Peach Bhut Jolokia x Pimenta de Neyde Pepper Review
It’s been a few seasons since I last grew the Peach Bhut Jolokia (PBJ for short), but it’s a variety that I truly enjoy – and will feature in my garden again in the future. In fact, I enjoy it so much that it’s often the cause for me purchasing hybrid crosses that include it within the mix. Such is the case with this particular plant, then PBX x Neyde.
The Pimenta de Neyde is one that I have not encountered as of yet in my peppery adventures, but it’s a variety that is often featured in crosses due to the resulting foliage and coloring of ripe fruit. I’m not sure that it’s the best tasting pepper, but I certainly find the darker leaves quite attractive in my garden.
This plant has been growing within a self-watering bucket set-up and has been a prolific producer of fiery pods. The ripe fruit look like smaller, smoother-skinned versions of the Peach Bhut Jolokia. As they ripened the fruit will often display purple splotches which only adds to their attractive look. Inside, the PBJ x Neyde has a tight cluster of placenta and seeds at the stem with a thin vein that stretches the length.
The aroma is very much that of a PBJ, but much more subtle. Light floral notes, grass and a hint of the heat to come all present themselves smoothly. Biting into a ripe fruit provides a satisfying crunch and juiciness which is probably more of an attribute from the Neyde side of the cross.
The heat on this cross isn’t nearly as fiery as the standard Peach Bhut Jolokia, but it still packs quite the punch. After an initial delay, the burn builds slowly and smoothly until it is fully focused on the tongue with a bit of whiskey chest after a few swallows. The peak hits the medium-to-high habanero range, not quite reaching the superhot realm before fading slowly.
This cross is a fun little pepper. The flavor is similar to the Peach Bhut Jolokia for the most part (perhaps not as fruity) and the heat doesn’t quite peak at the same level, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I can see tossing these into just about any cooking scenario where you’d want a little bit of heat – it should be pretty darn versatile in that regard.