"Vegetables of Interest"

Goccia d'Oro Peppers

Goccia d'Oro Peppers

(Capsicum annuum)

If you've ever wondered why Italians dote on heirloom frying peppers and give expressions of polite pity to an American garden filled with big, blocky bell peppers here is a clue:

Goccia d'Oro (Drop of Gold)  is an open pollinated heirloom frying pepper that despite its size has delicate, thin walls that melt into a sweet mouthful.  Its skin is also thin so you needn't peel them.  Cut-and-fry or simply apply a light coating of oil and grill.  Italian frying peppers have a delicate taste that thick-walled American Bells lack.

Goccia d'Oro  is a very productive plant which yeilds early peppers best picked as they turn yellow.  In my garden they've required staking to prevent them from toppling over with an abundance of big peppers.  That's the sort of extra work that a gardener finds appealing.

These Goccia d'Oro were organically grown in my garden in the Valley of the Moon.

C Lindquist

Vegetables of Interest, 2008

Chimayo Chili Pepper

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Shishito Peppers

Shishito Peppers

(Solanaceae capsicum annuum )

Shishito Peppers are a sweet, thin-walled pepper from Japan.  They are alledged to have been introduced to Japan by the Portugese several hundred years ago.  The original variety was hot and was thus named “Shishito” which mean “Chinese Lion.”  Through selection the heat in the peppers was eliminated and today’s Shishito is mild.

I’ve grown Shishito several times and the plants are smallish (~20 inches) and compact. The peppers have numerous longitudinal irregular grooves which give them a ‘wrinkled’ appearance.  One nickname for Shishito is “Wrinkled Old Man Pepper.” Each plant can produce dozens of peppers although in my garden they tend to be late producers.

Shishito have a delicate, mild flavor.  They are excellent when prepared simply by grilling or stir frying.  They are the taste equal of Padron peppers when fried and served with sea salt. They can also be eaten raw or pickled.

Shishito peppers can occasionally be found in specialty markets here in the United States where there are large Japanese communities.   These Shishito peppers were organically grown in my garden in the Valley of the Moon.  With luck and proper covers I can continue a modest harvest of Shishito until mid-November.

C Lindquist
Vegetables of Interest, 2007

Pimientos de Padrón

Pimientos de Padrón

(Capsicum annuum)

Sometimes a simple, local saying captures more than long hours of trudging through scholarly sources.  A notable shortcut of that type is the Galcician observation,  “Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non."  (“Padron peppers: some are spicy and others are not.”)

Padron are a famous heirloom pepper from Galicia which is a region in northern Spain.  It is one of two peppers that play defining roles in some fabled Spanish dishes.  Padron’s partner in this pepper dynasty is the Piquillo pepper.

The origin of  the Padron pepper isn’t clear.  Some sources claim it to be the oldest pepper in Spain and insist it to be a direct descendant of the first peppers brought from the New World by Spanish explorers in the 16th century.  Its enthusiastic local following in Galicia, however, place its introduction at least a century later and credit its introduction to Franciscan monks.

The fame of Padron peppers is tied to a simple tapas dish.  Whole small Padron peppers are fried in olive until lightly blistered.  They are then drained and seasoned with coarse sea salt.  Eat one.  Eat two.  Eat a plateful.

Aside from their unique taste, the fun of eating Padron is that some are spicy and others are not.  The ratio of hot-to-sweet Padrons isn’t a constant.  Most are sweet and all tend to become spicy if allowed to grow much larger than say a ‘big thumb.’   Legend has it that old, “experienced” women can feel a hot one.  (Let your imagination drift with that for a moment.)  But whatever the precautions a few moderately hot Padrons will make it onto the plate.  No matter.  It’s the perfect excuse for a sip of wine and a follow-up sweet Padron. 

One of my heroes of casual American writing, Calvin Trillin, wrote a short piece about Padron peppers entitled “Pepper Trail.” You can find it and other wonderful stories in “Feeding a Yen.”  If you read it and don’t acquire a yen for a Padron, you’re not alive.

These Padron peppers were grown organically in my garden in the Valley of the Moon.

C Lindquist
Vegetables of Interest

Rocoto Pepper (aka Locoto Pepper)

Rocoto Pepper (aka Locoto Pepper)

(Capsicum pubescens)

Rocoto Peppers are a small hot pepper native to Peru and Bolivia.  Rocoto is a species of pepper that differs in numerous ways from our common peppers and chilis (C annum).  The Rocoto  (C pubescens) has furry, dark green leaves and blue flowers.  It is a perennial plant with a tall (3 +’) shrub-like habit. 

Rocoto peppers are small and have a strong resemblance to a tiny bell pepper.  There are both yellow and red selections of Rocotos. The pepper walls are thick and each pepper has an abundance of black seeds.  Rocoto peppers are typically hot but the heat is balanced by a rich flavor.

Rocoto peppers are cooked in numerous ways or they can be used fresh in salsa.  In Bolivia they are often stuffed with cheese or meat and then baked.

Rocoto Peppers have been cultivated for hundreds of years in South America but they are largely unknown here in the United States.  Recently Rocoto peppers imported from Mexico were found to be infested with larvae of the Mexican fruit fly.  Imports are now limited and heavily monitored.

The Rocoto plant can tolerate cool temperatures and can grow in filtered light.  While they are perennial they do need winter protection where frost occurs.  Here in Northern California they require a winter greenhouse and appropriate spring pruning.

These Rocoto peppers were grown in my garden in the Valley of the Moon.  They are currently enjoying the company of a flowering citrus tree in warm green house.

Seed Source:  Redwood City Rare Seeds

C Lindquist
Vegetables of Interest, 2007

Dulcetta Peppers

Dulcetta Peppers

(Capsicum annuum)

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Aji Crystal Peppers

Aji Crystal Peppers

(Capsicum baccatum)


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Luigi’s Friariello Peppers

Luigi’s Friariello Peppers

(Solanaceae capsicum annuum )



I have written previously about some of varieties of the small, thin-walled Italian frying pepper (see: "Friggitello, Friariello and Napoleatano"). The “Luigi” variety is from my friend and neighbor here in the Valley of the Moon.  Luigui is in his late seventies and was born in Italy on a farm not far from Rome. In Italian farm families vegetable seeds were passed on to children and grandchildren much as we might inherit china or an aging Volvo.  Luigi recalls this pepper being grown by his grandfather who identified it only as “our pepper.”  Luigi brought his family pepper to California in the 1950s and has cultivated it since then in his garden here in Sonoma County.

I’ve grown several varieties of Friariello peppers and the Luigi family pepper has a number of subtle differences in the plant morphology and fruit structure from the named types that  I know.  It is close to the Barese frying pepper but not identical.

The culinary quality of the Luigi pepper is excellent.  Few peppers can match the light, elegant and fresh taste of an Italian frying pepper.  The thick walled bell types that dominate our vegetable commerce are dull culinary farces in comparison.  Perhaps that explains a curious exchange I had with Luigi two seasons ago.  I offered him a basket of Gypsy peppers I had grown expecting that he would be delighted in tasting this marvel of modern plant breeding.  He looked at them briefly and then politely declined saying “I have peppers.”

Seed source:  Luigi (of course).

C Lindquist
Vegetables of Interest, 2007

Padron Peppers

Pimientos de Padrón  (aka "Padron Peppers")

(Capsicum annuum)

Sometimes a simple, local saying captures more than long hours of trudging through scholarly sources.  A notable shortcut of that type is the Galcician observation,  “Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non."  (“Padron peppers: some are spicy and others are not.”)

Padron are a famous heirloom pepper from Galicia which is a region in northern Spain.  It is one of two peppers that play defining roles in some fabled Spanish dishes.  Padron’s partner in this pepper dynasty is the Piquillo pepper.

The origin of  the Padron pepper isn’t clear.  Some sources claim it to be the oldest pepper in Spain and insist it to be a direct descendant of the first peppers brought from the New World by Spanish explorers in the 16th century.  Its enthusiastic local following in Galicia, however, place its introduction at least a century later and credit its introduction to Franciscan monks.

The fame of Padron peppers is tied to a simple tapas dish.  Whole small Padron peppers are fried in olive until lightly blistered.  They are then drained and seasoned with coarse sea salt.  Eat one.  Eat two.  Eat a plateful.

Aside from their unique taste, the fun of eating Padron is that some are spicy and others are not.  The ratio of hot-to-sweet Padrons isn’t a constant.  Most are sweet and all tend to become spicy if allowed to grow much larger than say a ‘big thumb.’   Legend has it that old, “experienced” women can feel a hot one.  (Let your imagination drift with that for a moment.)  But whatever the precautions a few moderately hot Padrons will make it onto the plate.  No matter.  It’s the perfect excuse for a sip of wine and a follow-up sweet Padron. 

One of my heroes of casual American writing, Calvin Trillin, wrote a short piece about Padron peppers entitled “Pepper Trail.” You can find it and other wonderful stories in “Feeding a Yen.”  If you read it and don’t acquire a yen for a Padron, you’re not alive.

These Padron peppers were grown organically in my garden in the Valley of the Moon.

C Lindquist

Friggitello, Friariello and Napoleatano Peppers

Friggitello, Friariello and Napoleatano Peppers

(Solanaceae capsicum annum )



"Friggitello, Friariello and Napoleatano" sounds like they might be the characters
in a Marx Brothers skit about a law firm.  They are, however,
several names of a unique frying pepper grown in southern Italy.

My attempts at due diligence on these plants has made little headway
despite the fact that they are very common in Italy. Several sources
claim that all three names are synonymous.  But a reputable seed
company in Pulgia and an international plant database draw
distinctions between Friariello and Frigatello.  Friariello is grown
commonly around Bari and may be an older parent strain of Frigatello.
Large Italian seed companies have added to this mess by developing
similar-appearing hybrid strains but they have done little to identify
them as distinct from the heirloom, open-pollinated variety.

I am growing Friggitello and Friariello side-by-side and they appear
to have identical branching structures, leaves and flower/fruit
attitude.  The pepper fruits also appear to be identical and both strains have the
longitudinal grooves which the hybrid imitators lack.

F, F and Ns are a multipurpose pepper in the kitchen.  When young and
green they make a sweet little frying pepper.  To my taste they are quite close to
the famous Spanish frying pepper, Padron, although they Friariellos are
consistently sweet.

Pictured are Friariello Barese peppers were grown organically in my garden in
the Valley of the Moon.

Seed Source:  EuroSelect

C Lindquist