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annuum The Albanian Red Hot Pepper Aci Kirmizi Arnavut - Pepperlover.com

Get her ground pepper in the shaker! Sweet, hot, acidic and salty. I use it on a lot of foods and even as a paprika style spice. I had her send me seeds also. Growing this rare pepper myself :-)
 
Hello,
 
I feel like I've to relive this post.
 
I saw this review from Nigel a few months ago and was overly excited to hear his description. I said 'f***, I've to get seeds'.
 
With the name of Kirmizi Arnaut I didn't find much. So... my obsessive and psychotic face came out, so I've been researching this pepper for weeks :rolleyes:

 
Okay, so this is what I was able to find out. I don't know if that's totally true, but it seems to shed a bit of light on this fabulous strain:
 
It seems that this pepper isn't Turkish, Albanian, or Macedonian... but its cultivation extends throughout the entire Balkan area!
Its origin is very old and seems to go back to Serbia, where it is known as Puckovka or Leskova pepper. At present the tradition of cultivating this variety has almost disappeared and it's only cultivated in southern Serbia.
In the middle of the last century, the cultivation of this variety became very popular in Ex-Yugoslavia and Macedonia. Today it's also popular in Albania and Turkey. So now each country considers it as a variety linked to its culture.
 
Today, this pepper is known as:
  • Acı kırmızı Arnavut
  • Albanian hot pepper
  • Rezha macedonian
  • Vezena piperka
  • Elephant pepper
  • Puckavka pepper
  • Leskovac pepper (city where it continues to grow)
 
From the looks of it, it is the same initial variety grown in different regions for decades. Possibly, after so many generations, the varieties of each region have developed some specific quality that the others do not have.
 
This isn't science, just a compilation of information that I've been able to find.
 
If someone wants to correct or provide new data, everything will be welcome.
 
 
Cheers.
 
I've grown these a couple of times but gave up on them. The peppers always became moldy. I think it must have something to do with the embroiding (or how do you say that in proper English? 🤔) in combination with moisture...
 
And here's one now!

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Every year I do a small plantation from august to december to get peppers to get seeds from.
I had the opportunity to plant REZHA MACEDONIAN and VEZENA PIPERKA, facing each other.
I honestly couldn't find any serious differences. To say the least, maybe Vezena Piperka gave slightly smaller peppers. But this isn't significant how to think of 2 different varieties.
Flavor and heat were very similar. Like when you taste two peppers from the same plant.

It is a long pepper, approximately 22-24cm (8-9"). Relatively thick-walled, crisp and juicy.
The taste is really good. Annum very sweet, with a slight acid taste (I can understand Nigel comparing it to cherries). It also has a fresh and slightly fruity touch.
The heat depends on the pepper you eat. Some are quite mild, maybe 2,000shu, and some are hotter than a jalapeño, maybe 10,000shu (these are just estimates).

It can be used for anything you would use a jalapeño for. It occurs to me to ferment and make sriracha sauce.

Both plants were not good producers. Maybe a total of 6 or 7 peppers each. It was also sensitive to fungi (although annums are usually sensitive in my area, because I live near the sea and there is a lot of humidity).

I leave some photos.
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Those look delicious. I have tried growing the vezena a couple of times also but the cracking in combination with moisture always results in fruit rot. So no more vezena for me unfortunately...
 
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