Maraş biber is a Turkish Capsicum annuum pepper from Kahramanmaraş, sun-dried and crushed into moist, oily, deep-red flakes with a fruity flavour and moderate heat, close kin to Aleppo pepper.
What it is¶
Maraş biber ("Maraş pepper") is a Capsicum annuum variety grown around the city of Kahramanmaraş in southern Turkey and sold mainly as coarse, deep-red flakes. The ripe peppers are dried in the sun, deseeded, crushed and usually rubbed with a little oil and salt, giving a moist, glossy flake that clings to the fingers. It is also ground into a fine powder and made into pepper paste.
In Turkey it is one of the most esteemed types of pul biber, the pepper flakes that sit on every table beside the salt. The heat is moderate, of the same order as Aleppo pepper, though figures vary with the grade: Maraş flakes are sold both sweet (tatlı) and hot (acı), and the hot grades are noticeably warmer. It is closely related to Aleppo pepper in character, and since the Syrian war some "Aleppo pepper" sold abroad has been grown in and around Maraş.
Origins and history¶
Maraş has been a market town in the foothills of the Taurus mountains for well over two thousand years. Chillies reached Anatolia after the sixteenth century through Ottoman and Mediterranean trade, and the hot, dry summers of the southeast made it one of the empire's pepper-growing districts, alongside Urfa and Antep (Gaziantep). The city was given the title Kahraman ("heroic") in 1973, in recognition of its resistance to French occupation in 1920, but the pepper keeps the older, shorter name. Maraş pepper is protected by a Turkish geographical indication.
The city is also famous in Turkey for dondurma, the stretchy ice cream thickened with salep and mastic. In February 2023 the province was at the epicentre of the devastating earthquakes that struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, causing enormous loss of life and damage across the pepper-growing region.
Flavour and aroma¶
Maraş biber tastes of ripe red pepper: fruity, sweet and slightly earthy, with notes of sun-dried tomato and raisin and a gentle saltiness from the curing. The oil carries the flavour and colour into whatever it touches. The heat builds slowly and stays warm rather than sharp. Compared with urfa biber it is brighter, redder and fruitier; compared with generic chilli flakes it is sweeter, softer and far less harsh.
In the kitchen¶
Use it freely, as both a cooking spice and a table seasoning.
- Kebabs and köfte: kneaded into minced lamb for Adana-style kebabs and köfte, and scattered over grilled meat. See turkish cuisine.
- Salads and mezze: in acılı ezme, the finely chopped salad of tomato, pepper, onion and parsley with pomegranate molasses; in çoban salatası; over hummus and white cheese.
- Butter sauces: warm 2 tbsp butter with 1 tsp Maraş pepper until it foams red, and pour over mantı (dumplings with garlic yoghurt), çılbır (poached eggs on yoghurt) or lentil soup.
- Breads and pastries: in the topping of lahmacun and pide, and sprinkled over börek.
- Everyday: on fried eggs, pizza, roast vegetables, pasta and anywhere chilli flakes would go, for a fruitier result.
💡 Hot or sweet
Turkish grocers sell Maraş flakes in more than one grade. Sweet (tatlı) flakes give colour and fruit with gentle warmth; hot (acı) flakes can be two or three times as fiery. Check the packet before scattering a spoonful.
Buying and storing¶
Good Maraş biber is moist, deep red and fragrant; pale, dry, dusty flakes are old. Keep airtight in a cool, dark place, as the oil can go rancid in warmth, and use within six months to a year. Some cooks keep it in the fridge. Buy from Turkish grocers, where turnover is quick. See storing spices.
Substitutes¶
- Aleppo pepper: the closest equivalent, sometimes the same product.
- Other Turkish pul biber: similar, varying in heat.
- Urfa biber: darker, smokier and a little milder.
- 4 parts sweet paprika to 1 part chilli flakes, with a few drops of oil and a pinch of salt.
Pairs well with¶
Lamb, beef, yoghurt, eggs, feta and white cheese, butter, olive oil, tomato, aubergine, bulgur, lentils, pomegranate molasses, sumac, mint, parsley, cumin and garlic.
Growing your own¶
Maraş peppers are C. annuum plants that need a hot summer to ripen fully, so in Britain a greenhouse or polytunnel is best. Sow indoors in February–March at 20–25°C and grow on in large pots. Let the pods ripen to a deep red on the plant. To make flakes, halve and deseed them, dry in the sun or a low oven (about 50–60°C) until leathery but not brittle, pulse coarsely in a grinder, and rub with a few drops of olive oil and a little salt. See growing chillies.