Sweet Chocolate Pepper seed Capsicum annuum

LATIN NAME: CAPSICUM ANNUUM

COMMON NAME: Chocolate Pepper

The chocolate pepper bronzes the bushy, upright, warm-season plant with the broad, oval, glossy green leaves and the small, white, star-shaped flowers that open through the summer, the plump, blocky peppers following and ripening through the deep chocolate-brown, the fruits bronzing on the plant, the seeds inside. The plant grows steadily through the warm season, and it likes the sun, and the rich, moist, well-drained soil.

Scientific Research & Plant Biotechnology

The fruit pigment chemistry of the chocolate pepper gives it a recognised place in the research on the warm-climate vegetable crops of the nightshade family, and the annuum forms appear in the studies of the colour and flavour compounds. The work looks at the way the fruit bronzes on the plant, the sweet, smoky flavour, and the seed biology. The food scientists value the striking colour, and the growers of the heritage vegetable varieties keep the forms in their catalogues.

Ecological & Economic Value & Wide Applications

In the warm kitchen garden, the chocolate pepper bronzes the late-summer plant with the glossy fruit. The peppers serve the table, the roasting and the sauces for the ages, they dry well for the winter store, and the plant grows in the bed and the pot. It does well in the rich, moist, well-drained, sunny ground. Striking, smoky and warm-season.

To grow the Chocolate Pepper from seed, sow the seeds into the fine drills of the seed tray, then cover them lightly, keep the tray warm and lightly misted, and the seedlings show themselves within a week or two.

Keep the tray warm and lightly misted, and pot the seedlings on as they grow. The bronzed fruit comes within the season. Set the young plants in the rich, sunny ground, and the bronzed fruit will colour through the season.

Prolific plant, tolerant of cool nights bearing medium-small, tapered fruit of dark glossy green, ripening to a rich chocolate brown. The flesh below the skin is an attractive brick red, cooked or raw. The sweet, crisp fruit is wonderful in salads, stir fries and vegetable trays. 65 days.