I am launching my Herb of the Week in
2016 posts with the Herb of the Year, which is a genus Capsicum (that
is hot peppers.) I will do 12 posts this year on the Herb of the Year, as I
choose my favorite hot peppers, from mild to hurtful and post them on the first
Wednesday of the month for the Herb of the Week.
I am going to
start with a hotter pepper, one used to make hot sauces – The Rocoto Pepper (Capsicum pubescens.)
While Rocoto
peppers look somewhat like bell peppers, it can be dangerous to get the two
mixed up. While bell peppers aren't hot at all, the Rocoto pepper is extremely
hot. Between 100,000 and 250,000 on the Scoville Heat Index*, this pepper is
about the size of a bell pepper but is rounder and is typically only red or
green. Some people use this pepper to make very spicy sauces.
Even in the
notorious world of chile peppers, the rocoto chile (Capsicum pubescens) stands out. The pepper comes
with black seeds, hairy leaves and a shape that resembles a small apple or
pear. The flesh is relatively thick, like a bell pepper. Known in
Peru as rukutu, ruqutu (in Quechua, hispanicized rocoto) and
in Mexico known as the "Manzano" pepper which means "apple"
for its apple-shaped fruit. This species is found primarily in Central and South
America, and is known only in cultivation.
The species
name, pubescens, means hairy,
which refers to the hairy leaves of this pepper. The hairiness of the leaves,
along with the black seeds, distinguish this species from others. As they reach
a relatively advanced age and the roots lignify quickly, sometimes
they are called tree chili. Of all the domesticated species of peppers, this is
the least widespread and systematically furthest away from all others. It is
reproductively isolated from other species of the genus Capsicum. A
very notable feature of this species is its ability to withstand cooler
temperatures than other cultivated pepper plants, although it cannot
withstand frost.
Growing
Peppers
Any pepper plant out of the ordinary will probably not
be available from your local nursary, meaning you will need to grow them from
seed. Most of us must start our own
plants indoors about 8-10 weeks before transplanting, which should be done 2-3
weeks after the expected last frost. Most pepper seeds
sprout in about a week at a temperature of 70-80 degrees F, but germination can
be spotty depending on variety. Hot peppers can be very finicky.
Plant peppers in a bed that receives full sun. Provide a
sandy loam soil that drains well and contains plenty of organic matter. Depending on
the size of the pepper varieties planted, spacing should be 12-18 inches apart.
Peppers can double as ornamentals, so tuck some into flowerbeds and borders.
Most sweet peppers mature in 60-90 days; hot peppers can take up to 150 days.
Keep in mind, however, that the number of days to maturity stated on the seed
packet refers to the days after transplanting until the plant produces a
full-sized fruit. You must add 8-10 weeks for the time between sowing and
transplanting which means most of us will be starting pepper plants indoors in
January or February! I will talk about
how to start them from seed in my February Pepper post.
If you’re looking for seeds in your area be sure to
check under other names including: Manzano, Locoto, Rocoto, and Ricota.
Hotish Pepper
Sauce
This version is only slightly hot, but if you
really want that fire use all of the rocoto pepper.
- 1/4 cup
extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small
red onion, diced
- 1/2
teaspoon cumin
- 1/8
teaspoon cayenne
- Coarse
sea salt
- 1 large
clove garlic, minced
- 1/2 red,
orange or yellow Rocoto pepper, minced
- 1/4 cup
tomato paste
- 1/4 cup
tomato sauce
- 2
teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup
water
- 1/4
teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
Directions:
In a
saucepan over low heat, warm the oil. Add the onion, cumin, cayenne, and 1/2
teaspoon salt and sauté until the onions start to caramelize, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the garlic and rocoto pepper and sauté for 2
minutes more. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, vinegar, and water. Mix well, and simmer until it starts to thicken, about 5 to 7
minutes. Transfer all the ingredients to an upright blender, add the white
pepper, and puree until smooth. Season with additional salt to taste. Store in
a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator up to 4 months.
*Scoville
Heat Index - The Scoville scale is
a measurement of the pungency (spicy heat) of chili peppers or other spicy foods
as reported in Scoville heat units (SHU), a function of capsaicin concentration.
The scale is named after its creator, American pharmacist Wilbur Scoville.
His method, devised in 1912, is known as
the Scoville Organoleptic Test.
Unlike methods based on high-performance
liquid chromatography, the Scoville scale is an empirical measurement
dependent on the capsaicin sensitivity of testers and so is not a precise or
accurate method to measure capsaicinoid concentration.
In Scoville's
method, an exact weight of dried pepper is dissolved in alcohol to extract the
heat components (capsinoids), then diluted in a solution of sugar water. Increasing
concentrations of the extracted capsinoids are given to a panel of five trained
tasters, until a majority (at least three) can no longer detect the heat in a dilution.
The heat level is based on this dilution, rated in multiples of 100 SHU.
Examples:
Bell
pepper - 0 units
Banana peppers and Pepperocini – 100
to 900 units
Pablano
and Jalapeno peppers - 1,000 to 4,000 units
Serrano
peppers – 10,000 to 23,000 units
Habanero
peppers – 100,000 to 350,000 units
Ghost
peppers – 850,000 to 1,299,999 units
Sources:
·
Dave DeWitt and Paul W.
Bosland (2009). The Complete Chile Pepper Book: A Gardener's Guide to Choosing, Growing,
Preserving, and Cooking. Timber Press.
·
Epicurious.com
·
http://www.burpee.com/vegetables/peppers/growing-peppers-article10252.html
Brother Cadfael is a fictional twelfth-century Welch monk
and herbalist, a brother in the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul in
Shrewsbury, England. Cadfael’s
adventures are centered on life in the monastery, where he grows herbs and
prepares them for their medicinal and culinary uses – as well as using his
skills, knowledge and sleuthing talents to solve murder mysteries. There is also a great companion book, called
Brother Cadfael’s Herb Garden: an Illustrated Companion to Medieval Plants and
their uses, compiled by Rob Talbot and Robin Whiteman.
The Claire Sharples Botanical Mysteries
