rocoto 2.0

In 2006, Joe spoke at a gathering of the Golden Gate Chapter of CA Rare Fruit Growers ,Inc. See his presentation here: Joe’s presentation.

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Welcome to the new and improved rocoto.com

I am in the process of converting the site. I have ported most of the content from the old site and also adopted FireBoard as the forum for the site.  Although all forum posts were migrated, users names were not.  You will need to re-register on the site if you wish to post.  Also, if you had posting email notifications turned on and you wish to continue to receive notifications, you will need to turn this feature back on for any boards or messages you wish to be notified on.  Only one sign on to the site will be required.

Soon I will also be bridging the Coppermine Photo Gallery as well. Right now, I have simply wrapped the gallery.

The intent is to make this website more open to user contribution. Please let me know what you think and drop me a note if you find any bugs.

Joe

The rocoto is one amazing pepper. It has thick walls, like a bell pepper, but hot. It has been cultivated in Peru and Bolivia for thousands of years.

Rocoto (aka locoto in Bolivia) is Capsicum pubescens (hairy pepper). Locoto is among the oldest of domesticated peppers, up to as much as 5000 years ago by Inca. Young and adult plants are highly pubescent. Seeds are black or dark.

The smaller red locoto is thought to be an earlier domesticated type and is more common in Bolivia. More typical in Peru is the larger red rocoto that makes excellent rocoto relleno. The yellow type tends to be on the small size and now more commonly found in the Caribbean and Mexico.

The rocoto is probably related to undomesticated peppers that still grow in South America (cardenasii, eximium, and others). This plant is a perennial, you should plan for this in colder climates and pot it. Expect to cut it back to 1/3 every year.

Joe