Crushed red pepper or red pepper flakes is a condiment or spice consisting of dried and crushed as opposed to ground red chili peppers.
This condiment is most often produced from cayenne-type peppers, although commercial producers may use a variety of different cultivars, usually within the 30,000–50,000 Scoville unit range.
The village of Bukovo, North Macedonia, is often credited with the creation of crushed red pepper. The name of the village or a derivative of it is now used as a name for crushed red pepper in general in a number of Southeast European languages.
Crushed red pepper shakers have become a standard on tables at Mediterranean restaurants and especially pizza parlors around the world. Often there is a high ratio of seeds, which are popularly believed to contain the most spice. Crushed red pepper is used by food manufacturers in pickling blends, chowders, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, soups, and sausage.