Choricero Pepper

Sweet and earthy with fruity notes; develops a subtle smoky depth and concentrated sweetness when dried and rehydrated. Heat is very mild and often barely noticeable.

The Choricero is an elongated, mildly sweet Capsicum annuum landrace from northern Spain, especially the Basque Country, Navarre and La Rioja. Fresh pods are slender and conical, typically 10–20 cm long, ripening from green to deep red with thin walls. The variety is most often air-dried in traditional ristras; the rehydrated pulp supplies intense red color, sweetness and earthy depth to sauces and stews without noticeable heat. It is the defining ingredient of salsa vizcaína and appears in bacalao a la vizcaína, marmitako, sukalki and traditional Basque chorizo. The same landrace yields the green Gernika frying peppers when harvested early. Flavor is sweet and fruity when fresh, developing subtle smoky and concentrated notes once dried.

Capsicum annuum arrived in Spain via the Columbian Exchange in the 15th–16th centuries and was selected by farmers in the Basque Country, Navarre and La Rioja for thick flesh that dries well while retaining aroma. The name derives from its traditional role providing color and flavor to chorizo sausage. The same landrace yields green Gernika peppers when harvested early for frying and the red choricero form when fully ripe and dried in ristras. Basque emigrants later carried seeds to Idaho, where the variety remains part of the diaspora culinary tradition.