As is often said, "Looks ain't everything", lol. Those sound delicious! I can't even buy rocotos around here.
Usually I pay attention to the looks of my peppers, but in this case I was interested in knowing whether the species will succeed in my climate. I took what was in front of me because that would "do the job". Of course, now they want to know the details I didn't pay attention to
Even here, rocotos are not commonly available. Only some people from the Highlands occasionally sell them. They sell a lot of it on the bimonthly market because most vendors are from the Highlands. In general, I like their taste, although I didn't like much the rocotos with an earthy taste (fresh, disappeared on cooking). I have tried stuffed rocotos, but they were just regular. I have also made several batches of jam.
The rocotos in the picture above are not from the Chiapas Highlands. I bought them on a recent trip to Michoacán in the Center of México. Rocoto is commonly available there.
Yep, I suppose a buck/bag and the affordability is a relative thing, but at least fresh is fresh!
We live in an isolated area, so transportation costs are high. Locals prefer local produce. Also, our tropical climate complicates the storage of produce, so "fresh" is very important here.
Allow me to entertain you with some snapshots of the fruit and vegetables we bought on the bimonthly market. After a few visits I began to take photos of what we bought to show to my family.
The long bean-shaped fruit is
Inga edulis, a tree that is planted to provide shade in coffee plantations. It contains a small amount of a very sweet pulp. Usually not commercially available. Workers and locals consume them on the spot.
I bought a lot of potatoes that time... Local potatoes don't store well and contain a lot of starch.
The plastic bag in front contains
pan de palo,
jackfruit seeds.
I also bought a small baggie of "miscellaneous peppers".
There often is a lady that sells
conservas: jams, salsas, some pickled vegetables/fruits. I sometimes buy
salsa macha, if not only to know what the competition has to offer. This particular
salsa macha contains
arándanos (blueberries) that impart a subtil sweet kick. Too subtil for me, but the idea is good.
I've also bought several types of beans, but only once I came accross
ejotes (green beans). There was a pod with ripe seeds that could be sown already, so I did just that. I have a container with a palm tree (
Dypsis lutescens, I believe, grown from seed) and planted the beans there. It is not my immediate intention to grow these beans for consumption, but rather to obtain sufficient seeds for when I'll have my own land (I should be moving in a year or so). A volunteer pepper (within red circle) has joined the spectacle as well.
Welcome to my GLOG!
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I've counted five fruits of "reasonable size" and there are more tiny peppers than I have fingers. And still flowering.... My Big Sun habanero plant took the lead, but God Stopper has caught up and even overtaken the Big Sun.
Sowing new varieties, transplanting seedlings and plantslets, cleaning up, ...
I had received their seeds as a courtesy. I didn't know Maui Purple, but upon reading several positive opinions on this board I decided I should find a spot to plant it. By the end of February, this spot will receive good light. At the corner of the terrace, it will atract the eye of all passersby.
And I have to do something with all that spent coffee... So I spread it over the surface of the grow bags. You'll find others on this board with the search engine who do exactly the same.
My crossing attempts with this little devil have all failed.
