Aurora Pepper
Also known as Aurora · Aurora Hot Pepper · Aurora Ornamental Pepper
Aurora Pepper is a Capsicum annuum cultivar from Mexico. Capsi’s sourced range is 30,000–100,000 SHU (Vendor Claim). Flavor is peppery, neutral, clean. Used for Salsa, pickles, chile vinegar, and dried flakes. Often left on the plant for the color show.. Heat is a range, not a single marketing number.
Aurora is a compact ornamental chile grown for small upright pods that ripen through lavender, purple, orange, and red on the same plant. The fruit is edible, with a plain peppery taste.
About 2 times a Capsi Jalapeño (31,902 SHU typical).
Growing
~70 days to maturity
Fruit size
2.5–4 cm
Flavor & Use
A clean, peppery bite with little sweetness or fruit.
Culinary
About
Plants stay about 12 to 15 inches tall and load up with cone-shaped pods roughly 1 to 1.5 inches long. Fruit starts lavender, turns deep purple, then orange, and finishes red, so one bush often holds several colors at once. The flavor is a clean pepper bite with little fruit. Heat sits in the hot cayenne band. Growers mince ripe pods into salsa or pickle them. Dried pods make flakes. Many people just leave the fruit on the plant for color. Fruit comes 60 to 75 days after transplant in full sun.
Backstory
US and Canadian seed houses sell Aurora as an open-pollinated ornamental chile, and most of them list Mexico as the origin. Reimer Seeds calls it a USA variety instead. No breeder statement or release year is on the public record. The same cultivar name is used in the UK for an unrelated sweet long pepper. That plant is not this one.
Appearance
Growing
Heritage
ExploreNothing reputable documents a pedigree for this pepper.
Sources
FAQ
- How hot is Aurora Pepper?
- Capsi’s sourced range is 30,000–100,000 SHU (Vendor Claim). Capsi uses a sourced range and a trust tier, not a single marketing number. How we verify heat: https://web.thecapsi.app/learn/heat-and-capsaicin/how-we-measure-heat
- What does Aurora Pepper taste like?
- A clean, peppery bite with little sweetness or fruit.
- How do I grow Aurora Pepper?
- Aurora Pepper: about 70 days to maturity, temperate climate, full sun, hardiness zones 9-11.
- What can I substitute for Aurora Pepper?
- NuMex Twilight, Bolivian Rainbow, Chinese Five Color