Ajvarsky pepper

[Shule]

Here are some ripe Ajvarsky peppers that I harvested today, with some winter watermelons and an orange honeydew type behind them.

I'm impressed by these. I think I'll stuff some with cheese and bake them. I'm not sure if these are true-to-type since the blossoms weren't bagged, but they look good. There are more on the plant, but they're not completely red, yet.

The peppers are maybe 6 or 7 inches long. The smallest one on the right is somewhat smaller.

IMG_20210925_193555.jpg

[Tallylassie]

Those look great! I just bought some Ajvarsky seeds. Hope mine grow as well as yours! Are they sweet or do they have a bit of heat?

[NMRuss]

Pointy curled tips indicate a hot chile.

[Shule]

@Tallylassie
Cool handle, by the way.

As far as I can tell, Ajvarsky is a 0 SHU pepper (no heat at all). It's much easier to chew than any other peppers I've tried, as far as I recall (and this is probably one of its most defining characteristics to me, other than its impressive looks and how it actually produced decently without mulch or black plastic in the ground--granted, I did fertilize it). As far as sugar content goes, it's about as sweet as the orange Mighty Mini peppers from the grocery store (which look like Orange Lunchbox peppers). So, I've had sweeter, and less sweet. It's a big pepper, though, and I like it. I did stuff and roast a couple of them; the skins peel off easily after roasting (and the skins taste kind of like carrots). The flavor for me was mild.

[zendog]

I understand these to be the same or very similar to Elephant Ear peppers, like in this thread: https://www.tomatojunction.com/viewtopi ... 242&p=2641

[Shule]

@zendog
Whoa. I didn't realized they were similar or the same. I didn't know they were even the same shape. Elephant Ears (from the linked source) is already on my to-grow list!

[zendog]

I grew both last year and while maybe not exactly the same, they were definitely very similar. I think the Elephant Ears I got from Bunny Hop were a bit wider in the shoulders and maybe thicker walled than the Ajvarsky peppers I grew from Baker Creek. From that thread it sounds like there were a lot of strains of Elephant Ear and I guess Ajvarsky is just one of them.

My Elephant Ears were definitely pointy on the ends but the ones in the picture in your link are a bit more blunt ended.

[Shule]

Today, I tried one that was only starting to blush red, and it had a whole lot more flavor (and aroma) than the fully ripe ones (granted, it's a green kind of flavor). Firmer texture, too. I cut it up into my maccaroni and cheese with a little turmeric and a moderate amount of black pepper (with olive oil instead of butter, and evaporated milk instead of regular milk). I'm not saying that's the ideal way to use it; that's just what I did.

[mama_lor]

The name of Elephant ear is more like an Aji Amarillo. So a sort of collection of similar peppers not necessarily a one fixed variety, so what is currently circulating as ajvarski is probably similar but not the same as the circulating elephant ear. The pictures from arnorrian in the other thread from the marketplace are probably hybrids with the same characteristics, with some genes from the original, for example Kaptur f1 (very popular) or other many many hybrids.

[arnorrian]

Elephant's Ear (also known as Palanačko Čudo) was developed here in my home town in Serbia from Macedonian and Bulgarian Ajvarksa and Kurtovska Kapia peppers, but it is much larger, and with a yield that can be double. Ajvarska and Kurtovska Kapia are basically the same.



A good use for these peppers, and other thick-walled elongated sweet peppers is to roast and peel them, and then salt them and soak them in a mixture of oil, vinegar and minced garlic. Leave to cool for an hour, and it's done. It brings them to another level. They can be roasted and peeled and then frozen for the winter.



Another very popular way of preparing roasted and peeled peppers of this type is simply to salt them, dip them in flour and beaten eggs, and fry them. I do the same with eggplants. My picture from the other day.

[Amateurinawe]

@arnorrian they look delicious, I love the idea of dipping in beaten egg and flour.

[NMRuss]

Nice. A Serbian chile relleno!

[Spike]

I grew Ajvarsky Peppers this year also and simply love them. They are on my list for next year also.