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Bird-Eye
Peppers
Frank asks: I've seen "bird-eye peppers" mentioned in some local recipes. Most that call for the peppers are from old cookbooks. I remember my old aunt talking about them and I think she even grew them in her front yard. But nobody I know seems to know what they are or what they're used for. What say you? Tom sez: First of all, Frank, we don't allow O'Reillyisms on this page. Bird-eye peppers--also known simply as bird pepeprs, for reasons I know not--are small tapering peppers that get bright red when ripe. They grow with their points up, like Tabasco peppers (to which they are related). They are believed to be relatively primitive members of the casicum family (the New World peppers that include everything from bell peppers to habaneros. Bird peppers are quite hot, running in the range of 100,000 Scoville units, a measure of the relative amount of capsaicin, the active ingredient of hot peppers. (Habaneros are about 300,000, cayennes around 50,000 units, and jalapenos around 5,000.) If I had some growing I'd put one or two in a pot of beans, a few in a crab boil, or just one with the seeds removed in a batch of guacamole. We see them most often marinating in bottles of vinegar. If you mess with these things, wear rubber gloves or wash your hands very well afterwards. Revised 3/10/08 Copyright © 2008 Tom Fitzmorris. All rights reserved. |
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