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Chili Pepper Identification


liuzhou

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I've been looking for this for a while.

 

Every year about now, these things turn up in the local markets and supermarkets.

 

mi jiao and darwin.jpg

 

They are some kind of chili pepper. In Chinese, they are known as 米椒 (mǐ jiāo), but this doesn't help much. 米 is the main character for rice and 椒 means pepper. So we could call it 'rice pepper'. Unfortunately, 米 can also mean 'grain' or seedling'. I've seen ‘米椒' translated as 'millet chili'. But I've never found an English name I can relate to.

 

They are the size of gooseberries or large grapes and really pack a punch. Colour varies. They also come pickled year round.

 

mi jiao 1.jpg

 

mi jiao 2.jpg

 

Can anyone come up with a recognisable English name? Or even better, a Latin name?

 

Many thanks for your time.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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They look a bit like a young piquante pepper, except for their colour. The piquante pepper is an orange to red colour and is pickled to use on a salad. It is sold under the registered trade name "Pepperdew". How hot are these ones? And how do you use them?

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How hot are these ones? And how do you use them?

 

Very hot. The are mainly dropped whole into braised dishes. They are not usually eaten, but discarded. The flavour and heat is transferred to the dish. As mentioned, they are also often pickled first. 

 

Definitely not the same thing. Piquante peppers are described as sweet and mild. Neither adjective covers these. But thank you.

 

(BTW, the registered trade name is "Peppadew".) 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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Chinese Purple cherry peppers is nearest I get

 

Where do you get that? It sounds promising, thanks. I can only find references to "Red Cherry Chile Peppers" which isn't these ones, although the size is about the same.

 

I should point out most of what I am referring to remain green.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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They look a little bit like Chinese Five Color.

There very well may not be a specific English name for what you have.

If you can get a pic of the flowers (and leaves) you should be able to identify the species.

 

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They look a little bit like Chinese Five Color.

There very well may not be a specific English name for what you have.

If you can get a pic of the flowers (and leaves) you should be able to identify the species.

 

Similar, but a different shape.

 

I am only too aware there may not be an English name (one of my biggest problems translating Chinese), but I'm an optimistic sort of person. If I turn up a total blank, I'll invent one. Capsicum Liuzhouii.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think the supermarket has the flowers or leaves.

 

Thanks again.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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liuzhou

 

I have seen the cherry one in  many different colours.  Yes red is most common but i seen similar to yours too

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It could be something very local  - most of what I come across, apart from the obvious, is but this is the first time I've met a total blank. I do know a couple of local Chinese botanists, but they aren't strong on food plants. 

Edited by liuzhou (log)

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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Have you seen them growing on a plant?  If so, some botanical characteristics can narrow down the species to which the chile belongs.  Is the pepper upward facing or does it grow downward?  What does the flower look like?  Can you show a photo of a chile cut in half (cross section)?

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So I asked  a Chinese man I know and he said  looks like purple  rice chiies too me...

Edited by CatPoet (log)

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The 5-color marble, aka Chinese 5-color HOT pepper is a prolific producer on fairly small plants that do great in containers. 

I had one about six years ago, kept it going for two years by bringing it inside for the winter.

 

Extremely hot to moderately hot - depending on growing conditions.  If you give them less nutrients and not much water, they will produce a much hotter fruit.

 

Mine had a lot of peppers the same color as in your photo but also yellow to pale orange and a very few that were cherry red with one or two very dark purple, almost black.  The paler colors had flesh that was almost translucent - like some of the pale white Hungarian peppers. 

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Thanks to everyone who has taken the trouble to respond. Some suggestions are very close, but I think only close.

 

I am coming to the conclusion that there isn’t a recognised English name for these and many other chilli varieties. Too many chillies (many with multiple names).

 

I will continue to hunt.

 

Again thanks.

 

Here are a few individual replies to recent posts:

 

 

 

You can check here. Lot's of different varieties.

 

http://www.chileplan...per-plants.aspx

 

Thanks. I'm working through them, but I have already noticed a lot of the chillies available here aren't listed.

 

Have you seen them growing on a plant?  If so, some botanical characteristics can narrow down the species to which the chile belongs.  Is the pepper upward facing or does it grow downward?  What does the flower look like?  Can you show a photo of a chile cut in half (cross section)?

 

No. As I said before, I've only seen the in supermarkets / markets.

 

Here is the picture you requested. I have halved two of them, one lengthwise and one widthwise. 

 

IMG_5080.jpg

 

So I asked  a Chinese man I know and he said  looks like purple  rice chiies too me...

 

 

I have asked literally hundreds of Chinese people I know. None can translate it other than the way your man did. All he has done is give a literal translation, as I did in the opening post, where I also explained why it is inadequate. Try Googling for “purple rice chile” (with all the variant spellings for chile/chili/chilli). Nothing relevant comes up, suggesting this is not a term in use.

 

I checked out chileheadmike's link and hit these: http://www.chileplan...ductCode=CHIBOD

 

Thanks but the description doesn't match. These are half the size of mine.

 

The 5-color marble, aka Chinese 5-color HOT pepper

 

 

 

Thanks for the info, but I've already said what I have isn't these. They are described as sweet. Mine aren't. Also the shape is different.

 

Very similar to what are called Lagrimas del Dragón here in Ecuador.  They're prized for their extreme heat, which is second only to the Luqutu (Rocoto) ajís.

 

Interesting . The name “Lagrimas del Dragón” (Dragon’s Tears) is the sort of name the Chinese love. I don't think this is them, though. These sound much hotter than mine and I'm not sure how a chilli from Uruguay would end up in this remote part of China.

 

I have been unable to Google a picture of these. A search for Lagrimas del Dragón  just gives lots of shots of a children's comic book.

 

Thanks everyone.

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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The peppers I described and the ones I grew were NOT SWEET!  They are extremely hot.   Please check the link I included in my post to this page  which describes the heat - which in the ones I grew was MUCH hotter than rocoto or manzano peppers and were also hotter than the Thai hot peppers and the African bird peppers that I grew at the same time.  They were comparable to the Scotch Bonnet peppers (that were not as prolific).

Edited by andiesenji (log)

"There are, it has been said, two types of people in the world. There are those who say: this glass is half full. And then there are those who say: this glass is half empty. The world belongs, however, to those who can look at the glass and say: What's up with this glass? Excuse me? Excuse me? This is my glass? I don't think so. My glass was full! And it was a bigger glass!" Terry Pratchett

 

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Interesting . The name “Lagrimas del Dragón” (Dragon’s Tears) is the sort of name the Chinese love. I don't think this is them, though. These sound much hotter than mine and I'm not sure how a chilli from Uruguay would end up in this remote part of China.

 

I have been unable to Google a picture of these. A search for Lagrimas del Dragón  just gives lots of shots of a children's comic book.

 

Thanks everyone.

 

 

I have Lagrimas growing in my garden at the moment - once they're in fruit I'll post a picture for comparison.  As mentioned, chili heat varies greatly based on soils, water and also on available daylight and day length.  I've got the great good fortune to be in an altitude desert at the equator with frank, volcanic soils which seems to amp up the capsaicin production….  So they might actually be Lagrimas but grown under differing conditions.  

 

Since all chilies came from Latin America originally, I wouldn't be surprised to find Ecuadorian or Uruguayan varieties in odd niches.  Particularly not the Ecuadorian varieties, since the pre-Columbian cultures here were huge sea traders, not to mention the Spanish who came after….

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I can't shed any light on the chili question, but I love the name 'Lagrimas del Dragón'.   :cool: 

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The peppers I described and the ones I grew were NOT SWEET! 

 

Well, I'm sorry but It says in the link you supplied that they are.

 

 

And how do they taste? Back to the FBI (bless his singed soul) and his respected opinions on the matter: "fruity, very sweet".

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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Since all chilies came from Latin America originally, I wouldn't be surprised to find Ecuadorian or Uruguayan varieties in odd niches.

 

I know chillis all came from Latin America originally, but they have developed into many varieties and hybrids etc since then. Of course, a chilli found in China could be very similar one in Uruguay or Ecuador, I didn't mean to suggest otherwise.

 

I'd love to see a picture when yours are ready. Thanks

...your dancing child with his Chinese suit.

 

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there are so many varieties , it may well only be grown there ..  the yellow to white pods remind me of pictures I have seen of Peruvian white habaneros . The  most similar I can find, Pretty in Purple but still not quite the same . http://www.bobby-seeds.com/Pretty-in-Purple-Chili-Sortenr::1709.html?products_id=1709&language=en  

 

 

edit.. I am not sure why the link doesn't go to the english language version of that page but here is the description on that page. 

 

"Only 50 cm (20 in) tall and very popular for containers The name of this variety is derived partly from its slightly purple tinted foliage and partly from its fruit which ripen from purple to yellow to red. Medium hot."

Edited by Ashen (log)

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