Rocotillo
Cultivar · Puerto Rican pepper, Puerto Rico pepper
The Rocotillo is a small, squat chilli shaped like a flattened scotch bonnet, with mild heat (around 2,000 SHU) and a sweet, tropical, fruity flavour. Despite the bonnet looks it carries little of the burn. Originally Peruvian but widely grown across the Caribbean, especially Puerto Rico, it suits salsas, hot sauces, pickling and stuffing where habanero flavour is wanted without the fire.
History & lineage
Two distinct peppers are sold as "rocotillo": the original Peruvian Capsicum baccatum recorded here, and a Caribbean Capsicum chinense type of uncertain descent. They look and taste alike. Despite the name (meaning "little rocoto"), it is not the rocoto, Capsicum pubescens.
Culinary uses
Caribbean cooking, especially Puerto Rican dishes. A mild stand-in for scotch bonnet or habanero where less heat is wanted: salsas, hot sauces, pickling, stuffing and tropical cocktails.
