Pistachio Pepper Paste Product Description and Distinguishing Features: Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste is a paste produced by separating the seeds and stems of red peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), crushing them, removing their juice, and adding rock salt. Lemon or bergamot juice, or their concentrates, can be used to regulate acidity. The red peppers used in production have the following characteristics: the mass of water-soluble dry matter (Brix value) is 6-9%, the ash content is 1.5-2.0%, and the mass of fat is 0.3-1.3% in fresh fruits. When ripe, the green peppers turn into a flag red color and have a conical shape. Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste has a long history and holds a significant place in Gaziantep's culinary culture. For these reasons, it is closely associated with the geographical region. Production Method: Red peppers and rock salt are used in the production of Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste. Lemon and/or bergamot juice, or their concentrates, may be added to regulate acidity. The production of Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste is adjusted to have a Brix value of at least 30% and a mass salt content of up to 5% in the final product. The required component quantities for the production of 100 kg of Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste are as follows: - 400 – 500 kg of fresh red peppers - 0.75 - 1.25 kg of rock salt - 0 – 300 ml of lemon or bergamot juice or their concentrates The production steps of Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste are as follows: 1. Red peppers grown in Gaziantep are brought to the factory. 2. Pepper cracking: Red peppers poured onto a moving vertical conveyor fall between two high-speed rotating stainless steel cylinders and crack. 3. Washing: Red peppers coming from the cracking unit are poured into a rotating washing drum with pressurized water. They are washed, separating seeds, stems, and debris. 4. Sorting: Washed red peppers are poured onto a long and wide sorting conveyor, and manually, while on the belt, stems, debris, and leaf parts are separated. 5. Crushers and pulp tank: The sorted red peppers pass through crushers with diameters of 6-8 mm, turning them into pulp (pulpy pepper paste). 6. Preheating: The red pepper pulp is subjected to heat treatment at 85°C for 1-2 minutes to reduce the microbial load. 7. First and second-stage evaporation: The red pepper pulp, after heat treatment, goes to "bull" evaporators in a double-walled system under vacuum conditions. It is evaporated in two stages until the dry matter reaches 30% Brix. Then, rock salt is added. If necessary, lemon or bergamot juice or their concentrates can be added to regulate acidity. 8. Pasteurization: The red pepper paste, brought to the desired Brix level, passes through a tubular pasteurizer to make it compliant with the Turkish Food Codex Microbiological Criteria Regulation. 9. Filling-Packaging: The red pepper paste, reaching the filling unit, is filled into heat-resistant (suitable for hot filling) containers with the desired weight, sealed, and packaged. 10. Storage: Packaged Antep Pepper Paste / Gaziantep Pepper Paste is stored in cool and light-protected warehouses.