Tabasco

Description

The actual cultivar behind the world’s most famous hot sauce. Tabasco is a Capsicum frutescens — one of only a handful of that species in serious cultivation — and it has been grown on Avery Island, Louisiana since Edmund McIlhenny started bottling in 1868. The sauce is still made the old way: pepper mash and salt, aged up to three years in used whiskey barrels.

The pods are small, about 4 cm, slim and tapered, and they stand upright on the branch rather than hanging — the giveaway trait of the species. They run green through yellow and orange to red, so a plant in full season carries every stage at once. Around 30,000–50,000 Scoville: cayenne territory, sharp and clean.

The flesh is thin and very juicy, which is exactly why it suits mashing and fermenting. Make your own sauce and you control the vinegar — the commercial style is deliberately vinegar-forward, and a home batch does not have to be. The plant is upright and grows semi-woody with age, which makes it a classic bonchi subject.

Some chilies are worth tasting before you grow them. → Explore the Vault

Each pack contains approximately 8–10 or more seeds per variety.
Seeds are packaged in a certified EU seed packaging facility in accordance with applicable regulations.

Categories: Chili Seeds , C. frutescens , Hot , Bonsai , Easy to grow