Lemon StarrBurst Pepper Review
The Lemon StarrBurst is a creation by Texas grower Khang Starr – some of you may recognize the name from his Youtube channel. I’ve personally learned a great deal from Khang throughout the years. His videos on hydroponics alone are worth the hours I’ve spent watching and listening to him. So, when I heard that he had released his own pepper cross a few years ago, I knew that I had to get my hands on it.
Well, it took a while, but I have finally gotten a couple of Lemon StarrBurst plants in my pepper garden this season. This variety has been lovingly created by crossing two of Khang’s favorite peppers – MOA Scotch Bonnet and Bahamian Goat. On both of my plants, each pod looks almost identically like every other that is ripening. Not many crosses are able to maintain this consistency.
Each ripened fruit is squat and bonnet shaped with a good bit of bumpiness and many pods sporting a small stinger. The yellow coloring varies as can be seen in the photo above, but when fully ripe, the pepper is quite bright in hue. The interior of the pepper is neat and clean with a cluster of seeds and placenta at the stem.
The aroma is packed with lemony citrus notes, grass and a hint of bitterness. A distant floral note lingers. Crunching through the thin skin produces a flavor profile consisting of a light floral note up front, lemony citrus, grass and a light hint of bitterness.
The heat builds slowly, focusing on the tongue – eventually peaking at a low-to-medium habanero level. Essentially, the heat sits comfortably within the range of the parent varieties used to create the cross. The burn isn’t aggressive or stinging which gives it that “pleasurable” trait that I look forward to any pepper I sample. It’s easily manageable and other than the tongue burn, doesn’t really cause too much drama.
The Lemon StarrBurst is a darn tasty pepper with a super clean flavor profile and burn. The small amount of floralness that is in the mix fades quickly – which I appreciate. I’ll be using this variety in a few fruit-based sauces this season. I think it’s going to make for a wonderful end product.