What IS That? Red Pepper Flakes

When we receive visitors from outside the country, the most common question we hear is “what is that?” Inevitably they will be pointing to something that is not quite distinguishable, something that you don’t see everyday, or maybe any day in the States. While we don’t always know the answer (we continue to ask “what is that?” on a regular basis ourselves), we would like to document some of the most memorable and unusual sights we see as part of daily life here in a series of brief posts.

Adana folks don’t like to stick around the city during the summer. As the opportunity arises, they escape the heat either to the Taurus mountains or to the Mediterranean—each about a 45 minute drive from Adana. Many of them have family summer homes that they move into with relatives. Our neighbors are no exception to this rule, and we recently visited their home in a nearby mountain village.

With typical Turkish hospitality, they insisted on walking us through the narrow streets of their neighborhood, introducing us to their friends and pointing out the local sights. The houses have spacious terraces and porticos for sitting, as well as yards with all kinds of fruit trees.

On this particular visit, however, my eye was drawn to the long tables set out in nearly every courtyard covered with drying red peppers.

Of course I asked “What is that?” My neighbor explained that every year the locals set out large amounts of red peppers they purchase from the bazaar to dry in the sun.

Once the peppers have dried completely they will take them into the village where several shops advertise grinding/crushing services. The lady below told us that she grinds the peppers for 3 lira per kilo.

The final product looks like this—what we refer to as crushed red pepper flakes:

It adds that extra kick to the food this region is known for, and seeing the process my neighbor and her friends go through to produce it makes it that much more special.