Peppers

(Capsicum annuum) The “Espalette” chili pepper (Piment d'Espelette in French, Ezpeletako biperra in Basque) is a culinary icon of Basque Country with a production area limited to 10 villages nestled in the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains. The pepper is the first and currently the only spice in France to...

(Capsicum annuum) Hailing from Provence in the south of France, this wavy, thin-walled, orange beauty was one among many of the stars of a pepper trial at the home farm several years ago. Amazing in terms of productivity, it seemed like every time we turned around it had a new...

(Capsicum anuum) If you’ve ever seen Edward Weston’s pepper still lifes from the 1920s (if not, you should look them up), this is the pepper subject he dreamed of! A study in organic form and beauty, the 4” fist-sized fruits wrinkle and twist in sinewy ripples and waves. Its thin-walled flesh...

*Not as Rare as it used to be!* (Capsicum annuum) Stroll past a kitchen window in Serbia in October, and there’s a good chance the smell of roasting red peppers’ll greet you. Across the Balkans, fall is the time for making ajvar. This thick, deliciously rich, tangy, savory spread preserves the...

*Ark of Taste Heirloom* (Capsicum annuum) Sweet frying peppers brought to the states in 1887 from the village of Ruoti in Southern Italy. Shiny red, thin-walled, richly sweet, and perfect for roasting or frying (or just nosh them raw and see if you can stop!). Slather them on crusty bread...

(Capsicum anuum) A variety native to Ukraine, 'Lesya' was an absolute knockout for us a few years back, hanging heavy with thick-walled, sweet fruits perfect for roasting or eating raw. The shape is adorable: plump and round with a protruded, pointy blossom end. Look up this variety online and you...

(Capsicum annuum) This popular Polish variety is well-known to European growers. It is a lobed, bell-type producing heavy sets of thick-walled fruit that ripen from green to bright yellow/gold. The compact plants have a good upright habit and don’t generally require staking. We don’t tend to grow many bells anymore,...

(Capsicum annuum) We first came across this gem when Lane Selman of the Culinary Breeding Network started throwing "Variety Showcase" events back in 2014(!). Anne Berblinger of Gales Meadow Farm had brought it to feature at her table, and I remember just standing and looking at it, thinking, "Of course!...

(Capsicum annuum) This beautiful and wonderfully productive chili was bred by the pioneering Austrian organic seed company ReinSaat. 'Sarit Gat,' meaning "Long Yellow," was bred from a diverse population of yellow chilis sourced from a farmer in Kosovo by ReinSaat breeder Reinhild Frech-Emmelmann, who then selected for color, uniformity, taste, and...

(Capsicum annuum) Brought back from South America by Spanish monks in the 16th century and grown in the village of Padron in Galicia ever since, these smoky little numbers about drown us every summer we grow them! Grown outdoors, the tall, bushy plants are lush, verdant, and loaded. We've learned early...

(Capsicum baccatum) A member of the Aji family of hot peppers native to Bolivia, Criolla Sella is an excellent producer of small (2.5” x 3/8”) golden orange fruits in abundance. The heat is middling and the flavor amazingly rich and citrusy. It can be used fresh in salsas, fermented or...

(Capsicum annuum) This wonderful pepper comes to us from our friends at Hudson Valley Seed Library in upstate New York and is the product of a long chain of farm-based seed work. Originally disentangled from the hybrid frying pepper “La Paris” at the biodynamic Kimberton CSA in Kimberton, PA, it...

(Capsicum anuum) 'Buena Mulata' is a stunner of a cayenne-type that bears prolifically on tall plants. Fruits start deep purple and morph through a rainbow of creamy yellow, salmon, and orange before fully maturing to red. Plants are quite ornamental, hanging with fruits of all maturity stages simultaneously. Depending on...

(Capsicum baccatum) We’ve heard a lot about this pepper over the past couple of years. An aji type bred in the epicenter of chili biodiversity…Wales (!), sugar rush has garnered a strong following for its beautiful color, spicy but manageable heat, and, most notably, its very sweet and citrusy flesh....

(Capsicum annuum) Every season, we get particularly excited about a handful of new varieties, and this unassuming little sweet pepper was recently near the top of that list. A specialty of Bulgaria, this heart-shaped, pimiento-type pepper ripens from green to bright red with very thick walls and wonderful sweet flavor,...

(Capsicum annuum) One of the most productive field hot pepper we’ve grown in the PNW for 10 years running. Maturing from glossy black to a glowing garnet red color, it is perfect for ristras and fresh use in place of the slightly spicier jalapenos. Bears fruit weeks before all our...

(Capsicum annuum) A 19th-century family heirloom from the Appalachian town of the same name (population 75) in Highland County, VA, Doe Hill reminds us of a sunset orange version of a sheepnose pimento-type mini bell. Averaging about 5 lobes, it has surprisingly thick flesh for its diminutive size and just...

(Capsicum annuum) This prolific, thin-walled sweet pepper, introduced in the US by friend and fellow seedsman Mehmet Oztan of Two Seeds in a Pod, is yet another excellent Turkish cultivar from their collection that has found a lasting place in both our farm production and our kitchen. Thin-walled peppers don't...

(Capsicum annuum) Another gem from Wild Garden Seed, this pepper has caused a stir in the seed world the past couple of years as it bested OPs and hybrids alike in trials on both coasts, for yields and quality. It got the nod and is playing in the big leagues...

(Capsicum annuum) Named after the beautiful Transylvanian city of the same name in north-central Romania (which translates to “market on the Mures,” the local river), this hot paprika pepper has grown to be a farm favorite. An oblong 3.5”x1/2” chili with the thin-walled texture and heat of cayenne, it ripens...

(Capsicum chinense) We are firmly on the Biquinho bandwagon. This little pepper from Brazil packs a lot of flavor into a little package. Marble-sized fruits with a pointed blossom end (biquinho is Portuguese for “little beak”) have all the tropical fruity flavor of the chinense peppers (habanero family) but with barely...

(Capsicum chinense) We are firmly on the Biquinho bandwagon. This little pepper from Brazil packs a lot of flavor into a little package. Marble-sized fruits with a pointed blossom end (biquinho is Portuguese for “little beak”) have all the tropical fruity flavor of the chinense peppers (habanero family) but with...

(Capsicum annuum) Aci Sivri is an excellent cayenne-like short season chili originally from Turkey and introduced in the '90s to the US by the old 'Seeds of Change' seed company. An excellent and productive variety for short-growing season areas, its tall frame hangs heavy with long, slender fruits that ripen...

(Capsicum annuum) A dangerous pepper for the disorganized gardener, Hot Portugal is completely indistinguishable in all ways but one from its fabulously sweet field mate, Jimmy Nardello: heat. I can’t tell you how many times over the years we have stood together over a pepper plant, muttering, “I don’t remember either...YOU...

(Capsicum annuum) A tremendous sweet pepper hailing from the Spanish/Mediterranean Island of Mallorca. Very long, 3 inch wide, 10+ inch long fruits with sweet, thick flesh ripen from pale green to bright red. Traditionally used in the making of Sobrassada (pork sausages) of the islands they are well suited for eating...