The Long Journey of the Aleppo Pepper

Thanks for the article, and reminder. I picked up a small pouch of coarsely ground Aleppo pepper a couple of years ago in DC at Bazaar Spices in Union Market. I've been putting it on any cooked tomato dish I can: homemade pizza, mussels and pasta, etc. It adds a flowery and spicy element unlike any other dried chili I have. It seems closer to a ground spice, like cinnamon or nutmeg or allspice, but quite distinct. May the war end yesterday.

Aleppo Pepper is a standard in my travel bag. It and its companion in arms, Sumac, had made up for the lack of flavor in so many airport meals and catered luncheons.

I'm floored that this article makes not one mention of the historical drought in 2010 that devastated the industry.

First world problems. Untold thousands of innocent people are killed in a civil war; but, how can I get those peppers?

I love aleppo pepper. It is wonderful added to caesar salad, pasta dishes, and beef before grilling. Have been trying to get others to try it for years. I hope the supply is not lost to the US market.

My local supermarket was carrying it, and so I discovered it by accident. It's just heaven - use it for so many things. Common chili flakes are junk compared to aleppo chili - I use it in everything. But now I know why it's disappeared from the shelves. Thanks for this great article!

I learned about Aleppo pepper from the folks at D'Vine taste on Seventh Avenue in Park Slope in the late 90s. One of the ladies explained to me where it came from, how it's used. It became a secret staple in my kitchen flavor palette, and always adds a little "sumpin sumpin" to the dish. They were always very generous with their tips on flavors and cooking techniques. Hope they don't get jacked on their rent, like everyone else in that neighborhood. Come to think of it, hope they're still there; I left Brooklyn in 2010.

I buy Aleppo Pepper (from Turkey) from Penzey's Spices, either online or in stores in some parts of the country. I don't know how theirs compares with others, but I enjoy it for a lot of my cooking. I like it on my pizza instead of the chili flakes normally used.

I'm surprised to see the photo of rows of different chiles next to each other (at Volcanic Peppers). It has been my experience that if one grows adjacent chiles of the same species (but different sub-species) next to each other, they cross-pollinate and the resulting seeds/plants of the succeeding generation do not breed true. This results in interesting 'mutt' chiles, but not the consistent product that a grower would want.

While living in Aqaba, Jordan from 2010 to 2013, I heard about Aleppo pepper from Anissa Helou's blog. In 2010 I traveled to Syria and Aleppo and bought the pepper there. Four months later, everything started in Syria and I had to cancel another trip there with my sister. I was able to find Aleppo pepper in Amman until I left and even in Aqaba when I returned for a visit in 2016. It does have a unique flavor. I'm living in South Africa now and might have to live without it until I return to the US in a few months and order from one of those sources. It will always be a sad reminder of that wonderful city I visited which is now destroyed.

I love some red chili or pepper, as pictured on the plates of humus and tahini in the article. Having probably a very pedestrian palate, I do not distinguish between the regional varieties, beyond them being either hot (to me, unbearably) or pleasantly spicy. But I fully sympathise with the lovers of the Aleppo pepper its unfortunate and, hopefully, only temporary shortage.

Delighted to see you consulting with the Chile Pepper Institute. They really do know everything there is to know about every form of chile - and it would be reasonable for them to acquire and cultivate Aleppo chiles. The land surrounding Las Cruces could very easily replicate the growing conditions of Aleppo.

Growing 15 varieties of peppers in my summer container garden, learning about the Aleppo variety was enlightening and tragic at the same time. Having followed the humanitarian crises in Syria through the regular dispatches in the NYTs, an article like this brings another sad dimension to the Syrian civil war. I can just imagine some families growing these peppers over the decades in their own gardens, looking forward to their harvest, processing and eventual uses in the family kitchen, only to have those memories smashed forever by an exploding barrel bomb. I am going to try to get some of these seeds and grown them next summer and if all works out when I serve them to family and guests I will be sure to recount the story of Aleppo, Syria, Thanks for the history lesson.