Capsicum annuum Seeds | De Arbol Chile Pepper
LATIN NAME: Capsicum annuum
COMMON NAME: De Arbol Pepper
Plant Profile
De Arbol is a slender, pointed chile from Mexico, 5-8 cm long, bright red at maturity and thin-fleshed, which makes it one of the best drying peppers in the genus. Plants reach 1-1.5 m in a warm season, with narrow leaves and a heavy set of upright fruit.
The heat is serious, 15,000-30,000 Scoville units, with a sharp, clean attack that fades quickly. That profile is why it is used in salsas and in oil-based sauces rather than in long-cooked dishes, where the heat would dominate.
The name means tree chile, and a mature plant in a frost-free climate does become a small woody shrub that crops for several years. In cold gardens it is grown as an annual and reaches a metre in a good summer.
Science & Biotechnology
The thin wall is the important trait for drying: a pepper with little flesh loses water quickly and dries without moulding, which is why the small, thin chiles of Mexico are the ones that are strung and dried rather than roasted and frozen. De Arbol dries in two to three weeks in dry air and keeps its colour for a year.
Pungency in a single plant varies with stress, position on the plant and ripeness. Fruit that develops under heat and water stress tends to be hotter, and the first pods of the season are often milder than those set in August. That variation is why a recipe written in Scoville units is only ever a rough guide.
Capsaicin is fat-soluble, which is why milk, yoghurt or oil calm a mouth that water cannot. The compound is also a useful preservative in its own right, and traditional salsas rely on it as much for keeping quality as for heat.
Uses & Benefits
Dried De Arbol is the chile behind the red salsas of central Mexico, toasted briefly and blended with tomato, garlic and vinegar. It also goes into chile oil, into the marinade for carne asada, and into pickled vegetables where a single pod is enough.
Fresh, the pods can be roasted or chopped into salsas, though the thin flesh makes them less useful for stuffing. In the garden the plant is tall and productive, and the upright red fruit is ornamental. Strings of dried pods are a traditional autumn decoration that also happens to be the spice rack.
Growing from Seed
Sow at 24-28°C, 5 mm deep, eight to ten weeks before the last frost; germination takes two to three weeks and heat at the base helps. Grow on at 18-20°C in the brightest position available, since light levels determine how many flowers set.
Plant out at 45-60 cm apart once nights stay above 12°C, in full sun and well-drained soil. Stake the plant early, as it grows tall and the fruit is heavy. Water consistently, feed with potassium once flowering begins, and harvest red for drying. To dry, string the pods on cotton and hang them in a warm, airy, dark place, or use a dehydrator at 50°C.
Our Take
A drying chile rather than a fresh one, and the one to grow if you want a year of red salsa from a single plant.
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