All About Aleppo Pepper | Know Your Spice Aleppo Pepper or Halaby Pepper (Capsicum annuum)

All About Aleppo Pepper | Know Your Spice Aleppo pepper or Halaby pepper (Capsicum annuum)

The Aleppo pepper is a variety of Capsicum annuum used as a spice, particularly in Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisine. It is also known as the Halaby pepper.

It is a robust, brick-red pepper grown in the around the city of Aleppo (Halab in Arabic & hence the name) in northwestern Syria, just south of the Turkish border.

This red spice information card below gives you a snapshot of Aleppo Pepper spice you’ll read about. Do share this spice card with your friends & spread the knowledge.

Chile peppers are native to South America and were brought to Europe with Spanish and Portuguese explorers returning from voyages to the New World.

As the plants were introduced to Spain and Italy, they were quickly spread across the Mediterranean Sea to Turkey and Syria. Many new varieties of peppers were created in cultivation.

The town of Aleppo, Syria is considered to be one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.

Aleppo sits along the famed Silk Road that once stretched from North Africa and traveled east through Arabia, Persia, and China.

Along this trade route, spice was used as currency and traded for other goods dating back as far as 200 BCE.

Aleppo chile peppers were developed in Aleppo, which is a town along the Syrian border next to Turkey, and gained global popularity in 1994.

Aleppo pepper is also known as a halaby pepper or chile. The Aleppo pepper is named after the city Aleppo (Halab in Arabic) where it originated.

It was grown by Christian and Muslim Arab farmers, possibly nurtured by Sephardic Jewish spice merchants, and traded along the Silk Road.

Since the Syrian civil war broke out in the spring of 2011, chile crops have been destroyed, and many farmers have had to leave their crops.

In an effort to keep the variety in the markets, some farmers moved their production into southern Turkey.

There is also a Southern California self-prescribed “chileman” who obtained seeds from a USDA seed bank and has been successful at growing the peppers in Southern California.

For centuries, the halaby pepper has been used to season kebabs, stews, and sauces.

With its high oil content, this dried, seeded and crushed red pepper has a deliciously deep, aromatic flavor, somewhat similar to Ancho chili powder but with a coarser, flakey texture.

Aleppo pepper have a medium level of heat, a distinctive fruitiness with earthy flavor and hints of cumin.

Pul biber flavour can be further described as that with a little more tartness, sweet, rich and almost a robust smoky flavour.

The slightly salty quality that Aleppo pepper has comes due to its drying process with salt.

It hits you in the back of your mouth, tickles your throat and dissipates quickly.

Aleppo chiles can be used in both raw and cooked applications such as roasting or grilling. They are usually dried and ground into a spice for Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisines.

The peppers will keep up to one week when stored whole and unwashed in the refrigerator.

For the best results, keep it stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator drawer as usual. You can also store it as you would other spices in a dark, dry space away from heat.

• Aleppo peppers can be used in both raw and cooked applications such as roasting or grilling.
• They are dried and ground into a spice for Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cuisine.
• When raw, the peppers can be chopped fresh for salsas, dips, sauces, or infused into oils.
• Aleppo pepper can also be roasted and served as is or used to flavor meats such as poultry, lamb, or beef in braises and kebabs.
• In Northern Syria, Aleppo peppers are air-dried, de-seeded and crushed to make a flaky spice called Pul biber, used much like red chili flake or paprika.
• The dried and crushed seasoning can be added to egg dishes, potatoes, roasted vegetables, chili, pizzas, pasta, shaken over popcorn, or sprinkled on top of avocado toast.
• The spice can even be used to rim a glass for a spicy addition to cocktails.
• Aleppo peppers pair well with feta cheese, braised or roasted greens such as kale, broccoli, dill, mint, pickles, cherry tomatoes, chickpeas, beans, grilled meats such as beef, pork, poultry, and lamb, seafood, and tofu.

Aleppo pepper will probably not be available at your standard grocery store, but it’s readily available online from retailers such as Amazon.

Health Benefits of Aleppo Pepper or Benefits of Pul biber

• Health Benefits of Aleppo Peppers are Nutrition Source – They are a rich source of Vitamin A & C, Folic acid, Potassium, Manganese. Vitamin A is known to aid tissues of eyes and improves vision.
• Health Benefits of Halaby Pepper for Immunity – Aleppo pepper is believed to boost the body immunity and helps in digestion of food.
• Health Benefits of Aleppo Pepper for Digestion – It contains fiber which is good for your colons and keeps your digestive tract properly working. Alkaloids in Aleppo pepper acts as digestive stimulant.
• Health Benefits of Halaby Pepper as an Antioxidant – Aleppo pepper contains various compounds having antioxidant properties. Due to these antioxidant properties of Aleppo pepper it can be considered good for your heart and reduces risk of heart attack.
• Health Benefits of Pul biber as an Expectorant – Aleppo pepper are believed to have mucus thinning properties and act as expectorant for asthmatic or cough conditions. It gives relief from nasal congestion and dilates airways in lungs.
• Health Benefits of Aleppo Pepper as an Metabolism enhancers – It increases the metabolic rate of body. Tough calorie burn faster because of this increased metabolic rate.
• Health Benefits of Halaby Pepper as an Anti-inflammatory Agent – Aleppo pepper contains capsaicin which offers hotness and is believed to reduce impact of inflammation causing substances. Heat inducing properties of Aleppo Pepper helps relieve inflammation related to asthma, arthritis, nerve disorders.
• Health Benefits of Aleppo Pepper as an Anti-diabetic Agent – Capsaicin content in Aleppo pepper similar to other pepper is known to control body sugar levels. Clinical test results on mice have proved capsaicin as cure on diabetes.
• Health Benefits of Halaby Pepper as a Detoxifying Agent – Aleppo pepper similar to other chilies acts as detoxifying agents and helps removal of waste products from body. Along with being antioxidant, it thus helps in prevention of cancers.
• Aleppo Pepper is a stimulant for body enzymes and hormones – Aleppo Peppers stimulate release of endorphins which have pain killing effect. Endorphins also have soothing effect on brain.