Piquillo peppers are a botanical fruit and member of the Capsicum annuum family, the most extensively cultivated species of the five domesticated capiscums. They are classified as a sweet pepper variety. Piquillo received its given name from the Spanish; its name translates as little beak.

Piquillo peppers are harvested when ripe, their coloring an opaque red orange set into a thick smooth skin. The peppers are stout and their shape is conical coming to a blunted point. Inside the hollowed pepper is a tight stem-end seed cavity and cottony membrane laden with seeds. The flesh is crisp and succulent, its flavors bright, fruity, piquant and savory sweet. The piquillo pepper is a mild chile with 500 to 1,000 Scoville heat units.

Serving Ideas

Piquillo peppers are ubiquitously and traditionally grilled or roasted to bring out their sweetness, skin peeled and then packed into cans or jars and preserved in olive oil, citric acid and salt. These types of piquillo peppers fill shelves on the condiment aisle throughout the globe. Fresh piquillo peppers are also grilled and stuffed with Manchego cheese and fresh farmers cheese or spicy sausage. They are large enough to make a substantial appetizer or accompaniment to a main dish. The peppers can also be blended into a soup, cut into segments and served on burgers or used for fajitas. The peppers can be dried and ground to powder form, which is commonly known and referred to as paprika. Complimentary pairings include tomatoes, cream, cheeses both melting and fresh, sausages, grains such as barley and rice, ground lamb and beef, cod and halibut, cooked eggs, pine nuts, pistachios, garlic, cilantro, cumin, oregano, poultry, cream, shredded pork, lemon, dill and citrus.

Geography/History

Peppers are native to South America where they were first cultivated from wild plants between 500 and 300 BC. The piquillo pepper is native to Northern Spain and traditionally cultivated near the town of Lodosa. The production area is located in the Lower Ribera region of Navarra, an area renowned for vegetable and legume farming. The peppers are hand picked, packed, numbered and stamped with a Denomination of Origin. All other piquillo peppers grown outside of the Lodosa region are considered less than equal as the region’s climate and soil play an integral part in the genetic makeup of the piquillo peppers quality and flavor. Piquillo peppers are grown throughout the Mediterranean and in the United States in warm arid climates, which essentially achieve the same results for the peppers, simply without the Denomination of Origin (D.O.C.).