Espelette Chilli Pepper
The Espelette chilli pepper is the only spice in France having received the quality label AOC which has become PDO (Protected Designation of Origin).
The PDO is defined in the European union law to protect the names of regional food and is a sign of identification of the quality and the origin of the product. It refers to the designation of the product whose production, changing and elaboration had taken place in a determined geographical area with a recognized and noticed know-how.
It implies a close link between this specific land, the “inland”, the product and the talent of the man.
At the end of the season, the producer pulls out the seed of the Espelette chilli pepper the most characteristic of the “gorria” variety for the next season.
From March, the Espelette chilli pepper sprouts under a greenhouse. The growing and the re-potting of the plant requires a special attention, a lot of patience and know-how.
After the planting, the weeding of plots is done manually, in order to facilitate the seedlings to reach maturity.
The flowering occurs from June until October. In 3 weeks, the Espelette chilli pepper passes from the green colour to a lively red. It is the time to harvest. The harvesting takes place manually from August to the first frosts and at the latest on November 30th. That's why we insist on the fact that the Espelette chilli pepper is a seasonal product ant dependent on the climate because it needs sun and heat to arrive at full maturity. It's the explication of the risk of breaks of goods during the year.
After the harvesting, the Espelette chilli pepper are dusted, selected and calibrated.
The changing of Espelette chilli pepper in powder presupposes a drying on grids at the very least 15 days and a manually hulling before a drying in the oven.
The making of Espelette chilli pepper string are made by hand. 20 to 22 Espelette chilli peppers are joined by the food string and identified thanks to the logo : PDO
