Rocoto Pepper

Rocoto pepper is a thick-walled, apple-shaped hot chile with glossy red to orange skin and distinctive black seeds. It delivers a bright, fruity aroma and sharp, lingering heat; the flesh stays crisp even when cooked, making it good for salsas, ceviches, pickles, and stuffed dishes; it appears fresh whole and as a puréed paste.

Native to the Andes, Capsicum pubescens thrives in cool highland climates and is central to Peruvian and Bolivian cuisines. Outside the Andes it is grown in suitable cool zones or greenhouse conditions and reaches specialty markets through regional trade and imports.