Pepper of Espelette

The pepper of Espelette (or Ezpeletako will biperra in Basque) is a Piment cultivated with the Basque Country in the department of the Yrénées-Atlantiques. It draws its name from the commune of Espelette. Plant originating in South America, it was introduced in the Basque Country at XVIe or XVIIe century. It is initially used in medicine then very quickly like condiment and conservative of the meats and ham. In 1650 one starts to plant peppers with Espelette. Seeds are selected and the variety Gorria is born. Today they are known under name " pepper of Espelette".

The houses emerged that and there of the trees. And everywhere on their wood balconies, the gold citronilles yellow, the pink sheaves of beans dried; everywhere on their walls staged themselves like beautiful coral chains, garlands of hot red peppers! All these things of the old feeder ground, piled up thus, according to the thousand-year-old use, in preparation for the obscured months where heat from goes away. Pierre Parcelled out, Ramuntcho, 1897.

One sees thus in many coffees and restaurants of the bunches of peppers drying with the ceiling, occupying all space available sometimes. As from September, the village of Espelette becomes picturesque with pepper garlands on the frontages and balconies of the houses.

The festival of pepper proceeds in Espelette each year the last weekend of October. It gathers 20.000 people, to compare to the 1.800 inhabitants of the commune.

The AOC

The pepper of Espelette is classified AOC since June 1st, 2000 reinforced on August 22nd, 2002 by a AOP. The denomination is pepper of Espelette or pepper of Espelette - Ezpeletako will biperra .

The surface of production is on 10 communes:

Ainhoa - Cambo-the-Baths - Espelette - Halsou - Itxassou - Jatxou - Larressore - Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle - Souraïde - Ustaritz.

The peppers come from the species Capsicum annuum L. of the varietal type following: “annual herbaceous plant being able to reach 80 cm in height. Alternate, whole and oval sheets. White, solitary flowers with the armpit of the sheets. Fleshy fruit, during, of conical form, red with maturity. A partition divides the fruit, incompletely at the top, in three cabins including/understanding of many seeds”.

The culture is specified. Each piece to be planted is identified. The density of plantation of peppers lies between 10.000 and 30.000 pieds/ha (or 60.000 pieds/ha in double seedling); the irrigation is prohibited, except the month following the plantation (May-June) and in the event of persistent dryness.

The AOC specifies the mode of harvest (manual, of August to the first cold ones), the rope, the development of the powder, the traceability. The peppers are marketed fresh, out of cords (braids) from 20 to 100 peppers or out of powder. These three presentations profit from AOC. Caution: each cord, each pepper powder pot, must carry a label. If it is not the case, it is about simple pepper of the Basque Country or besides, whose origin and quality are not controlled.

Gastronomy

With the scale of Scoville, it has a value of 4, it is thus not more extremely than the Poivre, on the other hand, it is scented much more because it remained a long time to dry with the sun. It has been used for five centuries in the place of pepper in all the Basque Cuisine.

It is used, therefore, to raise the dishes like the Piperade, the calf ragout (Axoa), the Basquaise chicken, ham, pies and so much of others.

One also markets it in the form of mashed potatoes, out of preserve, in olive oil, in vinegar, into cold where it raises toasts admirably well of foie gras and contributes to basic making of sauces.

There exists a number of the derivative products manufactured with pepper of Espelette of which salt, pies, foie gras, chocolate, mustard, ketchup and wine.

External bonds

the AOC pepper of Espelette
descriptive Card of the AOC pepper of Espelette on www.inao.gouv.fr
Toil' of spices - Pepper of Espelette

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