The Great Pepper Debate

One of the big debates that we had while making Ajvar was whether or not to core and de-seed the peppers before or after roasting. Talking to locals you find a wide range of passionate opinions as to the "correct way" to do it. We each had experience doing it both ways and since we had 75 kilos of peppers to work with over two days, we decided to do a compare and contrast. So here's what we found out, and at the end is the verdict and an opportunity for you to throw in your two-denars.


Day 1: We cored and de-seeded the peppers before roasting.
Coring wasn't so bad if you had fingernails as you could simply push the nail in at the base of the stem and pull it out. The seeds are then easily shaken out by tapping against the side of a bowl.
Roasting was a little tricky as it was harder at times to grab hold of the peppers in order to turn them. Additionally, it seemed to take a long time to roast the pepper until it was peel-able (meaning black).... more often than not the burn would extend beyond the skin and into the "meat" of the pepper.
Peeling was very difficult as we'd left them in the plastic bags overnight. The upside was that there were few if any seeds to deal with, and the peppers stayed drier (a key thing is to keep the water level down for cooking)



Day 2: We washed the peppers and placed them directly on the stove to roast complete with stems attached (and seeds inside).
Roasting was much nicer as the stems made for good handles in turning. Additionally, as the steam built up inside the peppers they were easier to smoosh down with tongs to obtain a more even burning of the skin. Finally, the peppers seemed to cook faster and so there was less burnage and loss of the meat (unlike on day 1 where several peppers simply disintegrated in our hands from overcooking/burning).
Peeling was by far much easier when the peppers were still warm. We let them sweat in plastic bags for at least 2 hours before beginning peeling and the peels simply slid off! The downside were the numerous seeds that seemed to get everywhere. People resorted to dipping the peppers in water to get rid of the seeds (a big NO NO according to every Macedonian domakinka). I found the scissor method worked quite well (put the meat between your fingers and simply slide down, removing any seeds).

The Verdict: Having to deal with the seeds after roasting was headache enough that the general concensus was to core/de-seed before roasting, but to peel while still warm.

Personally, I agreed that dealing with the seeds was a big pain, but in my opinion the benefits of roasting with the stem on far outweighs the seedy inconvenience. It has everything to do with the steam held inside the pepper with the stem on.

1. The peppers plump while you cook them
2. The meat benefits from the flavor of the seeds (according to one of the Macedonian babas)
3. The meat says thick and flavorful as it's steamed rather than baked (the steam builds up inside the pepper)
4. The pepper cooks faster thanks to the benefit of the steam
5. The peel comes off more easily also because of the benefits of the steam
6. Less blackened pepper makes it into the final mix because less meat is burned

At this point I'd like to open up the comment section of this blog to hear from all my Balkan friends or others who have made Ajvar. Do you prefer to core and de-seed the peppers before roasting or after??