Aji Peanut

C. baccatum

Plant size
Fruit Size
Fruit color
Heat level

Price

3,90 €

Aji Peanut chili: pods ripening from green through orange to red on the plant

Aji Peanut chili plant loaded with green, orange and red pods

Aji Peanut chili: ripe red pod beside a pale green unripe pod

Aji Peanut chili: red pods hanging on the plant

Aji Peanut chili: ripe red pods held in hand next to the plant

Aji Peanut chili: three ripe red knobbly pods held in hand

Description

No one seems to have written down where the name came from, but a ripe pod makes the guess easy. Aji Peanut sets finger-length pods of around 6–8 cm with knobbly, creased skin that narrows here and there the way a peanut shell does between the nuts, and many finish in a small cluster of folded lobes at the tip. They hang among the leaves and ripen from pale yellowish green through orange to a glossy, deep red, and hardly two come out the same shape.

The flesh is crisp, with a fresh, lightly citrusy flavour and a touch of sweetness once the pods have turned fully red. The heat sits at the hotter end of the aji range: clearly above a jalapeño, yet well short of a habanero. The pods are made for pickling, where the odd shapes look great in a jar, and they work just as well chopped into fresh salsas or blended into a bright red sauce.

The plant grows like a typical aji: with a little pinching it is easy to keep compact, yet left to itself it can reach the height of a grown man. Once it gets going it carries a heavy crop that keeps coming until the end of the season. A good-sized pot or a greenhouse bed suits it, along with a stake to hold the laden branches. Like most ajis it takes a cooler northern summer in its stride, though it is not an early variety, so an early sowing pays off.

Challenge: 1 (very easy to grow)

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. baccatum , Medium , Hot , Easy to grow