Choricero peppers (Spanish: pimiento choricero) are a variety of red pepper (themselves a variety of the American species, ''

Capsicum annuum ''Capsicum annuum'' is a fruiting plant from the family Solanaceae (nightshades), within the genus Capsicum which is native to the northern regions of South America and to southwestern North America. The plant produces Berry, berries of many color ...

'') that are dehydrated for preservation. They have become part of Spanish culture, so much so that their hydrated pulps are simply kept in glass jars for aesthetic purposes. A similar variety, known as peperoni cruschi, is cultivated in the Italian region of

Basilicata Basilicata (, ; ), also known by its ancient name Lucania (, , ), is an administrative region in Southern Italy, bordering on Campania to the west, Apulia to the north and east, and Calabria to the south. It has two coastlines: a 30-kilometr ...

Culinary uses

It is common to see these peppers hanging in Spanish kitchens. The drying allows them to last much longer in the open than raw pepper. They are hydrated a few hours before their culinary use for the purpose of extracting their intense red pulp. Their characteristic flavor made them popular in many dishes such as meats and stews of

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

vegetables Vegetables are edible parts of plants that are consumed by humans or other animals as food. This original meaning is still commonly used, and is applied to plants collectively to refer to all edible plant matter, including flowers, fruits, ...

, and meat, among others. They can also be dried, ground and used as a form of

paprika Paprika is a spice made from dried and ground red peppers, traditionally ''capsicum annuum''. It can have varying levels of Pungency, heat, but the peppers used for hot paprika tend to be milder and have thinner flesh than those used to produce ...

Dishes

* Alongside

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, it is the main ingredient in salsa vizcaína, the base of bacalao a la vizcaína, and marmitako. * Choricero peppers are used in sukalki, a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

meat

stew A stew is a combination of solid food ingredients that have been Cooking, cooked in Soup, liquid and served in the resultant gravy. Ingredients can include any combination of vegetables and may include meat, especially tougher meats suitable for ...

. Choricero peppers should not be used as a replacement for ñora, as the flavors are drastically different, and may result in a dish that does not taste good, if not just unexpected. Even though ñora is another sun-dried pepper, it is rounder in shape, smaller in size and sweeter in flavor than choricero peppers.

References

{{Capsicum cultivars Peppers Spanish cuisine Capsicum cultivars

Culinary uses

Dishes

See also

References