What is urfa chile?

What does urfa chile taste like? Where does it come from?

What is urfa chile?

What is urfa chile? Known as urfa biber (meaning pepper in Turkish), this chile is typically only found dried, with irregularly sized, dark burgundy flakes. That’s because the chiles (which come from chile pepper plants in the town of Urfa, Turkey) are processed right away — sun-dried during the day, covered at night to sweat so they don’t dry out entirely, then ground. The flakes retain a bit of oiliness and moisture, which lends texture to dishes. It’s smoky and fruity, and has a raisin-like quality, somewhat reminiscent of Mexico’s ancho chile but earthier, with hints of coffee, chocolate, and wine tannins.

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