Hot Turkish Peppers

Browse and shop for hot Turkish peppers. Some of these traditional pepper seeds have been stewarded by small communities in specific regions in Turkey. Others have been grown in home gardens and homesteads widely across the country, generation upon generation. These hot Turkish peppers reflect the significance of seed stewardship in Turkey. They also manifest the incredible diversity and richness of kitchen traditions, flavors, texture, and colors of food crops, among other traits, in the country.

Although pepper (Capsicum annuum) is native to Mexico, it became a staple food crop in Turkey over the last few hundred years. Peppers are used in the country’s cuisine in various ways some of which are listed below:

• Grilling
• Frying
• Fermenting
• Making sauces, pepper flakes and paste
• Stews and stuffing recipes
• Making kebab

In our catalog, we also offer hot Turkish peppers which were bred as part of commercial plant breeding efforts in the 20th century in Turkey. These peppers can be more commonly found at farmers’ markets across the country. It is still possible to find these seeds in Turkish commercial seed catalogs. However, many of them are also disappearing from these catalogs due to unacceptable seed laws and regulations that force farmers to become dependent on hybrid and patented seeds. Hence, it is also one of our goals to offer these now commercially rare hot Turkish peppers to pass on their genetically powerful traits that also acknowledge and intersect traditions.

In addition, you may also find here the hot pepper seeds from our culturally appropriate plant breeding and seed selection efforts.