ABOUT PEPPERS

Early days of “SD” business were dedicated to processing of the industrial peppers intended for manufacture of ground seasoning peppers produced by drying followed by grinding. Although the operations were extended over the time and the manufacturing process of the company from Martonos subsequently included other vegetables, peppers remained the central part of the process, having the greatest share of all other cultures together.

Color of the pepper is the basic measure of its quality and it must be intensive, strong and red. Ground seasoning pepper is obtained by drying and grinding of the ripe fruits of the selected industrial varieties of peppers. The well-known seasoning is characterized by pleasant flavor and taste, which above all considerably improve consumers’ pleasure in dishes prepared with it.

In the most favorable period determined based on the maturity of the fruits, the peppers are picked to be subjected to quality selection, additional ripening and drying. Long sunny days favor this cycle.

Mechanical impurities and dust are removed by washing, and washed papers are checked once again on the control line, where any possible impurities are removed. In the cutting machines, the peppers are cut to several pieces, which speed up their dying, to be thereafter treated in continuous conveyor dryers.

In 2005 a new manufacturing facility was opened for accommodation of dryers enabling for 150 to 200 tons of the raw material to be treated within the 24-hour period, depending on the type of the selected vegetables. The procedure is indirect, based on hot air. Burner warms up the thermogen and the air is sucked in by a large fan. Gasses produced in this way are separately exhausted and they are not in direct contact with the dried vegetables. The driers are segmented, five-level with adjustable temperature. Raw material is transported to the highest one, where the temperature reaches up to 80°C. At the final level of drying, the temperature is lower by 20 to 30 degrees.

In the following phase, the peppers are ground and sterilized. Before grinding the peppers are crushed in the hammering mills to be subsequently ground prepared in this way. Grinding is performed using stone mills, and the obtained powder is after sieving ready for sterilization by overheated steam (at approximately 120 °C for 30 s). Packaging is the next step.

It is to be mentioned that “SD” laboratory also performs preventive chemical and bacteriological testing of the products within the internal product control procedure.