Bishop's Crown Peppers: All About Them

The bishop's crown pepper is a spicy little chili pepper distinctively shaped like a bishop's crown, hence the name. It brings respectable heat and is great for cooking.

SCOVILLE HEAT UNITS: 5,000-30,000 SHU
Capsicum Baccatum

This chili pepper is a member of the Capsicum Baccatum species, which includes the Ají pepper. It has an interesting shape resembling a bishop's crown, hence its name, and can be very spicy, with a fruity flavor. It is red when mature, and measures about 1 inch long and 2-3 inches wide.

It can be used fresh in salsas or salads, and can be dried or pickled as well.

How Hot is the Bishop's Crown Pepper?

The bishop's crown measures in with a wide range of heat from 5,000 to 30,000 Scoville Heat Units on the Scoville Scale. Compare this to a typical jalapeno pepper, which averages 5,000 SHU and you'll find that the bishop's crown can be either equally hot or up to 6 times hotter. That is quite a wide range.

At its hottest, it would be more comparable to a medium-level serrano pepper in heat.

What Does a Bishop's Crown Pepper Taste Like?

The flavor of this pepper is both spicy and fruity when fully ripened. When green, they are more vegetal in flavor, though as they fully mature and ripen from green to red, the sweeter, fruitier flavor comes through. Try them in salsas or hot sauces, or dehydrating them for making spicy chili flakes or powders.