Collection: Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina cultivates peppers extensively in river valleys and lowlands, focusing on sweet ajvar-type and frying peppers as well as medium-hot varieties similar to paprika and fefferoni. Local hot peppers—often long, tapered annuum types—are used fresh, pickled, and dried.

Rural households grow their own “ljuta paprika” (hot pepper) and milder “paprika babura.” Ajvar, a roasted red pepper spread sometimes spiked with hot chilies, is a major homemade and commercial product. Hot peppers—fresh or pickled—accompany grilled meats like ćevapi and pljeskavica, and go into bean stews and sarma (stuffed cabbage). Brined green fefferoni-style chilies are standard table condiments.

Some regional processors bottle hot ajvar, ljutenica-style relishes, and pickled hot peppers for domestic sale and export. While Bosnia lacks globally famous named hot cultivars, its cuisine depends on a spectrum of local sweet and hot annuum peppers.