Farmers in Kahramanmaraş, Turkey grow Maras peppers—also known as Aleppo across the border in Syria, where the civil war has destroyed production—in a fertile plain at the base of Ahir Mountain. Dubbed by the Wall Street Journal as the “Eartha Kitt of chiles” for its sultry heat and slow burn, Maras peppers are harvested in late summer, then sun-dried during the day, and wrapped in cloth at night to “sweat.” This unique regional method traps moisture, boosting the pepper’s trademark “wetness,” also enhanced by the cut size of the flakes, which plays a role in how much salt and oil they will hold. Naturally regenerative, a single Maras pepper seed grows into a plant that yields hundreds of peppers, and we hand-select each one after harvest.