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 Biber salçası (pepper paste) | |
| Type | Paste,spread |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Chili peppers,bell peppers, ortomato, salt |
Salça ("salcha")[1] (Turkish pronunciation:[saltʃa]) is a category of thick, deep red paste made from peppers or tomato and salt, originating in Turkey.
The Turkish wordsalça is a loan from theItaliansalsa, meaning "sauce" in that language. Due to the/tʃ/ sound in the middle of the Turkish word it has been proposed that it was possibly loaned through theGreek version σάλτσα (sáltsa).[2] The word was first attested in 1900 in the Turkish dictionaryKâmûs-ı Türkî[3] byŞemseddin Sâmî.[4]
Biber salçası (literally "pepper paste"; also calledkırmızı biber salçası, literally "red pepper paste") is made from redchili peppers or sweet long peppers and salt. The peppers' stems and seeds are removed, and then the pepper is crushed and salt added. The crushed peppers are sun-dried for six to seven days (depending on the strength of the sun) until the mixture develops intense sun-dried flavor and a pasty consistency. It is a part of the cuisine ofAnatolia and is enjoyed by different ethnic groups in the region. It is used mainly for flavoring main dishes, as well as to fillpide andbörek. Another common use is as aspread, typically on bread or crackers.
There are two main varieties ofbiber salçası:
Domates salçası istomato paste made from concentrated pureed tomatoes.
Traditional methods of making homemade Turkish tomato paste include grinding or pureeing peeled tomatoes, removing the seeds with a Turkish colander called asüzgeç and then mixing with salt. The paste is then reduced under the sun over three to four days. The paste must be stirred frequently when sun-drying to prevent spoiling. Some people reduce the puree over an open fire to speed up the process.
Commercial types of tomato salça are cooked in large factories rather than sun-dried and do not have the same intense flavour or colour.
