African hot pepper question
I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for awhile, and the locals made
a version of an african hot sauce called 'pili pili'. It was a universally common condiment. The particular peppers they used looked like red habaneros, but had a very different taste, although they were very very hot. I'm pretty sure its not a capsicum chinense, as the taste and heat is not right. Does anyone know what type of hot peppers are indigenous to the DRC, and if they grow anywhere else? I have searched online for them, and most sites only talk about making pilipili sauce using 'hot peppers'. I can't seem to find any more specifics. Thanks gustatorialy: M Buck |
African hot pepper question
The peppers used to make pili pili (or often piri piri)
are called birds-eye peppers. There is a lot of info on them on the web (including seeds). Here is a good starter page: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html -Philip riverman wrote: I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for awhile, and the locals made a version of an african hot sauce called 'pili pili'. It was a universally common condiment. The particular peppers they used looked like red habaneros, but had a very different taste, although they were very very hot. I'm pretty sure its not a capsicum chinense, as the taste and heat is not right. Does anyone know what type of hot peppers are indigenous to the DRC, and if they grow anywhere else? I have searched online for them, and most sites only talk about making pilipili sauce using 'hot peppers'. I can't seem to find any more specifics. Thanks gustatorialy: M Buck |
African hot pepper question
As an aside, all the Capsicum species are indigenous to the
Americas--even C. chinense, which probably hails originally from Brazil. They've been nearly universally popular, though, so since their transport to the Old World, many new varieties have been bred outside the native range. Monique Reed Philip Wright wrote: The peppers used to make pili pili (or often piri piri) are called birds-eye peppers. There is a lot of info on them on the web (including seeds). Here is a good starter page: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html |
African hot pepper question
Thanks for the link, Philip, but those aren't the ones. You could buy
birds-eye peppers in the stores right beside the pilipili peppers, and there was a definite difference is shape, flavor and heat. Also, piri piri in East africa is different from pilipili from Kinshasa; its not the same flavor and definitely not the same hotness. Considering the abundant use of pilipili and the isolation of Congo in the past decade, it might be that the local variety is a new variant. The peppers that were abundant in Kinshasa looked like habaneros, but were deep red, and very very hot. They looked a lot like one on the bottom of this page: http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/pepper.html Scroll to the bottom and look at the one second from the right. The color is a bit off: congolese peppers are about halfway in color between the last two on the right, but the shape is right. I think the online resources for this might be thin; Congo has been out of the mainstream for quite awhile. --M Buck Philip Wright wrote: The peppers used to make pili pili (or often piri piri) are called birds-eye peppers. There is a lot of info on them on the web (including seeds). Here is a good starter page: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html -Philip riverman wrote: I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for awhile, and the locals made a version of an african hot sauce called 'pili pili'. It was a universally common condiment. The particular peppers they used looked like red habaneros, but had a very different taste, although they were very very hot. I'm pretty sure its not a capsicum chinense, as the taste and heat is not right. Does anyone know what type of hot peppers are indigenous to the DRC, and if they grow anywhere else? I have searched online for them, and most sites only talk about making pilipili sauce using 'hot peppers'. I can't seem to find any more specifics. Thanks gustatorialy: M Buck |
African hot pepper question
You are right! A little more research led to some interesting
information. Apparently in the Congo they grow a highly variable variety of C. chinense CV Congo (AKA Trinidad or Congo Trinidad) that they use in their pili-pili. Googling on "Capsicum chinense" + Congo led to several websites with photos and technical info. The "Congo" variety looks like a "Red Savina". Check he http://www.flickr.com/photos/gertrud...in/set-677510/ http://www.cardi.org/publications/pr...epper/4.5.html I am currently growing some "Chocolate Habaneros" which might be a "Congo" derivative. -Philip riverman wrote: Thanks for the link, Philip, but those aren't the ones. You could buy birds-eye peppers in the stores right beside the pilipili peppers, and there was a definite difference is shape, flavor and heat. Also, piri piri in East africa is different from pilipili from Kinshasa; its not the same flavor and definitely not the same hotness. Considering the abundant use of pilipili and the isolation of Congo in the past decade, it might be that the local variety is a new variant. The peppers that were abundant in Kinshasa looked like habaneros, but were deep red, and very very hot. They looked a lot like one on the bottom of this page: http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/pepper.html Scroll to the bottom and look at the one second from the right. The color is a bit off: congolese peppers are about halfway in color between the last two on the right, but the shape is right. I think the online resources for this might be thin; Congo has been out of the mainstream for quite awhile. --M Buck Philip Wright wrote: The peppers used to make pili pili (or often piri piri) are called birds-eye peppers. There is a lot of info on them on the web (including seeds). Here is a good starter page: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html -Philip riverman wrote: I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for awhile, and the locals made a version of an african hot sauce called 'pili pili'. It was a universally common condiment. The particular peppers they used looked like red habaneros, but had a very different taste, although they were very very hot. I'm pretty sure its not a capsicum chinense, as the taste and heat is not right. Does anyone know what type of hot peppers are indigenous to the DRC, and if they grow anywhere else? I have searched online for them, and most sites only talk about making pilipili sauce using 'hot peppers'. I can't seem to find any more specifics. Thanks gustatorialy: M Buck |
African hot pepper question
Ahh, nice find. Those look like the variety.
I had come across "Congo Peppers" in my searches before, but it always referred to a pepper found almost exclusively in Trinidad. One site said that the 'Congo' meant 'Black' rather than referring to the country. There are actually several similar looking peppers identified as a 'Congo Pepper'...I haven't found one yet that specifically states that its used in the DRC, but a hot chinense called 'Fatalii' comes from the Central African Republic, which is a close neighbor. I bet there has been some blending of varieties that has led to the Kinshasa variant. http://www.mmattick.de/120_2022.JPG Thanks for the leads. --M Buck "Philip Wright" wrote in message . .. You are right! A little more research led to some interesting information. Apparently in the Congo they grow a highly variable variety of C. chinense CV Congo (AKA Trinidad or Congo Trinidad) that they use in their pili-pili. Googling on "Capsicum chinense" + Congo led to several websites with photos and technical info. The "Congo" variety looks like a "Red Savina". Check he http://www.flickr.com/photos/gertrud...in/set-677510/ http://www.cardi.org/publications/pr...epper/4.5.html I am currently growing some "Chocolate Habaneros" which might be a "Congo" derivative. -Philip riverman wrote: Thanks for the link, Philip, but those aren't the ones. You could buy birds-eye peppers in the stores right beside the pilipili peppers, and there was a definite difference is shape, flavor and heat. Also, piri piri in East africa is different from pilipili from Kinshasa; its not the same flavor and definitely not the same hotness. Considering the abundant use of pilipili and the isolation of Congo in the past decade, it might be that the local variety is a new variant. The peppers that were abundant in Kinshasa looked like habaneros, but were deep red, and very very hot. They looked a lot like one on the bottom of this page: http://wwwchem.uwimona.edu.jm:1104/lectures/pepper.html Scroll to the bottom and look at the one second from the right. The color is a bit off: congolese peppers are about halfway in color between the last two on the right, but the shape is right. I think the online resources for this might be thin; Congo has been out of the mainstream for quite awhile. --M Buck Philip Wright wrote: The peppers used to make pili pili (or often piri piri) are called birds-eye peppers. There is a lot of info on them on the web (including seeds). Here is a good starter page: http://www.fiery-foods.com/dave/profile_birdseye.html -Philip riverman wrote: I lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo for awhile, and the locals made a version of an african hot sauce called 'pili pili'. It was a universally common condiment. The particular peppers they used looked like red habaneros, but had a very different taste, although they were very very hot. I'm pretty sure its not a capsicum chinense, as the taste and heat is not right. Does anyone know what type of hot peppers are indigenous to the DRC, and if they grow anywhere else? I have searched online for them, and most sites only talk about making pilipili sauce using 'hot peppers'. I can't seem to find any more specifics. Thanks gustatorialy: M Buck |
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