My Zassenhaus coffee mill might work better, but it’s my coffee mill!
Might be too hard to clean. Hot and numbing java!
I like having the powder RTU. Many of the recipes take a long time to assemble without having to grind and clean up a mill every time I use the spice. It’s much faster to re-vacuum the jar after tossing in an oxygen absorber. Again, this, and freezing is key. I’ll have to try some of the other grinders mentioned above. Many thanks for all the suggestions!
During the grinding, straw-colored bits of husk appear, with the resinous skin removed. I thought about tossing this fibrous component, but put a couple between my front teeth and chewed them, just to see. Surprisingly, there is a lot of flavor and numbing inside that tough husk core; so, in they went.
