I just dry small peppers and grind them whole, seeds and all.

John

UJ

I dry the small ones then crush them and then seperate the seeds

Just to be clear: you dry and crush even *ornamental* peppers (as opposed to other small peppers like Thai.

Sure. Most of the small peppers--ornamental or otherwise are used mostly for heat.

john

UJ

Yes, it's a royal PITA to try to seperate seeds from a small pepper, Drying and crushing can say you hours of prep time

Yeah, I was amazed at how packed full of seeds the Bolivian Rainbows and PIPs are. They are basically balls o' seeds.

Many of the ornamentals will practically dry on the plant if you allow it. But to keep them flowering it is best to remove the peppers as soon as they start to shrivel. Drying and crushing with the stem removed would allow for the most diversified uses: pizza seasoning, sauses, salad flavoring.

Some peppers like the pretty purple might lend themselves well to making fancy hors d'oeuvres if you want to take the time to stuff them. for a practical use ornamental I always preferred Treasures Red. It has a chile pepper size and heat. Many of the smaller fruited types are just too much work for the return.

I haven't tried this with the small ornamentals though it's a thought. A mixture of colors might be pretty too.

I pack green tabascos whole in a shaker bottle (like a soy sauce bottle) and fill the bottle with a hot brine (ratio: 1 cup of white vinegar to 1 level teaspoon of salt) brought to a boil just before adding to the bottle. Let sit overnight and then refrigerate.

I have had the dark purple(almost black) ornamentals for the past 3 years.I grew them because i really liked their color,never dreaming they would re-seed themselves.The plants are gorgeous,and while i and my family don't eat them,my neighbors do,so i allow them to come and pick whatever they want.
kathi

John,
As long as your *ornamental peppers* are actually a Capsicum sp. they are edible...for instance Jerusalem is sometimes labled "Ornamental Pepper". Both belong to the family Solanaceae, but the later is NOT edible.

Vera

...that should have said Jerusalem Cherry :)
and the scientific name: Solanum pseudocapsicum

Vera

Hello, I'm wanting to trade for Ornamental Pepper seeds to see if the peppers are good compost plants and a nice pretty indoor plants.

[P.S. I want a dried pepper to make shur it's a cone looking pepper, not round cherry looking pepper like the peppers of the Chrstimas Cherry and Jerusalem Cherry.]

Never mind I bought some ornamental peppers by a catalog.

FWIW

Jerusalem Cherry and false Jerusalem Cherry are toxic until red ripe

Ornamental Peppers are pepper when they are ripe and don't turn pink, orange, and then red?

I think the catalog I ordered from missed named there pepper?

I don't remember the name of my pepper plant,but it is yellow now,but turns red later in the year. Do you think this is the edible kind? Can I make pepper sauce from them?

Do you think this is the edible kind?

All pepper fruit is edible.

Can I make pepper sauce from them?

Sure!

Very HEATed discussions.
As far as I know all ornamental peppers are edible. But I plant them for beauty/color of the fruits and foliage. I do pick some of the ripe ones and dry them. As the have very low moisture contents dry easily.

Sey

I've got the above ornamentals, which were just labelled Capsicum annum at the garden centre, but I've since found out that they're a trademarked variety called Karnival Orange, Yellow & Red. Red is terribly hot but flavourful. Yellow is citrusy and absolutely delicious. It's considerable heat is in the pith and seeds. I haven't eaten the orange yet.

Edited to add: They have thick, quite juicy flesh. They do dry nicely for the most part but I have to check them as some retain moisture and get mouldy. I may opt to dry them in the oven in future.

I've regularly chopped up the red and yellow while fresh, for omelettes with seeds removed. I've also dried them and chopped them very roughly then put them in an empty pepper mill to grind on demand.

My second variety of ornamental peppers are a purple leafed variety called Calico. Leaves are mottled purple, green and white. Dark purple flowers and fruit, which later turns red. Very ornamental. I thought they were Count Dracula until I was able to do further research. I bought the above plant in April and have since bought a pot with 4 more. There are lots of little seedlings in the pot that have since germinated from the fallen peppers. They taste exactly like the African birds eye type chillies I remember eating in my grandmother's cooking here in South Africa.

I almost gave up on taste testing ornamentals after buying a Medusa. Tastes of nothing...or rather like a carrot. I pulled it out eventually.

I've posted about growing and eating ornamental chillies on my blog and also made mention of the poisonous Jerusalem cherries, often labelled as peppers or chillies: http://therainqueen.com/review-tarlton-flower-palace-garden-centre/

lala

what size bag is that?

Hi there, I estimate about 10cm diameter. Very small. That particular plant has been transplanted into a much bigger pot (45cm high & about the same diameter), as a companion plant for a dormant blueberry, along with red mustard (looks kind of purple) & purple pansies. I'm in the Southern Hemisphere, so my blueberry is just about dormant. This purple pepper and the other 2 plants add a bit of interest.

I am surprised that many of you don't think ornamental peppers have any taste or taste like carrots. These make great pickled peppers to use on steaks, in salads, eggs, etc. The Medusa taste like pimentos. There are are hot varieties as well. I grew them in Texas, and I am working on growing them in Utah. You don't need to remove the seeds. To pickle them use 12 oz of a wine vinegar above 5% acidity is best if you want to keep an open bottle in the pantry rather than the frig. I actually like Champagne Vinegar at 7%. With 8 oz of peppers that have had the caps removed and the initial 12 oz of vinegar, bring to a boil, and then add 4 peeled cloves of garlic and a sprig of rosemary, and simmer for 10 minutes. Let the peppers cool for a bit and place in a sterilized jar. Washing the jar in the dishwasher will work, or boil it 10 minutes will do as well. Place peppers in jar, cover with the vinegar, topping off with extra vinegar if needed. Place in the pantry for 6 weeks, after which they are ready to eat. There are all types of wonderful vinegar's available, There are red and white wine, Champagne and Sherry vinegar's. As I plan to can mine, I will boil them initially and add the garlic and rosemary, and then I will place them in sterilized bottles and place the sterilized canning lids and rims on them, and then place them in the same boiling water I used to sterilize the bottles and boil them for 10 minutes. Turning the heat off and letting them set for additional 10 minutes. Remove them and let them cool down. The lids will pop as they cool and become vacuum packed. I suggest you read up on canning and get a simple kit with the tongs, jars holders, funnel, etc. You don't need to get a large canning pot as you can use a large walled pot, and as long as the filled jars are covered by 1.5-2 inches of boiling water. I use 8-12 oz canning jars. These make great gifts to show of your culinary skills. Btw, The plants can be dug up and stored in pots or those plastic plant containers to over winter in the garage if it doesn't get too cold or a basement with windows. Water now and again, but not too much. They seem to be slow growers here in Utah, so the plants are out in the grow boxes in full sun and loving it, where as my seedlings are slowly growing. I plan to over winter them again. I just harvested 2 pounds processed peppers from the 2 year old plants. Good luck and enjoy. I expect more by the end of the season.