Ají Charapita

[macmex]

One of the things that has changed with me, over the years of seed saving, is that I've gone from avidly looking for new varieties to try, to trying to avoid getting new varieties. It's not that I don't like experimenting, rather, that I get overwhelmed when I find more varieties to get attached to than I can possibly maintain. Having said that, I have to point my finger at Chrysanthemum and my youngest daughter, who got me into Shishito peppers and to Glen, who got me hooked on Ajicitos. 

I suppose my life is spinning out of control now, as another friend, who doesn't hang out on this forum, convinced me to try yet another pepper! Aye! What a problem! (written tongue in cheek). Stephen Lesko lives in Florida and is a chef by trade. He grows much of his own ingredients and actually exports various hot sauces to other chefs. I get my very favorite hot sauce from him, purchasing enough at a time to use as Christmas presents for the kids. Stephen posted over on MEWE about Ají Charapita, sometimes nicknamed "The Mother of All Chilies." This is a c. chinense species pepper from Peru, from the Amazon region. It's essentially the c. chinense version of the Chiltepin pepper, which is a c. annum. Ají Charapita has plants which grow to about 3' tall and 3' across, being covered up in tiny little yellow peppers. The peppers are easy to dry but laborious to pick. They are considered to be about as hot as a Cayenne pepper, which is no where near as hot as an Habanero, but still plenty hot. I hear they have the same fruity aftertaste as the Habaneros, which is what I love. So, I fell to temptation when Stephen offered me some seed. I now have a bunch of seedlings. (The seed was very easy to germinate.)



Here's a close up photo of the fruit which Stephen posted on MEWE.



Finally, here's a link to the Pepper Geek's description of Ají Charapita. The Pepper Geek seems to be a reliable source of info on hot peppers.

Anyone else grow these?

[rdback]

I grew the peach version of Aji Charapita in 2020, and it was just as you described. You do need to take a stool with you and have a seat when harvesting, because it takes FOREVER to pick all the little rascals.

I also think you might enjoy this one.

[FrostyTurnip]

These are tempting.  Thanks for the link.  The entire site was a pleasure to read and learn.  

[macmex]

Yes, having had our own website for some years, I have really come to recognize and appreciate "a site well done." The amount of work that goes into such an article and surrounding website is more than most can imagine yet the product is wonderful.

[heavyhitterokra]

Glen grows tiny peppers similar to those in Panama. He calls them "Bird Peppers". I believe he gathers his specimens growing wild along the roadsides where he lives. The only photos I've seen of them were black though. I've never seen the yellow ones before.

Maybe, Glen will see this post and drop us a line.

[glen]

Hello Ron and everyone!!! I do grow small chili's called Pequin's but they are not what George is growing. Pequin's are just wild chili's. They are in the Frutescent family and taste like Tabasco's. I have them outside now. I tried something different then this time which is to plant my chilies in December. I also have Tabasco's growing. I have never seen Tabasco's grow so well and so prolific. I have been growing them for years and never had such good results. I plan to quit growing the Pequins. Pequins are big plants but they don't always grow true to the parent and also they are late producers and don't always produce well. So I am have switched back to Tabasco peppers. If Tabasco peppers will produce well for you its one of the best tasting chili's you can grow. There are a lot of fancy peppers out there but they are not as tasty as the humble Tabasco. Plus, Tabasco peppers love the heat. Plus, the Tabasco peppers pop easily off the plant when you are picking them. You get hundreds of peppers. Small, but not too small and easy to harvest and easy to use in your favorite sauce recipe. Plus, they are not too hot and not to mild. They make the perfect hot sauce. I have super hot peppers. Super hot peppers are fun to grow but too hot for sauce. Grow Tabasco. I know you have grown them. Everyone has. Sorry if changed the subject a little. But, Tabasco peppers need love too.

[macmex]

Hey Glen, thanks, as always, for the good feedback. Yes, I love Tabascos. I grew them last summer and still have to finish picking the dried pods off of the plants I stored in the shed. I noticed something last year and wonder if you have noticed it. When I pick a fresh, juicy, red Tabasco pepper and bite into it, it's about like a nuclear explosion in my mouth. I don't taste much. It's just HOT. When the pods start to dry, they are tasty and not so hot. I need to refresh my memory and try a dried one. But, yes, they are trouble free, beautiful and productive. I grow them frequently. Still, I like the flavor of the c. chinense peppers the most.

"Chiltepin" is a term that covers a wide range of wild type peppers. In a lot of places, I'm sure they are so diversified (mixed up) that it would take quite a while to stabilize a given set of characteristics. The only characteristic which seems constant is that their fruit is small. I've seen them grow really tall and others, I've seen stay pretty short and shaped like a globe. 

[heavyhitterokra]

George,

Your biting into a juicy red Tabasco pepper, as well as me thinking of the ones hanging in your barn reminds me of a time of harvesting peppers while digging sweet potatoes.

I had so many potatoes to dig that I didn't have time to process the peppers, so I pulled them by the roots and left them hanging over the tailgate of the truck until I could come back to them when I had more time.

In the meantime, I was busy carrying potatoes around the house in boxes to lay them out on the ground to cure for a while before I put them away for winter. During that time, I saw a couple of my white Cotton Patch ganders walking around in the yard with what I thought was blood on the white feathers of their throats. I stopped what I was doing right away to go check on them, only to notice they were covered with little, juicy, red seeds.

When I returned to the truck I saw that they had pulled all of my pepper plants off the tailgate, where they had systematically murdered all of the red ones they could find.

If I was taking a gander at that situation, I'd say, "I don't believe birds can taste hot peppers."

[glen]

Mar 25, 2023 12:29:28 GMT -6 glen said:

Hi George!! The subject of Chiltepin peppers is interesting. I call them Pequins. Which means "little". That pretty much covers the entire group. Most are Frutescen peppers but not all because many are very promiscuous so they are really just heinz 57 peppers. I don't care for the Heinz 57 quality that they seem to have. Sometimes they breed true to form. I have several mixed breed plants outside that are all different and they came from one giant plant in the barrio very close to me. I thought it would be a cool plant to get seeds from since the plant was an absolute monster and was covered over in tiny pequins. The man let me pick a few pods while he was cleaning up the yard. Some breed true to the parent. Some have larger pods-fatter and bigger than normal. One plant seems to have produced sweet chili's. Some of the plants have just started producing. I planted the seed last December. They can be very late producers. I don't plan on planting them again. I like to know what I am getting. Some are very spicy. Some less spicy. Some sweet. Sometimes you get seed that produces true to the parent and stays that way. If I was really into it I would save seed from them. The pequins are tasty and hot and make good hot sauce. Not too hot. George, you have never grown truly hot peppers. The hotties are in the C Chinense family and they are usually sweet and fruity in flavor and have that sneeky heat. That is with the exception of the Hindu Bhut Jalokia peppers which are super hot but without the fruity flavor(pure heat). These types of peppers are in a class of its own. For the average person, the pequin is hot enough to make a nice table sauce. Superhot peppers are just too hot. I use them in small quantity's. Super hot peppers are the most beautiful peppers and are worthy of growing for that reason alone. Now, with all this being said, the tabasco pepper in my opinion should never be ignored and should always be grown. They taste the best and they are the easiest to grow and harvest. Also, if the plants are well taken care of they are extremely pretty. They are mild in flavor and make the best table sauce. They don't have the fruity flavor. We have had tabasco around for millennia and we take them for granted because there are so many variety's to choose from.  The internet says that Tabasco peppers come from the Tabasco Province in Mexico.  Don't forget to plant some this Spring.

[FrostyTurnip]

Tabasco really are a tried and true pepper.  I struggle with seed saving Tabasco, but keep trying.  This year I found fresh seed and they are ready to go into the ground Right now. 

But when I grew cheyenne pepper, I totally figured out why it is mfg on a large scale for many different products from sauces to pepper flakes and powder.  The cheyenne plants I had that year never stopped until it froze.  Most productive in my garden ever.  I could see why it is in the market everywhere! 

I really want to try more and the link he posted creates that temptation, but I have too much on my plate right now.  I look forward to venturing out more into the pepper world in the future.  

I abhor dull food.  

[macmex]

Well, here's an update on Ají Charapita. I planted a number of them at home, a few at work and sent two to a daughter who lives in SC. So far the ones at work are thriving the most. The plants have gotten nearly 3' tall and are quite bushy. The ones at home are stunted and barely hanging in there. My daughter's plants are looking good, though they are quite small. None have produced a single pepper. I suspect this variety despises really hot and humid weather. We'll see. If this is true, then we stand a chance of getting some fruit before a killing frost.

Been a really tough year for me with chiles. My beloved Murupi Amarela's planted at home, simply died. Rayado never got transplanted into the garden. Shishito has produced some, that's one tough pepper plant!

[rdback]

Sorry to hear about your pepper challenges George. I hope one of the Charapitas SOMEWHERE produces some pods. I just read back through this thread and completely forgot glen saying to plant Tabasco this year . Maybe I'll plant both Charapita and Tabasco in 2024 lol.

[macmex]

Tabasco would almost certainly have produced. I just couldn't keep up with planting. My Rayado plants never made it out of their tray. Hopefully will do better next year. I need to cut way back on what I attempt in order to succeed at what I do.

I scratched up a spot for some Mesquakie Indian corn, in an unused goat pen, kind of late in the season and barely managed to weed or water, but still got a harvest. I need to focus more on things like that. But peppers... now they need to be more of a priority!

[macmex]

The plants at work are starting to set a few peppers. This indicates that they have been holding off, waiting for moderate weather. The gardens at work have more protection from afternoon sun.

[woodeye]

Looking good!