piperiés florínes

These sweet red peppers shaped like cow horns grow in the prefecture of Florina in northwest Macedonia, and although the seeds (originally brought from Brazil in the 16th century) were planted other parts of Northern Greece, this is the only place where they really took (ironically Florina is famous as the coldest city in Greece!)

They really only hit the rest of Greece after the 1950s when peace finally came to this war-torn part of the country and farmers were able to plant them in sufficient quantities to market across Greece. Now you’ll see them everywhere!

Florina peppers are very versitile, and often served in salads, or roasted (πιπεριές ψητές, piperiés psités), or stuffed with minced meat and rice or feta, dried or preserved in oil or roasted and blended to make áivar; the seeds are dried to make chilli flakes.

In early September the village Aetos holds a festival in honour of the peppers, featuring them in every single dish.

Designated PDO (ΠΟΠ) in 1994.