Banana Chilli

Could be good in a split?

Also, called the Yellow Wax pepper,  the Banana Chilli is a milder cousin of the Hungarian Hot Wax. It has a Scoville rating of 0-500 SHU – as compared to a rating of between 5000 and  15000 SHU for the Hot Wax. This makes it only slightly hotter than a bell pepper (a SHU of zero). On this rating scale, it is about hot as a Cubanelle, but milder than an Anaheim pepper. So, certainly not a contender in the world heat scales!

This  Chilli reaches a length of 5 to 6 inches and has a yellow colour. Its curved shape and colour give it a similar appearance to a banana- thus its name. It is most often eaten in this form, but when allowed to mature turns a red colour. It’s still quite edible and tasty  as a mature Chilli, but its characteristic tangy-sweet flavour is best when it is yellow The Banana Chilli is a cultivar from the Capsicum Annum species  It has its original origins in the Americas, but as with most Chillies quickly made its way around the world (finally landing in Hungary). It came back in its current milder version when it was introduced to the USA by the Corneli Seed company in 1940 (source: The Pepper Lady’s Pocket Pepper Primer by Jean Andrews) as a variant of the Hungarian Hot wax.

The Banana Chilli is often pickled and served as an accompaniment to cold meats and cheeses. In Italian antipasto, it is stuffed with cheese. A mouth-watering combination. Whilst this  Chilli is not (that I know of) used to make banana splits, the Scotsman National newspaper reported that there is a restaurant in Scotland that makes a Chilli milkshake. It is apparently made with a sweet Chilli sauce and topped with Chilli powder.

Sounds good to me!

Image credits:

Front-page image: Quinn Dombrowski / CC via 2avia Flikr

Joi Ito  / CC by 2.0 / vis Flickr