Brazilian Peppers: Biquinho and Ubatuba Cambuci

People just love to take things to extremes don’t they? Whether it’s buildings, cars or paella dishes, it seems like there’s always someone who feels the need to make them taller, faster or wider. So when it comes to chilli peppers, I suppose it’s hardly surprising that there is a constant drive to come up with the new ‘Hottest Chilli in the World’ (in case you’re interested, the ‘Trinidad Moruga Scorpion’ was recently beaten into second place by the ‘Carolina Reaper‘).

Now don’t get me wrong, in the right context I’m all in favour of the spicy hit of a good hot habanero, but I certainly don’t sign up to this ‘hotter is better’ attitude which seems to be far more about macho posturing than anything culinary. Instead I’m going to tell you about two of my favourite Brazilian pepper discoveries, both of which sit way down the other end of the Scoville Scale.

Biquinho

Biquinho (sounds like ‘bee-KEEN-yo’) is the diminutive form of bico which means beak. So these are ‘little beak chillis’ which seems like a very reasonable name.

Each pepper has a little beak, hence the name. These grew on the famous (in my head) Eat Rio window box.

Unlike their feisty cousins, these chillies have virtually no capsaicin, the chemical that makes most chillies hot. They have a light, delicate flavour, no detectable heat, and make a tasty addition to salads and tomato sauces. They are commonly sold preserved in light vinegar and can then be served as nibbles with drinks – you can pop them in your mouth like candy/sweets/balas.

Espírito Santa, a restaurant here in Santa Teresa [no longer with us], places a single preserved biquinho chilli in the centre of their fish croquettes and it works brilliantly, adding a little acidic zing to the creamy croquette.

Ubatuba Cambuci

To my British ears, Ubatuba Cambuci (‘ooba-TOO-ba cam-BOO-see’) sounds wonderfully exotic! Several sites say that this chilli is named after two cities in Brazil – the first in São Paulo, the second in Rio de Janeiro. The market traders here in Rio just call them Cambuci, so I thought that I detected a little partisan omission going on!

Also known as Chapéu de Bispo (Bishop’s Hat).

However, further investigation suggests that these chillies are actually named after the similarly shaped Cambuci fruit, found in the Mata Atlantica.

When I first saw these chillies at the market, I took one look at that bizarre crinkled shape and decided that the tiniest nibble would incapacitate a horse. After some assurances from the stall holder, I took a few home, cut one up and gingerly touched a tiny piece to my tongue.

Turns out that they’re great! They have a sweet, juicy, crunchy flesh and work brilliantly sliced into salads. If you eat a whole one you might just detect a hint of warmth but the quantities of capsaicin must be bordering on homoeopathic.

If you get the chance, I heartily recommend you give these a try. They might not deliver weapons grade spice, but they do make a delicious snack/salad. And if we must return to superlatives, I’ll leave you with what I reckon are the prettiest peppers in the world.

My window-box habaneros.