Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan’s continental climate supports pepper cultivation mainly in southern regions like Almaty and Shymkent. Farmers grow mostly Capsicum annuum: sweet bell peppers, Hungarian wax–type, long red cayenne-like chilies, and various medium-hot Balkan and Central Asian varieties.

These supply fresh markets and some pickling operations. Hot peppers (often called “ostry perets”) are used in lagman (noodle stew), beshbarmak accompaniments, and shashlik marinades, often alongside garlic and cumin. Kazakh and Uyghur communities use long red and green chilies similar to Turkish or Chinese chilies in stir-fries and hand-pulled noodles.

Home cooks pickle hot peppers in vinegar brines and dry red chilies for winter. The influence of Korean diaspora cuisine introduces Korean chili flakes (gochugaru-like) and pickled chilies into local diets. However, Kazakhstan has no widely recognized proprietary hot-pepper cultivars; most are shared Central Asian and Eastern European types.