No, not an uninformed writer, just people who like/love sweet pickled Peppadews really really love them. As such, they search for seeds so they can grow their own.

I've tried the jarred variety that the S.A. vendor sells and I've grown and pickled my own. At the risk of offending the "lovers", I find them quite UN-remarkable.

The brine recipe is secret and the company who sells the pickled peppers also own the global breeders rights.

Now just because they guard their crops against folks who are looking to collect pods / seeds, it doesn't mean birds stop doing what they've been doing forever - eating the fruit and dropping seeds around the surrounding area.

In a swap I received a packet of "peppadew like" seeds from a S.A. seed vendor a few years ago. I grew them out out of curiosity. The pods look and taste seemed to be the real deal... un-remarkable ;-))

I may have a few seeds left if you're that intrigued by these things, I'll check tonight, email me. I even have a copy cat recipe for the pickling brine a former member posted (he got it off a S.A. friend).

FWIW

Bill

This post was edited by ottawapepper on Mon, Aug 25, 14 at 15:16

Thanks for the clarification. Before I grow any, I'm gonna check the South African section of a Fiesta Mart in Austin to see if they have any. They may not be worth the trouble...

I grew a plant that is supposed to be peppadew, and it grows really well. Almost 5 feet tall. But I doubt it is peppadew as peppers are mostly strawberry shaped, and not that round. Some are though so who knows? I like the plant, a heavy producer for a short season area. I agree though, nothing special about the fruit. I prefer others, but will grow as the sheer volume allows me to always have peppers. They came in handy stuffing .I was stuffing Criolla De Cocina peppers and ran out of ripe ones. I used the peppadews to finish off the stuffing mix. (hot italian sausage, cream cheese, and oregano) I preferred the Criolla De Cocina in taste, but it came in handy to have them around.

Here's my plant

The brine recipe is not secret, but it is patented. Note however, that the patent expired five years ago.

"According to a first preferred embodiment of the invention, a process for preparing a foodstuff from fruits of plants in the family Solanaceae, genus capsicum, species annuum includes the step of picking the fruits by hand approximately two days after the fruits show signs of ripening by changing color from green to red.

The process further includes the steps of:

providing 150 liters of a dilution of vinegar with water comprising 60% water and 40% vinegar on a mass per volume basis;

dissolving 75 kilograms sugar in the dilution to obtain a solution;

dissolving 2 kilograms sodium chloride in the solution;

boiling 115 kilograms of the fruits within 24 hours from picking, in the solution for 180 seconds;

adding 0.2 kilogram ascorbic acid;

bottling the boiled fruits and filling the bottles with the solution at a temperature of 80ð C.;

adding flavoring such as chili extract;

passing the bottles containing the fruits and solution through a steam tunnel at 90ð C. with the bottles being uncapped; and

capping the bottles.

A foodstuff is obtained by the process which is not only appealing to the eye but also suitable for use to compliment a variety of other foodstuffs.

The applicant has found that boiling the fruits longer than 300 seconds is undesirable because the fruits lose their flavor and consistency. Ideally the fruits are not boiled for more than 180 seconds."

Here is a link that might be useful: Patent: Process for preparing fruit of the plant of Solanaceae capsicum

Un-remarkable !?

I am going to pickle my own Pepperoncini and Shishito. Hard to tell the difference growing side by side.And some Hungarian Wax, hot and mild.
Once you get your hands on a variety that had been exotic, then they become ordinary and even UN remarkable.

> " UN-remarkable"

You mean "capable of being remarked upon by the United Nations" ?

- Webster

Drew,
Nice looking plant and fruit...

TomT226, sensible move. If you like the commercial product drop me a line for some seeds.

Drew, my plant also grew to about 5 feet but the pods were rounder than yours appear. From what I could tell from the commercial product I tried, my pods were inline with the peppers they used.

seysonn, agreed, "Once you get your hands on a variety that had been exotic, then they become ordinary and even UN remarkable"... it''s human nature ;-) My un-remarkable comment was based on my never trying the Peppadew product before I grew them (I couldn't find it in my area).

After I pickled up a batch using a copy cat recipe my GF found some Peppadew Pickles at a local store. I sampled the commercial ones and mine and both left me underwhelmed.

For me, a pepper is un-remarkable if it doesn't have one or more of:

- a pleasant flavour;
- a nice warm mouth burn
- has a unique quality like insane heat
- interesting growth characteristics
- goes well in recipes
- etc.

When all is said and done it really boils down to personal preferences. I won't fault anyone who likes a pepper I don't.
I just gave my "personal opinion", nothing more. Like I ended my original post FWIW (For What It's Worth)

Bill

This post was edited by ottawapepper on Tue, Aug 26, 14 at 19:46

Many peppers have insane heat! Next year I'll limit the hots as I have enough powder, dried and pickled to last for years! Productive plants! Currently I have over 100 peppers to dry. I'm going to do that in a few minutes, These are mostly Lemon Drop, Starfish, and Fish, with a few Uyababa and Malagueta.

I've tried the pickled Peppadew, as well, and was equally unimpressed. I do have seeds, though....that I didn't bother growing this season.

Josh