[CH] Roco's

Paul Richards (paular@zoo.co.uk)
Wed, 22 Sep 1999 20:38:38 +0000 

Hi Cameron, Hi CH'er's

Tried the first Rocoto the other day - it looked amazing sliced in half, I
was surprised at how thick the flesh was (guess the weight of the thing
should have given that away!). Tried a fair sized chunk, and the second
surprise - must be the quickest burn ever! Seemed as hot as a hab/bonnet,
but without that stripping a layer of skin from your mouth feeling (or is
that just me?).

The speedy heat gave little chance to really taste it (I had a cold which
probably didn't help). I did notice an innocuous apple-like smell (in
contrast to the hab's "jeez, that smells lethal".)

I'm letting the second pod mature a little on the plant (been fully red for
a week now), & hoping the other lot grow and ripen quickly. I'm watching
the temperature, but with luck, I have another 4-6 weeks before the night
temps. drop too low. The advantage of living in inner city LOndon.

As for pollinating, a bit of both. I saw a few weird flying insects in the
flowers, but also when I saw an open flower, I gently brushed it with my
finger tip. A lot of flowers opened against a leaf - making it difficult
for insects to get at them.


Cameron, thankyou very much for the seeds - another chile tried, tested &
enjoyed! I hope the other receipients have had succes too.

Cheers

Paul


>Hi C-H's,
>Paul wrote:
>
>>MOst surprising have been the Rocotos from Cameron's seeds. The smaller
>>plant has two large pods just turned red, while the larger plant has grown
>>into the biggest chile bush so far, & has several pods on it. Maybe they
>>like the UK climate?!
>
>Right on! I hoped they would do well in Blighty. Keep those seeds!
>Overwinter your plant indoors. It will do much better next year. Insect or
>hand pollinated?
>
>>Which leads me to a question - I want to make a salsa with the Rocotos.
>>Would they better suit a Tomato or fruit salsa (Mango/Papaya etc.)?
>
>You should taste a ripe pod to get familiar with the flavour - and unusual
>burn!
>
>:-)
>
>Regards,
>
>
>Cameron  a.k.a.  Begg.4@osu.edu   (614) 292 4429