# Red pepper musings



## rickbern (Oct 5, 2019)

I posted the black peppercorn selection at my local spice shop, thought I’d follow up with a red pepper thread. Actually, I missed a few gondolas full, but this should give you an idea. I also took a shot of about half of the spice mixes aisle, what the hell.


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## 2bApical? (Oct 5, 2019)

Boy oh boy. I thought my diet was pedestrian before. So here is what I have come up with so far. I've brought this up before and for some reason this spice is important to me and I feel lost without it. Those who think that there isn't too much difference between crushed red peppers have somewhat of a point. They don't add a huge amount of flavor beyond heat to a dish yet the subtleties between them are such that some I just can't use and just throw out. So far these two are the best "regular" crushed pepper I've found. They both have a fruity smell that is pleasant compared to others. TL BON CON VOI CORP. INT'. Crushed Chili-Piments Secs En Morceaux which is not too hot for me and maybe a bit better tasting but too hot is Sadaf crushed red pepper, also with a nice fruity fragrance. One part Sadaf and 3 parts the TL BON works out pretty well. Both from a local Asian market.


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## orangehero (Oct 7, 2019)

I like to point out that aside from differences in flavor, hot peppers also have differences not just in the amount, but also in the types (chemically) of capsaicin they produce.


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## Bert2368 (Apr 20, 2020)

I have planted seeds of "urfa bieber" and "Aleppo" red peppers this Spring. The urfa bieber nearly all came up, they are going strong. The Aleppo have completely failed to germinate so far (nearly 3 weeks, soil temperature 80 - 85° F). Both were packed for the 2019 growing season and came from the same seed seller-



| eBay



Probably too late to find more seeds of the Aleppo, maybe next year. 

I have read how these are traditionally dried, picked when fully red then alternating sun drying in daylight hours with bagging or covering to "sweat" at night. Anyone tried growing and drying their own? How critical is that drying process...


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## orangehero (Apr 20, 2020)

Aleppo pepper has a lot to do with how it is cured, and apparently salt is also used. Peppers looking good, but I think you're a little late to the party for growing peppers in Minnesota. I mean you won't get as much production as you could. In Zone 6 I would have them started beginning of March.


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## McMan (Apr 20, 2020)

Bert2368 said:


> I have read how these are traditionally dried, picked when fully red then alternating sun drying in daylight hours with bagging or covering to "sweat" at night. Anyone tried growing and drying their own? How critical is that drying process...


I haven't tried growing Urfa Biber, but did have access to the real deal imported from Turkey from a local middle eastern grocery. I think the sun-curing/tenting matters--even when ground, it has a somewhat moist, supple (almost rubbery, but not quite), texture. I'm struggling to explain it. It's not quite the same as simply grinding a pepper with a high moisture content. It seems more cured than dried--say like how salt cod is dry but supple. How you could approximate this process is another matter... couldn't hurt to throw a small batch on the garage roof and see what happens  
Urfa is in that same taste corridor as ancho: raisin/leather/earth but without the bitterness and with a backbone of bright/sour. If you can get ground sumac, mix a little ground sumac with ground ancho, few drops of red wine, and this approximates what you'll be after with the urfa biber.


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## WPerry (Apr 20, 2020)

As a bit of a Hot Ones junky, I'm liking that selection of sauces in the first pic.


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## rocketman (Apr 21, 2020)

I raised Urfa Biber here in the Houston area last year with good success both in seed emergence, and plant growth. Produced a lot of good looking peppers, but I failed the drying process. My fault, I am sure, as I have never tried to dry peppers before. Zone 9-10 kicks butt for pepper growth for months each spring-fall.
In fact last year I had a Jalapeno which lived through the winter, as I had no frost, and produced peppers for two years. Started to look like a bush.


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## Dendrobatez (Apr 21, 2020)

Grab a bag if that Aleppo, use it on everything. I don't know of any spice shops around me but the local Latin markets usually have a pretty awesome selection. I'll usually find a better online shop and spend some money on good paprika though, makes a huge difference with chorizo and cioppino


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## Carlo (Apr 23, 2020)

I’m a latecomer to this thread and I’m not even a _real _pepper freak (no more than a dozen types of dried whole or ground peppers in my pantry) but I sure as hell recognize KALUSTYAN’S when I see it! 

I f*****g love that place. One of the first places anyone ever brought me in NYC and one of only a handful of places I’m going to truly miss when I finally escape this hell hole.


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## rickbern (Apr 24, 2020)

Ah, Carlo, glad I could remind you, however briefly, of what’s right in our world. I posted a pretty powerful article by the owner of Prune restauran in the off topic Forum. That’s a part of New York I’ll miss, and I’m staying right here.


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## stephen129 (Apr 25, 2020)

I'm quite impressed with myself that I knew that that shop was Kalustyan's even though I've never been there in my life. Incredible selection.


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## Carlo (Apr 25, 2020)

It’s both visually distinctive and endlessly entertaining. 

Rickbern, I don’t mean to sound like a jerk about my adopted home. I’m just really worn down by the current situation. And I fantasize about having a garden (with both Choricero peppers and Hungarian wax peppers, so maybe I am kind of an aficionado).


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