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Chile Pequin (Bird Peppers)

S

starflames

Chile Pequin peppers grow wild in some parts of the country. We folks here in South Texas are some of the lucky ones. These wild pepper plants grow abundantly in some of these areas. Thanks to the birds, especially the Mockingbird.

These peppers are tiny, but don't let their size fool you. They pack some serious heat! The taste and flavor are ideal for salsas and sauces or just for spicing up things a little.

The Pequin plant- or bush, can grow up to 4 feet, I've seen taller, and produce hundreds of these delicious and flavorful peppers. The tiny peppers start of green and then gradually change to an orange to reddish colors as it ripens.

When the tasty fruits are red, the Pequin bush appears to be lit with hundreds of bright red Christmas lights! I suppose that's why many folks use them as ornamentals and for attracting birds. But they are really missing out on the excellent taste and flavor.

At times they may be very difficult to find, but I usually do have a healthy supply of seeds. Thanks to the numerous plants growing wild on my 5-acre spread.

For more info on these wild peppers feel free to visit: http://www.chilepequin.com/
 
Tepin is the wild forbearer of piquins.

The piquins you find are a domesticated chile spread by birds...... hence the name.

This is looking a little like spam.
 
I love pequin peppers. The best salsa I've ever had came from a Mexican grocery store. I wish I had bought more, It was absolutely wonderful, hot and wonderful.
Thanks to Walmart, I also have a healthy supply of seeds. After this harvest season, hopefully I will have even more. I hope to be the Johnny-Pequinseed of this century, spreading these wonderful pearls around the world...for free, to whomever wants them. I will mix them with bird seed, and feed them to ducks and geese on their migrations, spreading them wherever they will grow. WOOHOO!!
 
To Omri: These peppers are wild.

To Willard: C'mon, this isn't spam. Just b'cos someone claims to have certain type of seeds- especially hard to find seeds, isn't necessarily spam.

Look guys, around here we call them "Chile Del Monte". They are the small "round" ones (not the somewhat oblong ones) that grow wild in this area. But having said that, folks around here call them by some other names as well. Some of our Anglo brothers actually call these same little "round" pepper fruits, "bird peppers"- because the birds, especially the mockingbird, really love them.

And these same "round" little fruits are also called "Tepins", as well as "Pequins" and "Piquins" by many Latinos in the area, as well.

So the ones growing wild in this area are the little "round ones" and not the somewhat oblong ones which I've never seen growing wild in this area.

So what exactly are you guys saying, that these little "round ones" are REALLY the Tepins AND NOT Pequins? Or the other way around?

I need to know so that I may update my web site. I may need to name it ChileTepin dot com. Fortunately, I am the domain owner of that name too. I figured after some feed back by some, that the TINY ROUND peppers were the Pequin and the somewhat OBLONG ones were the Tepin. Perhaps I got it backwards. :(

Your feedback will help.

Thanks.
 
The fact it grows by itself does not mean it's wild. frankly, even the Tepin ("round one") isn't that wild. they're all semi-domesticated/fully-domesticated (depends on your point of view). birds do spread them, so it's only natural to see them grow in pretty abandoned areas. Annuums (no matter what sub-species) are domesticated... that's that.

They sure are tasty, though.
 
I think I get your drift, "Scientifically Speaking" technically none of these are wild. And I guess you answered part of my question by referring to the Tepin as "round" and "not that wild". And those little "round" ones are the ones "growing wild" in this area.

Well thank God I'm not addressing the scientific community here, but rather folks all across this country who are Pepper Lovers themselves. Scientific technicalities aside, most of us are familiar with the term "wild peppers" especially in this area and that it refers to the hot and flavorful little "round ones".

And now that you've cleared the air a bit- these "round ones" are the TEPINS. Sooo there may be a "change name" coming to my site. But I'd like to hear a bit more from others too.

Thanks Omri.
 
UnNatural, YES! I was looking for instructions on how to upload some photos here. Can you direct me to them. I'd be more than happy to post some photos and to show all of you the peppers I'm talking about. They grow in abundance in the area. My Father and Brother, also live in this neighborhood and they each have 3 acres. Their spreads have much more of these "wild growing" pepper plants than my 5 acres.
 
Look Folks, there are some who think my initial post starting this thread, is SPAM.

Listen, this is a "PEPPER FORUM" isn't it? Where else better than to associate with Pepper Lovers as yourself, than in a "Pepper Forum".

If I have certain PEPPER seeds available, especially some that are hard to find in some places, why can't I make it known in a "Pepper Forum"?

I felt this would give "Pepper Lovers" in this Forum, an opportunity to obtain some of these seeds for their own use and pleasure. What better place than in a "Pepper Forum" to find out about certain pepper seeds, plants, etc.. Isn't this the place to meet and converse with like-minded individuals?

This is not SPAM, and I even hate the word, but if the MODERATORS feel that it is- by all means, delete the whole thread. All I'm trying to do is tell folks about these wonderful, hot and tasty fruits that families in this area have been enjoying for generations.

Why shouldn't the members of this forum know more about this and where to get them, if they decided to have or try some. This is a Pepper Forum... this is where people go for all kinds of information in regards to Peppers.

Regards...
 
Hey Omri, That is a great site! I can't believe how many variations of Tepins and Pequins there really are! My goodness!

I really recommend that site to others as well. Great Info!

Thanks Again...
 
Starflames keep right on posting. If you're carrying on a conversation about chili's then it is most welcome here.

I also get what you mean by "wild". They are there and growing with no outside help. If I find a strawberry patch out in the middle of nowhere I consider it "wild" and wouldn't hesitate to help myself.

Hope you get the picture thing figured out, I for one would enjoy seeing photos of the peppers and your acreage. Do you grow any other chili's?
 
I'm no expert, but IMO, Tepins/Chiletepins are the small round ones.

Here's some pickled green ones I bought at a mexican store:

S6302999.JPG


S6303001.JPG



From: http://www.droolindevil.com/Pages/Fiery Factoids.htm

tepin%20pepper.jpg

Chili Tepin

These tiny peppers are about 3/8 of an inch, round to slightly oval, and are found in the deserts of Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Northern Mexico. The word “Tepin” comes from the Nahuatl Mexican word meaning “flea”. In 1995, Texans named the Jalapeno pepper the official pepper of Texas, but two years later, the Tepin was named the official native pepper of Texas.

Tepins are extremely hot, measuring between 50,000 and 100,000 Scoville Units. In Mexico, the heat of the Chiltepin is called arrebatado (”rapid” or “violent”), which implies that although the heat is great, it diminishes quickly.
Click to expand...



chili_piquin.jpg

Chili Piquin

One of the smallest chili peppers but also one of the hottest. The chili is very small and has an elongated shape. It is very similar in taste and hotness to the Chiltepin. The Chiltepin is just a little smaller than the Chili Piquin and has a more rounded shape. They are often mistaken for each other. They are both very popular and eaten fresh or dried. Their heat is slow to take affect but stays with you for a long time. Younger chilies are green in color and as the mature they turn red. When dried they turn a brownish-red.
Click to expand...


Those pics look about right to me. I've had both tepins and piquins from THSC as well as from the mexi-grocer here, and that's precisely what they look like. :-)

-QS
 
Oh btw starflames, this may help ya post pix: http://www.thehotpepper.com/showthread.php?t=8368


Basically, ya need ye rpics hosted on the web where hotlinking is allowed, then just use the
insertimage.gif
button to post them by pasting the URL of the image when it asks for it.

If ya use Photobucket or the like, ya don't need the button as they provide a tagged link for you that ya can just copy & paste into yer post. :)

cheers,

QS
 
Hi Patrick and thanks for the kind words. As far as other peppers, I've grown Jalapenos and Bell peppers. Our favorites though, are the ones growing wild.

BTW, I just got through taking some photos of some of the plants (bushes) of these small round peppers. And once I figure the picture thingy, I'll post them. Right now they are primarily in their flowering stages- eventhough a few do have the pretty little green things starting to come out.

Once again, Thanks.

Hi QuadShotz, nice photos- Thanks! And Yes, those "round ones" (The Tepins) are the ones growing abundantly in the wild here and those whose seeds I have available.

Thank you for the info regarding posting the pics. I'll try posting them within the next couple of days or so.

You guys have been SUPER! Thanks!

Alfred
 
patrick said:
Starflames keep right on posting. If you're carrying on a conversation about chili's then it is most welcome here.

I also get what you mean by "wild". They are there and growing with no outside help. If I find a strawberry patch out in the middle of nowhere I consider it "wild" and wouldn't hesitate to help myself.

Hope you get the picture thing figured out, I for one would enjoy seeing photos of the peppers and your acreage. Do you grow any other chili's?
Click to expand...

There still domesticated. They're "volunteers" but not wild. Like if a bird ate a stable fatalii x 7 pot cross and pooped a seed on some nice soil and it grew in the wilderness next season, it wouldn't make it a wild 7potalii.
 
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