We went foraging the other day, and came across these cute little red berries. Not realizing what they were at first, Melissa picked one and tasted it…and immediately spit it out. They’re hot little suckers, and we have them growing wild all over the property.
In doing a little research into Chili Pequins, we learned a couple of things. First, the “original” Texas hot sauce was made from Chili Pequins and vinegar. Folks would pack the peppers into a bottle and add vinegar. They’d keep refilling the vinegar until the following fall, when new peppers would be available.
Second, we learned that they’re called bird peppers because birds love them. Seems that birds don’t process capsaicin the same way humans do, and so it doesn’t affect them the way it does us. Also, the Chili Pequin seeds need scarification – usually via a bird’s digestive tract – in order to germinate.
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