Been waiting years to try one of these. The Rocoto Red a C Pubescens that is native to Bolivia and Peru, but now a days they are grown throughout all South America. You will find them with different names eg Locoto in Bolivia, Rocoto in Peru and Manzano in Mexico. Manzano means apple and we find it’s a very true description, because the chilli plant looks like an apple tree and the pods look like little apples, both in look and consistency.
The Pubescens species has some very interesting characteristics:
• The stems and leaves are hairy (Pubescens is Latin and means reach puberty, become hairy or botanically it means covered with fine short hair)
• Contains more Dihydrocapsaicin than capsaicin resulting in a different burn.
• The flowers have blue/violet petals
• The seeds are black
• The species is more resistant to cold than other species. They are adapted to 4-21 degrees Celcius
It is said the plants can grow up to four-meters tall and they can live up to 15 years, which gives an almost tree-like appearance with age. The pods are 3 cm tall and 5 cm wide, contain black seeds and are very thick walled. They start off green and end up a bright red colour, when they are fully mature.
What’s it Like?
How Hot is It?
Very fresh and really juicy, crunchy like an apple and they have a light bean like flavour, plus very firm and thick in consistency, outstanding flavour wise
The heat takes a bit to build, but suddenly they kick in and have a really deep all over burn that hits the back of the throat and all over the mouth at the same time, upper mid heat 8/10 and a really deep burn that slowly builds to a decent level and goes for ages
if live in cooler climates then these are perfect as they love that, they can get quite tall but using a pot can limit the size a bit, amazing flavour and a different kind of burn make these a definite one to grow
You can get the seeds for the Rocoto Red and over 300 other varieties from www.thehippyseedcompany.com
For info, including how to grow chillies/Peppers check out the info section of our site
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Hope You Enjoy
Be Excellent
Neil & Charlotte
