What it means
گلپر (golpar) is the dried, ground seed of Persian hogweed (Heracleum persicum), a spice with a bitter, citrusy, slightly floral bite. The word was borrowed from Mazanderani, a Caspian Iranian language, where the original form کولهپر (kule-par) described the plant’s large feathery umbel leaves. The word is not attested in classical Persian texts and entered the standard vocabulary only in the late eighteenth century. There is no common single-word synonym: other Iranian regional names exist, but گلپر is the standard term across Iran today.
How to use it
- رو اناری که داری باید گلپر بزنی. (ru anâri ke dâri bâyad golpar bezani.) “You should sprinkle golpar on the pomegranate you have.”
- گلپر طعم ترشی داره. (golpar ta’m-e torshi dâre.) “Golpar has a sour, tangy flavour.”
- بدون گلپر باقالی پلو ناقصه. (bedune golpar bâghâli polo nâghese.) “Fava bean rice is incomplete without golpar.”
- گلپر رو آسیاب کردی؟ (golpar ro âsiyâb kardi?) “Did you grind the golpar?”
Cultural note
گلپر is one of the most distinctively Iranian spices in the world: its plant, Heracleum persicum, grows wild in the Alborz mountain range and the Caspian forests. Street vendors at pomegranate stalls and in the bazaar dust freshly cut pomegranate arils with salt and golpar. It also appears in some versions of kuku sabzi and in the broad-bean rice dish bâghâli polo. Travellers to the north of Iran who encounter the plant fresh say its sharp smell is unlike anything else in the spice world.