Aleppo chili pepper pieces

What is Aleppo chili pepper? All-time favorite of Ottolenghi

The Aleppo chili pepper, also known as the Halaby pepper, is named after the Syrian city of Aleppo. It is a variety of Capsicum annuum and is used as a spice.

Once ripe, the pepper is pitted, sun-dried and coarsely ground into flakes. It is then mixed with salt and olive oil, resulting in a bright red, earthy, moderately hot spice that can be used as a condiment or garnish.

Aleppo chilis have been made world-famous by well-known Middle Eastern chefs such as Yotam ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi and Omar Hegari.

Unique, delicious flavor

The taste of Aleppo chilies is completely unique: a little salty, at the same time a mild sweetness, but also spicy with hints of raisins, citrus and tomato. The taste also exhibits something of cumin me a slightly roasted aspect.

All this together gives a superior taste to all kinds of recipes, from egg dishes to meat dishes, avocado toast and grilled vegetables.

How hot is Aleppo chili pepper? The bowl of Scoville!

More than 100 years ago, Mr. Scoville developed a scale for "spiciness" of chili peppers, based on taste tests. Meanwhile, we can measure pretty precisely how much capsaicin a particular pepper contains: the more of that substance a pepper contains, the hotter the pepper.

That amount of capsaicin is expressed in Scoville Heat Units or SHUs.

Aleppo pepper is about half as spicy as red chili flakes. With about 10,000 Scoville Heat Units. The heat slowly builds up a bit in a dish.

So that means a nice kick - a little hotter than a typical jalapeno, but not burning.

Using Aleppo chili pieces

This spice works well in any dish to which you want to add some slow-building, complex heat. It is often used in Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisine for seasoning grilled meats and kebabs. It is also important for flavoring the Syrian red pepper dip known as "muhammara.

Aleppo pepper can be part of a spice mix for grilled meat. Combine it with garlic powder, possibly sugar or honey and spices such as turmeric and cumin for a delicious rub that gives great flavor to pork, steak and chicken.

Sprinkle Aleppo pepper on eggs and avocado toast, or infuse olive oil with Aleppo pepper and use it as a dip for bread. Drizzle it over a simple pasta. You can even rim margarita glasses with it instead of salt - it gives a fun one a spicy kick.

Ingredients

Aleppo chili pepper (>87%), salt, vegetable oil, 100% natural with no additives

Allergens

This product contains no allergens.

May contain traces of: celery, mustard, nuts, sesame.

This product is packaged and/or stored in a facility that also processes products containing nuts, peanuts, mustard, celery, gluten, sesame, soy and sulphite. Despite all precautions, this product may contain traces of these allergens.