Description
The Piment d'Espelette PDO is a small pepper belonging exclusively to the species Capsicum annuum L. of the Gorria variety. The PDO registration includes three different types: fresh pepper, pepper in string and pepper powder.
Production Area
The production area of the Piment d'Espelette PDO includes 10 municipal areas of the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques, in the Aquitaine region.
Production Method
Peppers are cultivated in open fields from 1st April to 15th July and it is forbidden to cultivate them in the mountains. Harvesting is allowed until the the 30th of November. Unless it is a case of drought, irrigation out of the transplanting period is forbidden. The harvest is carried out manually and in a staggered way, only the fruits which have minimum 80% of the surface red are reaped. Within 45 hours after harvesting, the peppers are first selected manually and then sold fresh and in strings. Those destined to be sold in powder are first left to dry naturally in a greenhouse and are then left to ripen in a hot and ventilated place for at least 15 days. The grinding is carried out after ripening and they finally dry in the oven for some hours. It is forbidden to mix the powder obtained by peppers reaped in two different years.
Appearance and Flavour
The Piment d'Espelette PDO is characterized by its intense aroma with mainly fruited and toasted scents. It has an excessively hot taste but not aggressive. The whole fresh pepper is red, with regular conical shape and it is 7 to 14 cm long without considering the peduncle. Peppers in strings can have, per each single string, from 20 to 100 peppers braided. The colour of the powder varies from orange to redbrown.
History
Peppers have been introduced in the production area of Piment d'Espelette PDO in the 16th century. It has immediately replaced the black pepper for meat preservation. Initially, it was cultivated in gardens mainly to be used in the kitchen and then to be sold as a spice to the delicatessen sellers or traders. Inside a manual dated from 1745, there are testimonies that the fruit was used as a spice. Despite the deep transformations of the country side over the 19th century and the following 20th century, cultivation continued strictly related to local gastronomy and to the region identity.
Gastronomy
The Piment d'Espelette PDO, if it's fresh, should be hung with its strings in a fresh and ventilated room. If it is dried or in powder, it can be preserved for a long time without losing its characteristic aroma, in a fresh and dark place. If it is fresh, it can be added to salads and sauces while cooking. As powder, it can be added to all kind of dishes, from starters to desserts. It can be used instead of pepper and enhances the flavour of a dish. It seems that also the custom of mixing chocolate and pepper was introduced in France in the same area in the 17th century, initially as a bitter hot beverage and then as pepper chocolate bars.
Marketing
The product is sold as Piment d'Espelette PDO, fresh, in strings and as powder. It is marketed as powder packed in bags of different weights (250 g, 500 g, 1 kg and 5 kg). Under 250 g, it should be sold in glass containers.
Distinctive Features
The production area of Piment d'Espelette PDO is characterized by its particular weather with the influx of humid air currents due to the vicinity of the ocean which induces to plentiful and regular precipitations favouring the cultivation of this product.
