Burlap & Barrel Silk Chili Flakes (Aleppo Pepper)

Category: Spices

Our summery, spicy Silk Chili Flakes come from Kahramanmaras, Turkey. Use in any recipe calling for marash pepper or Aleppo pepper ⁠— this will become your new favorite chili flake.

Silk Chili is botanically identical to the Aleppo pepper, which has been cultivated in Syria for centuries. Due to the ongoing violence of the Syrian civil war, true Aleppo chili is unfortunately no longer available for import.

Our Silk Chili Flakes are naturally preserved with a little bit of salt and sunflower seed oil to keep them fresh and flavorful.

They have a warm, tomato-like flavor and a medium heat, similar to Espelette and Korean chilis. Use in any dish in need of a little excitement, from scrambled eggs to burgers to brownies. Perfect for cooking or finishing.

Origin:

Kahramanmaras, Turkey

Aliases:

Aleppo pepper, Marash / Maras pepper, pul biber

Process:

Sun-dried and stone-ground

Ingredients:

Silk Chili (Capsicum annuum), sunflower seed oil, salt (salt content is 1% by weight, or about 0.5 grams per jar)

Tasting notes:

Roasted Tomato • Honey • Mediterranean Sun

SOURCING

These chilis undergo a traditional drying and grinding process that results in a chili flake with a very smooth, slippery texture. Historically, the chilis were ground using silk ropes, and although more modern grinding machines are used today, the tradition is commemorated in the name Silk Chili.

Meet the Farmer: Hilmi Bey got into the pepper business 40 years ago when he was working as a cook and couldn't find good peppers. He and his brother bought a few sacks from farmers they knew around their native Maras, carried them 18 hours on a train to Istanbul, and walked the streets of the city shouting that they had peppers to sell. From that original entrepreneurial instinct, Hilmi has built a pepper business that he's now turning over to his son (pictured on the right).

$8.99

1.80 ounces

SUPPLIER

Burlap & Barrel

Burlap & Barrel is a Public Benefit Corporation building new international food supply chains that are equitable, transparent and traceable.

A single origin spice company, Burlap & Barrel buys spices from farmers around the globe, who they call partners. They’ve eliminated the intermediaries who have traditionally bought and sold spices multiple times before any jar of spice lands in a U.S. customer’s kitchen cabinet. This means their spices are fresher than what you can find from the big spice companies. Spices so potent that they suggest new customers use just half a serving at first, as they sometimes get feedback from customers that the spices are too strong. It's not that the spices are too strong, but rather we are just accustomed to cooking with old spices! Did you know that supermarket spices sometimes have been in transit for three years?!?!?

Another benefit to eliminating spice brokers is that Burlap & Barrel can pay the farmers more for their crops while offering quality spices to the public at affordable prices.

SUPPORTING SMALLHOLDER FARMERS

Burlap & Barrel is working towards ending inequality and exploitation in food systems that disenfranchise skilled farmers.

They do this by:

Connecting smallholder farmers to high-value markets
Educating consumers about the impact of product traceability on human rights
Sourcing unique foods with terroir that are grown biodynamically and organically using traditional techniques

REDEFINING SUSTAINABILITY

Mainstream conversations around food sustainability rarely consider the people involved in growing, harvesting, transporting, processing and cooking food. Sustainability is discussed in terms of environmental impact, or the comfort of livestock providing meat, dairy or eggs.

The folks at Burlap & Barrel believe that the standard measures of sustainability must evolve to consider the conditions in which the farmers who drive global food supply chains earn their livelihoods. Single origin ingredients draw attention to the unique environments in which incredible ingredients grow and to the farmers with the expertise and commitment to grow them well.