Kurtovska Kapija

Sweet, juicy, and aromatic with a full, fruity paprika character and no perceptible heat. High dry-matter flesh holds together when roasted and peeled.

Kurtovska Kapija is a traditional Capsicum annuum kapija-type pepper selected in the Thracian village of Kurtovo Konare near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Plants are compact to medium, about 50–80 cm tall, and carry large pendant fruits that are two- or three-sided, 12–16 cm long, and typically 70–120 g. Unripe fruit is dark green; at botanical maturity it turns a glossy deep red. The flesh is sweet, juicy, and aromatic, with a thin skin that slips off after roasting. It is a late variety, reaching full color in about 140–150 days from sowing, and remains a staple for ajvar, lutenitsa, stuffing, pickling, and fresh salads from Bulgaria through North Macedonia and southern Serbia.

Alexander Dimitrov (1854–1928), known locally as Grandpa Alexander, brought pepper seed from Hungary to Kurtovo Konare in the Thracian Valley and began selecting the meaty roasting type that took the village’s name. He also built an early mill for dried red-pepper powder there. The Maritsa Vegetable Crops Research Institute in Plovdiv later stabilized the landrace as Kurtovska kapia 1619, the long-time Bulgarian standard, and released the higher-yielding Kurtovska kapia 1. Since 2009 the village has held an annual pepper and tomato festival in mid-September. Slow Food lists the variety in the Ark of Taste because co-cultivation with more productive hybrids threatens the old type’s seed purity. The word kapija comes from Turkish kapı, the gate of a garden or orchard.