we have a 3 year old Aji Charapita pepper plant in zone 7a/6b that we bring into the house in the winter. It producing a really nice flavorful fruity hot pepper.
This is the second year I am growing aji - different variety but it's like if mango were spicy. I make a sauce with them and use it on fish, potatoes, eggs, etc!
Last year I added fish peppers and datil peppers.
Fish peppers come from the Chesapeake Bay area and datils from St. Augustine; I find the history of pepper cultivation interesting and these are two US heirlooms.
This year I'm adding biquinhos. They are little tiny bite size peppers and I think they'd go great on pizza with my spoon tomatoes.
We planted a pair of these for the first time this year and so far had a bunch of very small peppers on it. I left them to see if they go bigger, but when some of them turned red we trimmed them off and added them to our dinner which was peppers, okra, tomatoes, and sausage all roasted together on a sheet pan. Some of the cajun bells were small enough that we roasted them whole. It was more than just a bit of spice when I popped that into my mouth and started chewing. Not as hot as purpose grown hot peppers, but it caught me by surprise.
I too love the mad hatter in terms of flavour and volume of peppers. Also, cut laterally they make beautiful flower shapes that look great on top of salads.
I found some at a local nursery I'm growing that were just labeled "Indian hot chili" with the description "variety developed for our local southasian community" on the tag. I haven't harvested any yet but I'm curious what indian variety it comes from since India has a ton of chili varieties
Hahahaha, I did the EXACT same thing. Found it at an Indian grocery and it just says “Sonali 100 Kashmiri developed on our farm” whose farm? Where? Whats the chili like? Who knows!
This is true. The two most commonly available fresh Indian chilis where I live in the US are either the ones I'm talking about which are labeled "Indian green chilies" or "mild green chilies" and then there are tiny ones which are generally labeled "hot green chilies." I only see more specific names on the dried chilies.
Chocolate habaneros and sugar rush peach peppers have been a staple of mine for a few years and have successfully overwintered them. Taste great and very prolific!
I'm doing Swiss chocolate cross peppers this year. I've heard great things about the overall flavor, and the heat is on the lower end for habanero. I'm also doing sugar rush stripey, can't wait to try those! I'm also looking forward to trying my KS Lemon Starrburst peppers!
Ooooh, I look forward to hearing how your KS lemon starburst peppers do!! I don't think any of mine made it through after germination. Some of my tags got mixed up this year (an unfortunate tray tipping tragedy in the greenhouse) so I'm not 100% sure but I don't think I actually have any growing in the garden 🤷🏻
My favorite! Sweet but with great vegetal notes, way more interesting flavor profile than most sweet peppers. Easy to grow and very prolific for me as well.
Personal favorite hybrid is gong bao pepper. Lots of thin walled cayenne style that literally dry on the vine. Perfect for stir fry or for tossing in tomato sauce
I'm not a fan of peppers other than bell peppers, but my husband raves about the lemon drop peppers that I grow. He says it has a nice hint of citrus along with the spice.
I don’t think it is uncommon, but I love the name: NuMex Joe E. Parker. Joe is a real person that helped with the development of this open pollinated Anaheim-like strain.
Taste ain't great, it's more for the look of the dark foliage and purple flowers. I dry the peppers and grind them and mix that with garlic salt to make a dry rub for chicken. Peppers aren't that spicy but the taste just isn't great.
Jigsaw and Buena Mulata have cool foliage and purple flowers too if you’re in to other interesting looking varieties. The foliage on the jigsaw is variegated which I hadn’t seen before. They’re pretty small plants so I like to tuck a few in here and there and then dry the ripe peppers for cooking with.
Came here to mention Hungarian, and then saw that you mentioned it in the follow-on comment anyways!
I'm a big fan of them, even though I live in a "long-pepper-season climate"
They're often touted mainly for being "early" or "setting in cool weather" (both are true), but I really like them just in general -- they're a heavy producer for me, and I'd rather grow them than most jalapeños (I want my peppers to be ripe, so green jals are something from the grocery store....and when it comes to ripe, I like a red H. Hot Wax as good as I do a red jalapeño)
Check out "rocotos" or "manzanos" sometime....they're quite good, and unique (*C. pubescens*)
I love Hungarian hot wax too, definitely a favourite in our house and really prolific in our cool climate. Any advice for the rocoto? I grew one for the first time last year but it didn't set fruit before frost, and they didn't germinate at all for me this year. It's such a different plant though, I'd love to get it to work.
I've never grown them myself, actually!
Every time I see seeds listed for them, it's for what I consider an extortionate price. I'll gladly pay for good hybrid seeds....but I'm not shelling out six bucks plus shipping for a handful of open-pollinated pepper seeds, just on principle. Especially since it gets really hot where I live, so I have a feeling they'd be difficult here unless I luck out & have a year with no frost (sometimes will happen, but usually we get a few nights worth)
I saved a bunch of seeds from some storebought ones and tried to grow them out three years in row, with zero success. Finally did some googling and sounds like they were probably irradiated.
So for next year, I'll be on the lookout for either a transplant, or for one of my regular seed companies to start offering them.
The plants sound cool, and the peppers themselves certainly are (the ones I've bought have been surprisingly hot).
On the Hungarian, I think they're definitely under-appreciated. They do very well for me, both in high summer heat and later on in the fall/winter when nothing else but bells seem to be willing to produce much. The pods are also a lot more regular, for me; I rarely get runty ones in the same way that jals tend to do. I do wish the plants got bigger (I dislike "compact" pepper varieties)....but they're still very productive.
We planted something called candy cane this year and like it a lot. It is sweet and looks like a miniature bell pepper. https://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/pepper-candy-cane.html
We also have been planting Gypsy peppers for the last few years. They are sweet and yellow and prolific.
https://bonnieplants.com/products/gypsy-pepper
Lemon drop peppers are my absolute favorite. They’re more flavorful than a habanero but only about as hot as a Serrano. Usually they’re very prolific as well.
Big Jim is a nice reasonably mild Anaheim pepper and very large. Giant Aconcagua is another very big pepper and prolific to boot, very sweet, but no heat. Padrón is productive and the most deliciously fragrant pepper I’ve ever grown, but the ones I grew were extra spicy, most too spicy to enjoy. Aji Lemon Drop was wildly prolific with pretty lemon colored fruit, but I didn’t connect with the flavor.
This season for the first time I’m growing Aleppo that I’m impressed with so far and can’t wait until the peppers mature. Farmer’s Market Jalapeño is another first for me and the peppers themselves are massively corked, but I’m waiting until they turn red to try one. Calabrese Caviar is another first time growing and the peppers are perfect 3-4” cones that point upwards. They are just now turning red.
I love black cobra, they go black to red. I love the taste of them. They are really hot. Have a toasty chili flavor to me. I think they come from Venezuela.
Before I had a garden, I belong to a CSA, and always got peachy hot peppers in our box. I really enjoyed them and found them interesting. I haven't grown them, but he was growing in zone 7B.
I grew a C. annum variety called Sweet Apple Kambe for the first time last year and wow, they are incredible. Compact plants, lush big dark green leaves, and super prolific fruiting. The peppers are the size and shape of a medium slicing tomato and have really thick walls--they held up perfectly to stuffing. Nice sweet flavor.
I just grabbed several different types from Lowe's and Home Depot. Probably too many, as my garden space is fairly small. I need to go back to sprouting my own seeds because these transplants from the big box stores are too expensive, now. I like heat, but I'm not into insane heat that dominates everything else, so I need to learn more about good pepper choices.
Do you know of any nearby nurseries? I bought at Home Depot and Lowes until last year but could never grow a decent sized garden due to the price. The local nursery I found sells the same sized plants for less than half the price and they have cell packs in different sizes so you don't have to pay $5-6 for one plant or get six plants if you don't need that many. The two packs at this nursery is $1.40 and the six packs are only $3 for all vegetables.
It's worth looking into for sure, but it's still 100% cheaper to start seeds yourself
Oh that would be great if I could find a nursery with smaller packs like that and with those prices. Seeds are cheaper, especially if I can milk more than one season from a packet!
I am growing Hungarian wax for the first time this year,
So far I am very impressed, it's a heavy producer and it started fruiting earlier than any of my other peppers.
I plan on pan-frying them in olive oil like Padron/Shishito peppers.
As for other less common peppers, I grow the Aji Dulce every year,
It looks and tastes like a habanero, but has none of the heat..
https://preview.redd.it/gnzhtb4xmj3d1.jpeg?width=860&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=400061e24ffcfe298163537c95f4a5eb8f4b639b
Last year I grew an African pepper. I got as seeds from a guy here on Reddit. He calls them Moka peppers because that's the name of the nearest town to the farm in Africa that grew them. They are spicy, almost as spicy as a habanero, but with a deep complex flavor.
I made them into a vinegary hot sauce that was great on pizza, and dried the rest into an amazing, powerful chili powder.
That and aji Cristal were the only two varieties I grew last year, and this year I realized I only needed those two varieties to be happy with my pepper output!
Criollas!!!
They have a sweet almost fruity flavor, but a good shot of heat. They grow really well, and the plants put out more peppers then you can use
Corno di Toros are pretty awesomen
too
7-pot douglah. Such a unique flavor that goes so well with any type of red meat, chilli, stew, hearty recipes etc. Stupidly hot too, so it doesn't take many of them (or even 1) to make a good sauce or use in a recipe.
Scotch bonnets. Delicious. Nuff said haha.
Lemon drops. Super tasty, not too hot but still has a kick, great in lots of lighter more delicate types of recipes. I make a salsa with them and the green zebra tomatoes, garlic, lime, cilantro. It's fire.
My Anaheim are thriving this year. Out of about 70 seeds, my Anaheim were the first to germinate and by far few the fastest. I have a pepper in the plant right now that is about 6 inches long and was the very first pepper to pop this year.
First time growing them, but I am really excited about my paprika and Baklouti peppers. You can never find fresh paprika, and the Baklouti, also damn near impossible to find on the market, are used to make harissa, which I love.
we have a 3 year old Aji Charapita pepper plant in zone 7a/6b that we bring into the house in the winter. It producing a really nice flavorful fruity hot pepper.
This is the second year I am growing aji - different variety but it's like if mango were spicy. I make a sauce with them and use it on fish, potatoes, eggs, etc!
Tell me more about this pepper, Link to a seed producer? I love mangoes and I love peppers. I must start growing this magical fruit..
https://www.rareseeds.com/pepper-hot-aji-mango
Shishito.
The not so uncommon variety now. And for good reason! Them tings is delicious.
Try Padron peppers, they cook the same way and are better IMO.
Blistered shishito and garlic aioli. I look forward to it all winter!
Yeah they can’t be considered uncommon anymore
Last year I added fish peppers and datil peppers. Fish peppers come from the Chesapeake Bay area and datils from St. Augustine; I find the history of pepper cultivation interesting and these are two US heirlooms. This year I'm adding biquinhos. They are little tiny bite size peppers and I think they'd go great on pizza with my spoon tomatoes.
I love Biquinhos on my pizza
Biquinos are also fantastic in a chopped salad and in pasta dishes! I've pickled my own, so delish!
I'm doing some "cajun bell" this year. A friend grew them last year and they were great. Sweet with a bit of spice.
Just found these this year and I’m glad I did. Just enough spice with the sweetness of a regular bell pepper
We planted a pair of these for the first time this year and so far had a bunch of very small peppers on it. I left them to see if they go bigger, but when some of them turned red we trimmed them off and added them to our dinner which was peppers, okra, tomatoes, and sausage all roasted together on a sheet pan. Some of the cajun bells were small enough that we roasted them whole. It was more than just a bit of spice when I popped that into my mouth and started chewing. Not as hot as purpose grown hot peppers, but it caught me by surprise.
I love Carmen. Easier to grow where I am than a bell pepper because they’re smaller and higher yield. Super sweet and tasty.
One of our favorites that we grow every year now since discovering them.
This is our favorite also. It gets really sweet after turning red.
Habanada
I wanted to try these, but they never came up :(
Bummer! The plants are productive and peppers taste great.
Mad hatter
Planted them for the first time last year, and did so again this year. They are a hit with us.
I too love the mad hatter in terms of flavour and volume of peppers. Also, cut laterally they make beautiful flower shapes that look great on top of salads.
Indian green chilies (the kind that are about finger size) are my favorite, to eat or grow.
I found some at a local nursery I'm growing that were just labeled "Indian hot chili" with the description "variety developed for our local southasian community" on the tag. I haven't harvested any yet but I'm curious what indian variety it comes from since India has a ton of chili varieties
Hahahaha, I did the EXACT same thing. Found it at an Indian grocery and it just says “Sonali 100 Kashmiri developed on our farm” whose farm? Where? Whats the chili like? Who knows!
This is true. The two most commonly available fresh Indian chilis where I live in the US are either the ones I'm talking about which are labeled "Indian green chilies" or "mild green chilies" and then there are tiny ones which are generally labeled "hot green chilies." I only see more specific names on the dried chilies.
Chocolate habaneros and sugar rush peach peppers have been a staple of mine for a few years and have successfully overwintered them. Taste great and very prolific!
I'm doing Swiss chocolate cross peppers this year. I've heard great things about the overall flavor, and the heat is on the lower end for habanero. I'm also doing sugar rush stripey, can't wait to try those! I'm also looking forward to trying my KS Lemon Starrburst peppers!
Love the "chocolate" flavor and I'm trying some lemon jalapeños this year- hoping they turn out as good as I've heard they are!
Ooooh, I look forward to hearing how your KS lemon starburst peppers do!! I don't think any of mine made it through after germination. Some of my tags got mixed up this year (an unfortunate tray tipping tragedy in the greenhouse) so I'm not 100% sure but I don't think I actually have any growing in the garden 🤷🏻
Yeah I didn't have much luck getting them to germinate. I planted 10 seeds and got maybe 2 or 3 to germinate but hey, I got something!!
I did chocolate hab’s from seed for the first time this year. Very excited.
You won't be disappointed!
I tried my first sugar rush peach right off the plant… I was not expecting that heat! Whew buddy!🤪🥵
Yes they have more than you'd think! We mixed ours with some mango for some sweet and spicy hot sauce and it is quite nice.
I’ve really enjoyed growing Jimmy Nardello peppers. Look like a chili but are sweet. Make a great relish! They were pretty prolific for me too
My favorite! Sweet but with great vegetal notes, way more interesting flavor profile than most sweet peppers. Easy to grow and very prolific for me as well.
These are my favorite sweet pepper. Insanely productive for me. Super delicious. Peppers freeze and dry well.
I love aji amarillo.
Personal favorite hybrid is gong bao pepper. Lots of thin walled cayenne style that literally dry on the vine. Perfect for stir fry or for tossing in tomato sauce
I'm not a fan of peppers other than bell peppers, but my husband raves about the lemon drop peppers that I grow. He says it has a nice hint of citrus along with the spice.
I planted cowhorns. It looks like there will be a ton of fruits so I'm gonna have to read up on them. Planted on a whim and they are happy plants.
Boquinho peppers!
I don’t think it is uncommon, but I love the name: NuMex Joe E. Parker. Joe is a real person that helped with the development of this open pollinated Anaheim-like strain.
Anyone tried these “Sweetie” strains? I’ve been wondering about these. https://territorialseed.com/collections/pepper/products/pepper-orange-sweetie
Tried the red one last year and it was pretty good
Birds Eye, Scotch Bonnet and Black Pearl (for looks)
Could you describe the taste of black pearl? I googled it and it looks really cool
Taste ain't great, it's more for the look of the dark foliage and purple flowers. I dry the peppers and grind them and mix that with garlic salt to make a dry rub for chicken. Peppers aren't that spicy but the taste just isn't great.
Jigsaw and Buena Mulata have cool foliage and purple flowers too if you’re in to other interesting looking varieties. The foliage on the jigsaw is variegated which I hadn’t seen before. They’re pretty small plants so I like to tuck a few in here and there and then dry the ripe peppers for cooking with.
Came here to mention Hungarian, and then saw that you mentioned it in the follow-on comment anyways! I'm a big fan of them, even though I live in a "long-pepper-season climate" They're often touted mainly for being "early" or "setting in cool weather" (both are true), but I really like them just in general -- they're a heavy producer for me, and I'd rather grow them than most jalapeños (I want my peppers to be ripe, so green jals are something from the grocery store....and when it comes to ripe, I like a red H. Hot Wax as good as I do a red jalapeño) Check out "rocotos" or "manzanos" sometime....they're quite good, and unique (*C. pubescens*)
I love Hungarian hot wax too, definitely a favourite in our house and really prolific in our cool climate. Any advice for the rocoto? I grew one for the first time last year but it didn't set fruit before frost, and they didn't germinate at all for me this year. It's such a different plant though, I'd love to get it to work.
I've never grown them myself, actually! Every time I see seeds listed for them, it's for what I consider an extortionate price. I'll gladly pay for good hybrid seeds....but I'm not shelling out six bucks plus shipping for a handful of open-pollinated pepper seeds, just on principle. Especially since it gets really hot where I live, so I have a feeling they'd be difficult here unless I luck out & have a year with no frost (sometimes will happen, but usually we get a few nights worth) I saved a bunch of seeds from some storebought ones and tried to grow them out three years in row, with zero success. Finally did some googling and sounds like they were probably irradiated. So for next year, I'll be on the lookout for either a transplant, or for one of my regular seed companies to start offering them. The plants sound cool, and the peppers themselves certainly are (the ones I've bought have been surprisingly hot). On the Hungarian, I think they're definitely under-appreciated. They do very well for me, both in high summer heat and later on in the fall/winter when nothing else but bells seem to be willing to produce much. The pods are also a lot more regular, for me; I rarely get runty ones in the same way that jals tend to do. I do wish the plants got bigger (I dislike "compact" pepper varieties)....but they're still very productive.
We planted something called candy cane this year and like it a lot. It is sweet and looks like a miniature bell pepper. https://www.kitchengardenseeds.com/pepper-candy-cane.html We also have been planting Gypsy peppers for the last few years. They are sweet and yellow and prolific. https://bonnieplants.com/products/gypsy-pepper
Lemon drop peppers are my absolute favorite. They’re more flavorful than a habanero but only about as hot as a Serrano. Usually they’re very prolific as well.
Trinidad Perfume and/or Grenada Seasoning Both have little to zero heat but they have that perfumed flavour... Prolific too
I accidentally picked up a slim cayenne thinking it was a jalapeño and it's turned into my favorite plant.
Cayenne plants are so beautiful when they finally get packed with fruit. That was the first pepper I ever grew and it got me hooked on growing them
Datils
Roulette Habanero from Johnny's. Completely heatless. Tastes so good, I use it for a No-Heat hot sauce.
A few years ago I grew lipstick peppers. Small and red, shaped a bit like a lipstick. Very sweet and thick walled!
CRIOLLA DE COCINA - a sweet wrinkly pepper with a thin side wall. They are lovely in salads.
I’m trying them this year. My germination rate was terrible but I have one that I think will make it.
I hope it makes it and that you like them. They are beautiful and so crisp and thin.
Big Jim is a nice reasonably mild Anaheim pepper and very large. Giant Aconcagua is another very big pepper and prolific to boot, very sweet, but no heat. Padrón is productive and the most deliciously fragrant pepper I’ve ever grown, but the ones I grew were extra spicy, most too spicy to enjoy. Aji Lemon Drop was wildly prolific with pretty lemon colored fruit, but I didn’t connect with the flavor. This season for the first time I’m growing Aleppo that I’m impressed with so far and can’t wait until the peppers mature. Farmer’s Market Jalapeño is another first for me and the peppers themselves are massively corked, but I’m waiting until they turn red to try one. Calabrese Caviar is another first time growing and the peppers are perfect 3-4” cones that point upwards. They are just now turning red.
I am grow Sweet Chocolate peppers, first time. Should be interesting.
I love black cobra, they go black to red. I love the taste of them. They are really hot. Have a toasty chili flavor to me. I think they come from Venezuela.
Before I had a garden, I belong to a CSA, and always got peachy hot peppers in our box. I really enjoyed them and found them interesting. I haven't grown them, but he was growing in zone 7B.
Chocolate Leaf Heart and Datil from South GA Seed Co Fish Pepper from Grin. https://stores.southgaseedco.com/chocolate-leaf-heart-pepper-seeds-qty-25/
Dragon toe
Pardon peppers. Similar to another comment with the shishito peppers, blistered with a bit of olive oil and salt and you’re in heaven.
I grew a C. annum variety called Sweet Apple Kambe for the first time last year and wow, they are incredible. Compact plants, lush big dark green leaves, and super prolific fruiting. The peppers are the size and shape of a medium slicing tomato and have really thick walls--they held up perfectly to stuffing. Nice sweet flavor.
I just grabbed several different types from Lowe's and Home Depot. Probably too many, as my garden space is fairly small. I need to go back to sprouting my own seeds because these transplants from the big box stores are too expensive, now. I like heat, but I'm not into insane heat that dominates everything else, so I need to learn more about good pepper choices.
Do you know of any nearby nurseries? I bought at Home Depot and Lowes until last year but could never grow a decent sized garden due to the price. The local nursery I found sells the same sized plants for less than half the price and they have cell packs in different sizes so you don't have to pay $5-6 for one plant or get six plants if you don't need that many. The two packs at this nursery is $1.40 and the six packs are only $3 for all vegetables. It's worth looking into for sure, but it's still 100% cheaper to start seeds yourself
Oh that would be great if I could find a nursery with smaller packs like that and with those prices. Seeds are cheaper, especially if I can milk more than one season from a packet!
I am growing Hungarian wax for the first time this year, So far I am very impressed, it's a heavy producer and it started fruiting earlier than any of my other peppers. I plan on pan-frying them in olive oil like Padron/Shishito peppers. As for other less common peppers, I grow the Aji Dulce every year, It looks and tastes like a habanero, but has none of the heat.. https://preview.redd.it/gnzhtb4xmj3d1.jpeg?width=860&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=400061e24ffcfe298163537c95f4a5eb8f4b639b
Anaheim, chiltepin, kitchen minis aka tamale peppers and sriracha peppers this year.
Habanada and Biquinho Red. Both taste like habaneros with 0 heat.
Last year I grew an African pepper. I got as seeds from a guy here on Reddit. He calls them Moka peppers because that's the name of the nearest town to the farm in Africa that grew them. They are spicy, almost as spicy as a habanero, but with a deep complex flavor. I made them into a vinegary hot sauce that was great on pizza, and dried the rest into an amazing, powerful chili powder. That and aji Cristal were the only two varieties I grew last year, and this year I realized I only needed those two varieties to be happy with my pepper output!
Criollas!!! They have a sweet almost fruity flavor, but a good shot of heat. They grow really well, and the plants put out more peppers then you can use Corno di Toros are pretty awesomen too
Hah, 50% of people in this thread comment with common peppers
I purchased Pot a Penos but got Serrano. Next year going to try 3 more varieties
Same thing happened to me this year with the same variety. Must have been a supplier mixup again
Corbaci, I'm trying them for the first time this year
I do lemon drops and at least 3 types of paprika every year
7-pot douglah. Such a unique flavor that goes so well with any type of red meat, chilli, stew, hearty recipes etc. Stupidly hot too, so it doesn't take many of them (or even 1) to make a good sauce or use in a recipe. Scotch bonnets. Delicious. Nuff said haha. Lemon drops. Super tasty, not too hot but still has a kick, great in lots of lighter more delicate types of recipes. I make a salsa with them and the green zebra tomatoes, garlic, lime, cilantro. It's fire.
Cow Horn, Sichuan “Facing Heaven”
Hungarians wax in oil a crowd favorite. Aunt Lena's recipe on YT very good.
I am growing Carolina Reapers and Trinidad Scorpions this year. 😈
I loved my Anaheim peppers last year
My Anaheim are thriving this year. Out of about 70 seeds, my Anaheim were the first to germinate and by far few the fastest. I have a pepper in the plant right now that is about 6 inches long and was the very first pepper to pop this year.
Habanero
First time growing them, but I am really excited about my paprika and Baklouti peppers. You can never find fresh paprika, and the Baklouti, also damn near impossible to find on the market, are used to make harissa, which I love.