Salça is a category of thick, deep red paste made from peppers or tomato and salt, originating in Turkey.
Varieties
Biber salçası
''Biber salçası'' (literally "pepper paste"; also called ''kırmızı biber salçası'', literally "red pepper paste") is made from red
chili pepper
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for ...
s or sweet long peppers and salt. The peppers' stems and seeds are removed, and then the pepper is crushed and salt added.
The crushed peppers are sun-dried for six to seven days (depending on the strength of the sun) until the mixture develops intense sun-dried flavor and a pasty consistency.
It is a part of the cuisine of
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...
and is enjoyed by different ethnic groups in the region. It is used mainly for flavoring main dishes, as well as to fill ''
pide
The International and State Defense Police ( pt, Polícia Internacional e de Defesa do Estado; PIDE) was a Portuguese security agency that existed during the '' Estado Novo'' regime of António de Oliveira Salazar. Formally, the main roles of th ...
'' and ''
börek
Börek or burek are a family of pastries or pies found in the Balkans, Middle East and Central Asia. The pastry is made of a thin flaky dough such as filo with a variety of fillings, such as meat, cheese, spinach or potatoes. Boreks are mainly ...
''. Another common use is as a
spread
Spread may refer to:
Places
* Spread, West Virginia
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Spread'' (film), a 2009 film.
* ''$pread'', a quarterly magazine by and for sex workers
* "Spread", a song by OutKast from their 2003 album ''Speakerboxxx/T ...
, typically on bread or crackers.
There are two main varieties of ''biber salçası'':
* ''Acı biber salçası'' (literally "hot pepper paste"), made from red hot chili peppers
* ''Tatlı biber salçası'' (literally "sweet pepper paste"), made from sweet red peppers
Domates salçası
''Domates salçası'' is
tomato paste
Tomato paste is a thick paste made by cooking tomatoes for several hours to reduce the water content, straining out the seeds and skins, and cooking the liquid again to reduce the base to a thick, rich concentrate. It is used to impart an inten ...
made from concentrated pureed in season tomatoes either over heat or under the sun during the late summer months.
Traditional methods of makin
homemade Turkish tomato pasteinclude grinding or pureeing peeled tomatoes, removing the seeds with a Turkish colander called a ''süzgeç'' and then mixing with salt. The paste is then reduced under the sun over three to four days. The paste must be stirred frequently when sun-drying to prevent spoiling. Some people reduce the puree over an open fire to speed up the process.
Commercial types of tomato salça are cooked in large factories rather than sun dried and do not have the same intense flavour or colour.
See also
*
Ajika
Ajika or adjika (, ) is a Georgian- Abkhazian hot, spicy, but subtly flavored dip, often used to flavor food. In 2018, the technology of ajika was inscribed on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Georgia list.
The name derives from the Abkhaz ...
, a dip in
Caucasian cuisine
The cuisine of the Caucasus refers to the cuisine of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and North Caucasus.
Traditional dishes Plates
Some popular cheeses from the Caucasus include:
* Ashvlagwan ''(Ашвлагуан)'' — Abkhaz smoked cheese, si ...
, based on a boiled preparation of hot red peppers, garlic, herbs and spices
*
Ajvar
Ajvar ( ; Cyrillic script: Ajвар, Aйвар) is a condiment made principally from sweet bell peppers and eggplants. The relish became a popular side dish throughout Yugoslavia after World War II and is popular in Southeast Europe.
Homemad ...
, a relish made principally from red bell peppers, with garlic
*
Chili sauce and paste
Chili sauce and chili paste are condiments prepared with chili peppers.
Chili sauce may be hot, sweet or a combination thereof, and may differ from hot sauce in that many sweet or mild varieties exist, which is typically lacking in hot sauces ...
*
Muhammara
''Muhammara'' ( ar, محمرة "reddened") or mhammara is a spicy dip made of walnuts, red bell peppers, pomegranate molasses, and breadcrumbs. It is associated with Aleppo, but can also be found in Turkey, especially in southeastern regions, wh ...
or ''acuka'', a hot pepper dip in
Levantine cuisine
Levantine cuisine is the traditional cuisine of the Levant.
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Levantine cuisine is ''meze'' including '' tabbouleh'', ''hummus'' and ''baba ghanoush''.
Levantine dishes
* Arabic coffee (قهوة عر ...
*
List of dips
*
List of condiments
A condiment is a supplemental food (such as a sauce or powder) that is added to some foods to impart a particular flavor, enhance their flavor, or, in some cultures, to complement the dish, but that cannot stand alone as a dish. The term ''cond ...
*
List of sauces
*
List of spreads
This is a list of spreads. A spread is a food that is literally spread, generally with a knife, onto food items such as bread or crackers. Spreads are added to food to enhance the flavor or texture of the food, which may be considered bland with ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Biber salcasi
Chili paste
Food paste
Spreads (food)
Tomato products
Turkish words and phrases
Turkish condiments