15 seeds
Sowing: february to june
Planting space: 60 cm between plants 1 mt between rows
Harvest: about 120 after transplant
Aji Cachucha Chili Pepper (Capsicum chinense)
Aji Cachucha chili pepper (Capsicum chinense): There's a lot to say about this incredibly flavorful chili pepper. Let's start with a clarification: online, you may find this chili pepper described as "aji dulce," meaning not spicy. This is a mistake. Like the habanero, some varieties have recently been marketed that lack (or almost lack) capsaicin. They have a much less interesting flavor and, beyond their appearance, have little in common with the ancient cultivar.
Aji Cachucha berries are very hot, with one of the fruitiest and most intense flavors of the Chino peppers. Just getting close to the fruit is enough to detect the intense aroma of this species of chili pepper, pungent and attractive, but clearly "dangerous." Not that it's anything less than "Guinness-worthy," it hovers around 200,000 Scoville units, which is a third of a Habanero Red Savina but four or five times that of a Diavolicchio.
Grown mainly in Cuba, it is however present throughout the Caribbean, particularly in the Dominican Republic, imported after the fall of the Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista.
In the field, the plant reaches 60 cm in height, is moderately productive, and has the recognizable mushroom-like shape of the chinense. The distinctively shaped berries reach a diameter of five centimeters and turn a beautiful, deep red when ripe. The pulp is thick and juicy, with few seeds.
For those who love the intense flavours of the Caribbean.