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Cubeb are small, reddish-brown, irregularly shaped berries about 1/8 inch wide, just a bit larger than peppercorns.

When dried and ground, they have a sharp, pepper-like taste with a trace of bitterness. At times, it has been used in place of pepper.

They grow on a perennial, tropical vine with a grey stem and smooth, pointed leaves. The vine produces spikes with small white blossoms, and after that, brown berries on the spikes. The berries grow inside a pod about 1 1/4 inches (3 cm) long. Inside each berry is a white, hollow kernel.

The berries are usually sold whole with their stems still attached, hence one of the synonyms of "tailed."

Cubeb is used in Moroccan and North African cooking, in Indonesian cooking, and in some gins.

History
Cubeb is native to Indonesia. Growers in Java would sterilize the Cubeb berries before exporting them so that they couldn't be grown elsewhere.

Cubeb was popular in Europe during the 1500s and 1600s. It was used as a pepper substitute.

Negro Pepper was another popular substitute for pepper.

Language Notes
The English word "Cubeb" comes from the Arabic word for the spice, "kabaabah."

In Indonesian called "tjabé djawa."

Also called:

Other entries for:

Pepper
Cubeb, Grains of Paradise, Ground Pepper, Lemon Pepper, Long Pepper, Mignonette, Negro Pepper, Pepato, Peppercorns, Peppers, Szechuan Peppercorns, Tirphal, Uziza Pepper, White Pepper

Other entries for:

Spices
Ajowan Seed, Allspice, Anardana, Anise, Annatto, Asafoetida, Caraway, Cardamom, Chocolate, Cinnamon, Cloves, Cream of Tartar, Cumin, Dried Lily Buds, Garlic Powder, Ginger, Juniper Berries, Kokum, Mustard, Nigella, Nutmeg, Paprika, Saffron, Salt, Sumac, Turmeric, Zedoary