Montenegro

Montenegro’s coastal and river-valley zones are well suited to pepper cultivation. Farmers grow sweet ajvar peppers and hot Capsicum annuum such as long red chilies, paprika-type, and fefferoni-style green and red peppers. Local hot peppers—often just called ljuta paprika—are eaten fresh, pickled, or dried.

Ajvar, made from roasted red peppers with optional hot chilies, is a key homemade and commercial spread across the Balkans. Brined fefferoni-type hot peppers accompany grilled meats like ćevapi and pljeskavica and are common meze items. Dried red chilies are ground for spice blends and to flavour bean stews and sarma (stuffed cabbage).

While Montenegro doesn’t have globally marketed hot cultivars, its local long red and fefferoni-type peppers, shared with neighboring Serbia and Bosnia, are foundational to its cuisine and pepper-preserving traditions.