Capsicum baccatum is a type of pepper that comes from the Capsicum genus. The plant has long been used for culinary purposes by indigenous people in South America and across other regions, but it’s still not very well-known in North America or Europe.
Capsicum baccatum is a species of Capsicum that grows in South America. It has a milder flavor than other types of peppers and is often used as an ingredient in sauces, soups, stews, and chilis. The plant also has medicinal properties.
Capsicum baccatum is a chili pepper species belonging to the Capsicum genus. C. baccatum comes in hundreds of various types, each with its own size, shape, color, taste, and heat.
In this essay, I’ll tell you all you need to know about the Capsicum baccatum species, as well as our personal experience cultivating many of the pepper types that it includes.
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C. baccatum (Aji ahuachapan) — mature chili pepper
Origin of Capsicum Baccatum
The species originated in the Andes, and evidence suggests that Arawak people living in the Llanos de Mojos tamed it at least 4,000 years ago.
C. baccatum trees were cultivated for their spice-like fruits. Selective breeding procedures have resulted in a vast variety of popular aj cultivars that are still produced today.
The Aj Peppers are a group of hot peppers from Mexico.
From Spanish to English, the term aj means “chili pepper.” As a result, many C. baccatum varieties begin with the word aj (for example, aj amarillo).
Ripe aji amarillo peppers
Aj, on the other hand, does not exclusively relate to C. baccatum pepper types. The term is used by several C. chinense chili variants, including the aj charapita and aj dulce, to mention a few.
Varieties of Capsicum Baccatum
The actual number of variants is unknown, although it is very likely thousands. The number of distinct cultivars continues to develop as a result of a vast number of land variants, selective breeding, and contemporary plant breeders.
I’ve only cultivated a few varieties of C. baccatum peppers, but they’ve taught me a lot about the plant’s traits and tastes.
Here’s a quick rundown of the kinds we’ve grown:
- Peach sugar rush The pale green pods become a pink tint as they mature. Sweet, crunchy, spicy, and abundant.
- Stripey sugar surge Based on the original sugar rush kind, this is a contemporary mutation. Vertical stripes of orange and red appear as the fruit ripens.
- Pineapple from Aji. A little yellow cultivar with a flowery taste and a good yield. Capsicum baccatum has a smaller size than other Capsicum baccatum varieties.
- Aji amarillo is a kind of aji amarillo. One of Peru’s most popular aji varietals, often used to make a sauce. Plants with lower yield but much bigger pods than other C. baccatum varieties.
- Starfish from Brazil. The red and yellow variations produce starfish-like saucer-shaped pods. The flesh is thick and has a sweet bell-type taste. Heat to a medium level.
- Aji ahuachapan aji ahuachapan aji ahu Peppers that grow to be 5-6 inches long and become orange when mature. The thin walls provide a delectable dry powder.
- Aji’s imagination. Large, thick-walled pods shaped like a church bell are produced by one of the most prolific plants we’ve cultivated.
We’ve seen a lot of different pepper kinds in the pepper growing community, and we’re excited to grow and taste them all. Here are a few articles that go into further detail about certain C. baccatum kinds.
Types of C. Baccatum Peppers:
Plant Characteristics of Capsicum Baccatum
It’s not much different from growing peppers from seed when it comes to cultivating C. baccatum plants. These plants have a few distinguishing qualities that identify them different.
They are perennial in nature, as are all peppers, and may live for many years.
Flowers
Looking at the blooms is one of the simplest ways to tell a C. baccatum variant from from other Capsicum species. They will produce huge blooms with yellow or green dots on the petal, unlike annuum and chinense variants.
Self-pollination is possible, as it is with all pepper species, but cross pollination is also possible.
Size
The bigger size of most C. baccatum plants is another common feature. In ideal circumstances, plants grow exceedingly tall, with some plants easily topping 10 feet when staked.
Sugar rush plant in a pot, tall and striped.
When compared to some of the more popular C. annuum kinds (Thai chilies, for example), which can only grow to be 2 feet tall.
It’s time to ripen
Plants of C. baccatum take longer to mature than most others. It’s fairly unusual for fruits to mature 120 days or more after they’ve been transplanted.
Aji fantasy pepper pods that haven’t ripened yet.
Although the superhot variants of the C. chinense species may take just as long, the baccatums are frequently the slowest to completely mature in our experience.
Resistance to Disease
While not all C. baccatum cultivars are resistant to disease, many are. As a result, certain cultivars’ genetics have been exploited to enhance C. annuum species like the sweet bell pepper.
Productivity
Most C. baccatum plants have been quite fruitful in our experience. It’s reasonable to anticipate that your C. baccatum plants will produce a decent crop if given adequate time, light, and nutrients. There are, however, differences in yield from one variety to the next.
The aji fantasy, for example, produced 50-60 enormous, hefty pods, making it one of the most productive pepper plants we’ve ever cultivated. The aji amarillo, on the other hand, produced just a few ripe pods, despite their size.
Flavors and Applications of Capsicum Baccatum
Capsicum baccatum peppers are crisp, sweet, vegetal, sometimes bitter, and have a medium heat level, according to our experience. While all of these characteristics may differ from one variety to the next, they seem to be the most frequent.
The sugar rush peach pepper, for example, has thick, crunchy walls with a scoville heat rating of 50,000-100,000 SHUs. The fruits are mostly sweet and delicious, with no bitter undertones.
Unripe sugar rush peppers
The Brazilian starfish has a completely different fruit form, but the thick, crunchy walls are comparable. The heat index is substantially lower, ranging from 15,000 to 20,000 SHUs. With vegetal undertones, the taste is more evocative of a red bell pepper.
Uses
C. baccatum variants are useful for dry powders, fruity sauces, and fermentation in general. Some varieties, however, are also tasty when pickled quickly.
Growing Capsicum Baccatum Seeds
There are various seed dealers that sell C. baccatum variants if you want to cultivate your own. We’ve bought from a number of reliable vendors, but just a handful seem to specialize in the species.
- Fataliiseed.net – Fataliiseed.net – Fataliiseed.net For a long time, Jukka Fatalii has been cultivating chilies and selling seeds. He is based in Finland, but he ships all around the globe. There are often new types appearing, and the site seems to focus on C. baccatum.
- Semillas.de is a website dedicated to semillas. Semillas la Palma, based in the Canary Islands, provides a startling range of pepper seeds. They provide a nice selection of C. baccatum kinds to explore and purchase, however shipping to the United States may take up to two weeks.
- White Hot Peppers – WHP contains a decent assortment of C. baccatum seeds, however it is a smaller collection. They are situated in the United States, and we have found that you will get 1 or 2 complimentary seed packets with your transaction.
If you’re still having trouble finding the pepper type you want, have a look at our other top sources to purchase pepper seeds online.
Growing
C. baccatum variations aren’t all that different from popular kinds like bell peppers when it comes to growing. They do, however, need a longer growing season in order to yield mature fruits, so keep that in mind.
Indoors, start C. baccatum seeds a week or two before C. annuums to give them a head start. For C. chinense plants that fruit later in the season, I do the same thing.
Transplant seedlings to a container of at least 3 gallons, but preferably 5 gallons or more, after they outgrow their little pots. Leave around 12-18 inches between C. baccatum plants if planting in a raised bed or garden bed.
Plants should be moved outside approximately 1-2 weeks following the last frost, or when nighttime temperatures reliably above 55°F. Fertilize container plants on a regular basis, usually every 1 or 2 weeks.
Straw mulched pepper plants in a garden bed
Staking is beneficial for C. baccatum varieties, so use a long, solid piece of bamboo or a tomato cage to support the plants. If given enough time, they may grow to be rather tall, so be prepared to add extra support as the season progresses.
Reduce nitrogen-rich fertilizer as blooms develop, and make sure the plants have adequate of phosphorus and potassium. More blooms and higher yields will result as a result of this.
Unripe pods will swiftly develop, although their color may not change for another month or more. Wait for the peppers to ripen, since ripe peppers have a richer taste. If the season is nearing its conclusion, though, there’s no harm in eating unripe peppers.
ripe Aji dream white peppers
I hope this post has taught you something new about the Capsicum baccatum species or piqued your curiosity in it. It produces some of the world’s most unusual and intriguing types, so I hope you’ll start producing your own soon!
Calvin
One of the first s! Calvin enjoys traveling and performing music when he isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany.
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Capsicum Baccatum is the name of a species of pepper. This is a type of pepper that can be found in Bolivia and Peru. It has an intense flavor, which makes it one of the most popular peppers in South America. Reference: aji pepper where to buy.
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- capsicum baccatum common name
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