Turkish chilli preparations — pul biber (red pepper flakes, made from Urfa or Aleppo-type pepper), isot biber (Urfa pepper — dark, oily, fruity, with a distinctive fermented note), and tatlı biber (sweet red pepper paste) — represent a completely different flavour vocabulary from the chilli traditions of Southeast Asia or India. Pul biber's specific character (a moderate heat with a fruity, slightly oily depth) comes from the Marash or Urfa varieties of Capsicum annuum grown in southeastern Turkey.
**Pul biber (Marash pepper flakes):** - Coarsely crushed dried red pepper — large flake, slightly oily from the natural pepper oils. - Moderate heat (30,000–50,000 SHU) with fruity, slightly smoked depth. - Used in the finishing butter (as in TK-08), on eggs, over yogurt, and as a table condiment. **Isot biber (Urfa pepper):** - Dark burgundy to almost black — sun-dried and then sweated in covered vessels, producing fermentation-adjacent flavour development. - Lower heat than Marash, with a distinctive dark, fruity, raisin-like character and a slight earthiness from the fermentation process. - Used in meat preparations (particularly Gaziantep style) and in the köfte of southeastern Turkey. **Tatlı biber salçası (sweet red pepper paste):** - Long red peppers slow-cooked and reduced to a thick paste — concentrated sweet pepper with no heat. - Used as a sauce base in numerous Turkish preparations, providing body, colour, and sweetness. - An essential ingredient in many Anatolian meat preparations.
The Turkish Cookbook