Most of the popular peppers you can find at the grocery store are from one species, Capsicum annuum. If you have a garden, you can branch out and try pepper varieties from other species. One such pepper is the sugar rush peach.
Scoville Heat Units (SHU): 50,000 – 100,000
Diameter: 0.5-1.5 inches
Length: 3-6 inches
Color: Light Orange/Peach
Species: C. baccatum
Buy Seeds: Caribbean Garden Seed
In this article, I’ll share everything about the sugar rush peach chili pepper variety. By the end, you’ll know how they taste, how spicy they are, where to get seeds, and how to grow them yourself. Let’s get started!
Sugar Rush Peach Pepper Origin
The sugar rush peach pepper comes from the Capsicum baccatum species of peppers. This species has origins in either Peru or Bolivia. Commonly referred to as aji peppers, they are now cultivated across South America and in Costa Rica.
The sugar rush peach pepper was originally cultivated by Chris Fowler of Welsh Dragon Chilli. The Wales-based pepper grower considers the variety to be accidental. It was created through natural open pollination and has some amazing characteristics.
In the US, aji peppers are grown in small numbers due to the overwhelming demand for other pepper varieties. However, it is very easy to grow them in your own home garden. Sugar rush peach peppers are now much more common for United States gardeners due to the plant’s favorable characteristics.
Characteristics of Sugar Rush Peach Peppers
Sugar rush peach peppers have a very descriptive name. They are sweet & fruity and they have a peachy color when mature. This makes the pepper very desirable for home gardeners.
Appearance
Sugar rush peach peppers tend to be very large and oblong, with a curvy surface and a pointed end. The color starts off light green or yellow (similar to banana peppers), turning a creamy, peachy orange color when mature.
The plants can grow very tall, up to 5 feet or taller when given full sun and a long growing season. The plants are also highly prolific, producing upwards of 40 large peppers per plant in ideal growing conditions.
Taste
The flavor of sugar rush peach peppers is, of course, sweet. It also has a very fresh, slightly vegetal undertone. There are also hints of tropical fruit when eaten raw or dried for powder.
This means that the sugar rush peach is a perfect ingredient for fruity salsa, or to spice up a bean chili dish. I also like chopping them and putting them in omelets for a fiery breakfast.
And yes, they are pretty spicy…
Sugar Rush Peach Pepper Scoville Scale & Heat
Though we cannot find an official Scoville scale rating for sugar rush peach peppers, we are confident that they fall around 50,000-100,000 SHUs. This puts the sugar rush peach
From a subjective point of view, these peppers have very similar heat to a strong cayenne pepper. To put it simply, the sugar rush peach is a fairly hot pepper.
We recommend taming down the spice by pickling them, or by removing the inner placenta and seeds before cooking. If you can handle the heat, you’ll be very happy with this highly productive plant!
Growing Sugar Rush Peach Peppers
Growing Sugar Rush peppers is similar to growing other spicy chili varieties. You’ll start your seeds early indoors, fertilize and water for several weeks, migrate them outside after the threat of frost is gone, and keep them happy with full sun and nutrients throughout the season.
If you want to grow your own Sugar Rush Peach chilis, order seeds on Caribbean Garden Seed here.
Then, follow our guide to growing habanero peppers here, as the procedure will be similar. Good luck, and happy growing!
One potential difference from other pepper varieties will be the height of these plants. C. baccatum peppers can grow very tall, up to 5 feet or more, so you will need to provide support by staking.
Sugar rush peach peppers also take a long time to fully ripen. You’ll likely wait months for the peppers to turn from green to peach. Thankfully, you can pick these peppers early while they are still yellowish-green. They’ll still be fruity, crunchy and spicy!
Other Sugar Rush Varieties
The Sugar Rush Peach pepper is an Aji pepper crossbreed, meaning that there are many other similar varieties. While the Capsicum baccatum species is a varied group of peppers, there are a few that have similar characteristics to the Sugar Rush Peach.
Sugar Rush Peach Stripey
Perhaps one of the most amazing peppers we have ever grown is the sugar rush stripey. This variety was a discovered by a US grower who was growing sugar rush peach peppers, and noticed one plant had striped fruits.
Since its discovery, the plants have been stabilized and seeds are now available. The flavor and heat are similar to sugar rush peach, but the fruits ripen with stripes of orange and red!
Aji Amarillo
One of the most common and prolific C. baccatum varieties, the aji amarillo pepper has a gorgeous orange color with a tropical, fruity flavor. Hailing from the same species, the aji amarillo has similar characteristics to the sugar rush peach.
However, they are thicker peppers, and need a very long season to fully ripen. The payoff is worth the wait, as these peppers are beautiful and useful in the kitchen! Get seeds here.
Aji Lemon Drop
Bright yellow color, and lots of peppers. The lemon drop pepper is said to have a citrus-like flavor and aroma, with strong heat. Great when used for chili powder or in fresh, homemade salsa. Again, hailing from Peru, the lemon drop is one of the original aji peppers.
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There is only one more step for you to learn more about the sugar rush peach pepper: Taste it!
Pick up some seeds and be ready when planting season comes around. This pepper introduced us to the world of C. baccatum peppers and their wonderful, unique flavor profile, and it can do the same for you.
Calvin
One of the original Pepper Geeks! When Calvin isn’t gardening or learning more about peppers and botany, he might be traveling new places or playing some music.