An international student from Peru was too gracious to bring four rocoto peppers for me...
The fruits don't look as fresh as they should be...
Why, for they were hand-carried (smuggled?) all the way from the shores of Lake Titicaca, 3811 meters above sea level (higher than Mt. Fuji) and from approximately the opposite side of the globe from Japan...
Sliced them open, and woah, seeds are black...
As opposed to the white seeds in the 'regular' bell peppers...
This specimen is the one on the left-most in the top photo...
The second fruit from the left...
Seeds are less black but the flesh, charateristically thick and luscious...
According to wikipedia, the rocoto scores between 50,000 to 250,000 on the Scoville scale, which is quite comparable to the fiery habanero...
According to wikipedia, the rocoto scores between 50,000 to 250,000 on the Scoville scale, which is quite comparable to the fiery habanero...
The only yellow fruit from the bunch...
Seeds were covered with protective cobweb-like material...
Hmmm, why so different from the other three?
The right-most specimen...
The rocoto has been cultivated in Peru and Bolivia for thousands of years, apparently...
Leaves are supposedly hairly and the rocoto is said to be more resistant to cooler climates than other peppers...
Furthermore, they can grow up to 4 meters over a span of up to 15 years... uwaaaahh...
I read that it is quite difficult to grow rocoto, and I plan to try out the seeds this coming spring season... fingers crossed...
The rocoto has been cultivated in Peru and Bolivia for thousands of years, apparently...
Leaves are supposedly hairly and the rocoto is said to be more resistant to cooler climates than other peppers...
Furthermore, they can grow up to 4 meters over a span of up to 15 years... uwaaaahh...
I read that it is quite difficult to grow rocoto, and I plan to try out the seeds this coming spring season... fingers crossed...
My partner Y stir-fried them very lightly, mixing them with some regular green peppers...
As expected, they did taste quite hot...
The Peruvian student cooked this traditional dish in one of the big cooking events here...
The red ones are rocoto, while the green ones are normal peppers...
He boiled the rocotos to remove the hotness before stuffing in the meat...
The peppers are now ready for the oven...
The taste was very good... urmmm...
As expected, the dish was wiped out within seconds after it was served...
See Malay-Kadazan Girl for more stuff on seeds...
This is really a special gift from home, therefore it must surely taste yummy. It looks very delicious. Good luck with the seeds!
ReplyDeleteWhat a unique plant and all the way from the mountain in Peru. I will give you my bitter gourd that is fruiting now just to have a taste of this pepper.LOL. Which one is more pedas cili api or rocoto pepper? Thank you for sharing about this plant I have never heard about it before. Lrong, did you have trouble linking this post to the linky which is at the bottom of my post? I can help you link it if you encounter any problem. I will sleep and dream about rocoto pepper.
ReplyDeleteUwaaahhh a veggie (?) that can live up to 15 years! How good to have one if it can supply fruits for that long too. The seeds look rather 'geli' haha, anyway good luck with the seeds ya!
ReplyDeleteAB... yes, hot and delicious it was...
ReplyDeleteMKG... this is a rare plant, I think... for hotness, probably about the same with cili api... oops, forgot to link up with the linky...
milka... it is a perennial plant... unfortunately for here, the cold will come to kill them...
All the way from mount in Peru? That's wonderful gift from your friend!
ReplyDeleteThe dish looks yummy!
Malar... yeap, all the way from Peru...
ReplyDeleteSomething unique and faraway for your garden Mr Lrong. Keep us posted about this rocoto peppers when you start to plant them. The rocoto recipe looked so yummy!Nice post for Seed Week!
ReplyDeletep3... I hope I can grow this plant... shall keep you posted for sure...
ReplyDeleteI know I have said this before but I'm saying it again. I like your photos! The way the chillies are served is also very impressive. I wish I could try just one piece.
ReplyDeleteBtw, I tried to click follow when I visited you last. I am having a problem. My avatar does not appear. This is a new problem that started about a week ago. I changed my avatar hoping to solve the problem but to no avail. I'll keep trying. Thanks.
I am a bit of a scaredy-cat when it comes to hot chillis. That sounds just way to far up the Scoville scale for me!
ReplyDeleteI have tried this ones back at my country. They do have a bit of a distinct flavor
ReplyDeleteThose are beautiful, even after their long journey. I've seen very tempting photos of these peppers in catalogs but our southeastern climate is perfect for regular hot-weather peppers... and therefore probably not good for veggies that prefer cool temps.
ReplyDeleteIf you'd like to get some dual usage out of this post feel free to submit it to this month's How to Find Great Plants. Here's the link:
http://www.appalachianfeet.com/how-to-find-great-plants/
The deadline is tomorrow (1/28/2011) at midnight eastern time, but if you miss it you can submit it for February's issue.
One... Danke for your compliments... oops, am not aware of this problem... also, am not very savvy with these issues but shall take a look at it and see what I can do... meanwhile, appreciate your continued attempts to solve the problem...
ReplyDeleteMatron... the stuff is hot, but you may find yourself 'opening up' or 'lighting up' your senses by being a bit adventurous with your taste buds... it is exciting to try new things, no?
fer... yes, they do have a distinctive flavor to it...
Eliza... thanks for your kind words... the rocoto colors are indeed attractive and eye-catching... they might not grow well where I live in Japan, but shall make a try...
The peppers are quite beautiful...hope you have great success growing them! The "stuffed peppers" look yummy...I used to make a type of stuffed pepper for Don...but I never used the the top of the pepper to put back on like a cap...probably is a good idea cause it would hold in the heat and steam and enable the filling to get hot and cook faster!
ReplyDeleteTheanne... you are probably right about the cap 'assisting' the cooking... it also looks good to have the cap on top, I think...
ReplyDeleteI've extended an award for you, please feel free to pick it up when you're free. Gong Xi Fa Chai!!
ReplyDeletemilka... danke very much! And Happy new year to you and your loved ones!
ReplyDeleteLooks good! I haven't seen Rocotos as vegetable or as seed in Finland, but I've heard of it. Your recipe looks delicious and your sharp pictures look fantastic, I'm big fan a chili and pepper plants ;)
ReplyDeleteK
K... thank you for coming by my blog... I am trying to grow rocotos from the seeds but so far not much success...
ReplyDelete