Kalugeritsa Paprika

A rare and flavorful pepper from the village of Kalugeritsa in eastern North Macedonia. Heat is roughly in the jalapeno range. The pepper bears the name of the village where it was collected, as no specific variety name could be found. Shout out to the Baker Creek folks for bringing this one back from Macedonia!

Flavor and Heat

Kalugeritsa has a full-bodied flavor that makes it especially good for roasting. Heat wise, expect around 3,000+ SHU. Much milder than a Habanero.

You can use it much like a mildly hot sweet pepper or paprika type. If you have grown the Rheza pepper, there are some similarities in how these work in the kitchen.

Culinary Uses

Roasting is probably the first thing I would do with Kalugeritsa. The peppers also work well in salsa, stews, or tossed on the grill. The mild heat means you can use quite a bit without turning the whole meal into a heat challenge.

Growing Tips and Characteristics

Start the seeds in a warm environment using a quality seed-starting mix. I use Burpee seed-starting mix from Menards. Sorry, non-Midwesterners!

Keep the mix warm and evenly moist while the seeds germinate. Once the seedlings are established, give them plenty of light.

Final transplant should happen after the threat of frost is over. Better yet, wait until nighttime temperatures are consistently 50°F or higher. If the plants were started indoors, make sure to harden them off before putting them outside full time.

Once outside, give them full sun and decent drainage. Space plants roughly 14 to 24 inches apart.

20+ seeds per pack