The Ma Wiri Wiri from Guyana - Delicious!!!

[Nigel]

Many thanks to Jim O`Conner for sending these wonderful pods!
 
The Ma Wiri Wiri or just Wiri Wiri pepper comes from the country of Guyana and is an undomesticated C.chinense. The small red pods can are usually round, but can be slightly elongated, too.
 
The aromas of this pepper were brilliant. Very, very fruity, slight C.chinense-type aroma and slightly sweet and slightly rich, like a tomato.
 
The flavors were even better. Extremely fruity and aromatic, slightly acidic and really well balanced. The fruitiness is very general and not really similar to any specific fruit, although there are lovely rich undertones of tomato. 
 
The heat is reasonable, but quite aggressive in that it`s not especially hot, but what heat there is causes a lot of prickly sensations. It`s primarily a tongue burn, with a tough in the throat. The heat is wonderful, though, and accessible to many people. The main use for this pepper would be in using its delicious flavour in ceviche, salads, with fish, chicken and eaten raw. 
 
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3V1NAKZyQE&feature=youtu.be
 
 

 

[PepperLover]

Nice review Nigel 
Nothing beats the local native peppers 

 

[Nova]

Someone needs to give Nigel a TV show!
 
Now i want to grow this as well, does it ever end?

 

[mpicante]

Really cool review and pepper Nigel.I really enjoy watching pod reviews there are so many varieties.Impossible to grow and taste them all.

 

[Grass Snake]

Good review. That is a very interesting pepper. The birds are screaming for you to share.

 

[Burning Colon]

thanks for the review Nigel. i have been trying to grow these guys for 3 years, they have become my pepper nemesis!
 
i have some dried fruit, given to me by the seed producer and they are great tasting, the problem is the seeds. the seedlings get to be about 4" tall, then a fungus sets in and they literally rot!
 
I am going to try again in dwc or my new discovery of soil air injection, to see if i can get a plant to fruiting stage.
 
good work as usual.

 

[Nova]

At 3:40 you say "Ma Wiri Wiri".
 
Then your bird repeats you! Check it out i swear to the flying spagetti monster!

 

[Grass Snake]

At 3:40 you say "Ma Wiri Wiri".
 
Then your bird repeats you! Check it out i swear to the flying spagetti monster!

Yeah I heard it too!

 

[Roguejim]

For those inclined to grow this one, here's a sauce recipe:
 
http://www.inner-gourmet.com/2011/01/west-indian-pepper-sauce.html

 

[Nigel]

thanks for the review Nigel. i have been trying to grow these guys for 3 years, they have become my pepper nemesis!
 
i have some dried fruit, given to me by the seed producer and they are great tasting, the problem is the seeds. the seedlings get to be about 4" tall, then a fungus sets in and they literally rot!
 
I am going to try again in dwc or my new discovery of soil air injection, to see if i can get a plant to fruiting stage.
 
good work as usual.

That`s no fun. I hope you get seedlings to grow well this next season!

 

[Ashen]

Great review, I  love wiri wiri's but havn't been able to find them for a couple years now. 

 

[ajijoe]

i sent you some as well and there all round i have never seen them that shape before
 
thanks great review
 
your friend Joe

 

[CAPCOM]

As usual.    A big thumbs up!
 
Going to have to try these. I find myself really enjoying some of these small wild/semi wild peppers.

 

[Roguejim]

i sent you some as well and there all round i have never seen them that shape before
 
thanks great review
 
your friend Joe

Alright, so now I'm minimally concerned about this shape thing.  Do I have another cross?  Nigel?  Joe??

 

[Nigel]

Alright, so now I'm minimally concerned about this shape thing.  Do I have another cross?  Nigel?  Joe??

I tried the round one that Joe sent me not long after I ate this one, Jim, and they taste the same, as far as I can tell. Whether yours is a hybrid, I just cannot say, but my suspicion is it`s just a variation of shape.

 

[ajijoe]

I tried the round one that Joe sent me not long after I ate this one, Jim, and they taste the same, as far as I can tell. Whether yours is a hybrid, I just cannot say, but my suspicion is it`s just a variation of shape.

im with Nigel it would be an unqualified guess for me to say I know for certain, but the "ma" wiri wiri I know has always been round??
 
sorry im not a better help but I just don't know
 
thanks your friend Joe

 

[Wicked Mike]

Some friends brought me back a bag of these from Guyana last year. I liked them a lot, and saved every seed I could.
 
As usual, Nigel's review is spot on. In my experience, the aroma of these is pretty striking. A "fresh smell," and "fruity" as Nigel said. It seemed specifically cherrylike to me. The ones I ate seemed hotter than 50k SHUs, though. I eat glabriusculums regularly, and they don't seem anywhere near as hot as wiri wiri to me, but there are of course environmental factors that might have come into play there.
 
I have seeds for the more rounded pheno and am happy to share, if anyone's looking for it.
 
Here's one of this year's plants, which I recently topped:
 

thanks for the review Nigel. i have been trying to grow these guys for 3 years, they have become my pepper nemesis!
 
i have some dried fruit, given to me by the seed producer and they are great tasting, the problem is the seeds. the seedlings get to be about 4" tall, then a fungus sets in and they literally rot!

 
Are we talking damping off here? If so, I'm fighting an uphill battle against it myself. Miami summers are very rainy. I'm having pretty decent success mixing a Tablespoon of Captan 50 per gallon of water and lightly spraying it on the surface of the dirt. You don't want to actually drench the soil, though, and you also don't want to get any on the leaves, as it causes lesions.