Piment d'Espelette

Appearance & taste

The plant grows up to 80 cm tall, has white flowers and bears fleshy, hanging, conical fruits that are red when ripe. Piment d’Espelette is sold in three forms: as whole fresh fruit with smooth skin without green patches, threaded on strings in groups of two, three or four fruits, and as powder.

The powder is orange to reddish brown and finely ground. It has an intense aroma with fruity, roasted and/or hay notes and an intense but not burning heat that builds up gradually on the palate and can linger for a long time or produce a feeling of warmth. In the mouth it can seem slightly sweet or slightly bitter. Colourings, additives and preservatives are not allowed.

Strings come with 20 to 100 fruits. The powder is sold in airtight containers of 250 g to 5 kg or in jars; each container states the harvest year.

Production

All steps from sowing to packaging take place in the area. The fruits are harvested when at least 80 % of their surface is red. Within 48 hours they are sorted and then shipped fresh, threaded on strings by hand or further ripened for the powder. Only fruits from the grower’s own farm are threaded and ground.

For the powder, the fruits ripen further for at least 15 days in a ventilated place, under cover or on the façade of a house; for fruits harvested from 2 to 15 December, for at least 25 days. They are then destalked, dried in an oven and ground, by 15 February after the harvest at the latest. Within 24 hours of grinding, the powder is vacuum-packed; according to the specification, this prevents off-notes such as strong bitterness or hints of damp hay.

Origin & history

The area comprises Larressore and Souraïde as well as parts of Ainhoa, Cambo-les-Bains, Espelette, Halsou, Itxassou, Jatxou, Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and Ustaritz. The hills and mountains of the Pyrenees surround it like an amphitheatre open to the north-west; here moist air masses from the ocean release their rain, on 180 days a year on average. The summers are hot, the winters mild, and frost is rare. In autumn and winter a warm south wind, the Haize Hegoa, helps the fruits to ripen and dry.

The pepper came to the area around Espelette in the 16th century via Spain and the Nive valley. Gradually it replaced expensive imported black pepper for seasoning and preserving meat. In 1745 the Basque dictionary of Father Manuel de Larramendi describes its use as a spice. It was grown mainly by women in their vegetable gardens, who also sold it to butchers and innkeepers. The strings hung on the house façades to dry in autumn are an expression of regional culture; a highlight for the region is the pepper festival in Espelette. According to the specification, Piment d’Espelette is the only traditional spice pepper produced in France today.