Ají Charapita

Ají Charapita is a tiny wild chili from the jungles of northern Peru — pods are round, roughly a quarter-inch across — that has only recently moved into commercial cultivation after centuries of wild harvest. It is prized in Peruvian cooking for a strong fruity, citrusy aroma that gives salsas and sauces a unique tropical character, and is also dried and ground into powder. Individual plants are wide and bushy and can produce hundreds of pods per season.

Days to maturity

90–120 days

Best use

Peruvian salsas, sauces, powder

Species

Capsicum chinense

Origin

Northern Peru (wild jungle origin)