From Bolivia with Love

It's beyond critical: I have been out of cayenne pepper for a few weeks.  I've still got a half a bottle of Tabasco and a stockpile of little cans of "Old El Paso" chipotles that really have a wonderful smoky burn ...but in day-to-day cooking, I need a powerful powder that I can pinch or spoon into recipes.

If you've been resident of Argentina for long, you know the bind I'm in... and you've already given up on any sort of the national pimentón as scoring a scoville.

Well, here's a find!  Tip your hats to the sleuthing of the lovely and talented 99.  She has discovered an item widely available from Bolivian vendors here that looks capsicum capable.  For a couple of pesos, you too can be the proud possessor of 10 grams of powdered locoto pepper.  The stuff packs a punch almost equivalent to the clean hot sting of cayenne.

It looks a little odd, though.  Instead of being red, it's a greenish flaky powder.

Strangely enough, I'm very familiar with the locoto pepper; it was my favorite pepper from the Mexican markets on old Maxwell Street in Chicago.  It's roundish, about an inch or two wide and two or three long.  Kinda like a small bell pepper, the walls are very thick and meaty, great for roasting and sauce making.

Mexicans in Chicago call it "chile peron," a name that got me some looks here in Argentina, but it's not widely known in Mexico.  It only grows in cool temps, usually at high altitudes, in the shade.  It's really regarded as an Andean pepper ...and Bolivia may be where it first appeared.

Outside of Mexico, it is known as the locoto or rocoto.  Some people call it the Manzano because of its apple shape.  Like most chiles, it is unpredictably hot.  Some locotos are as hot as an habenero.  They've got great flavor, though.  If you're shopping for them, just ask if the seeds are black. 

The locoto is the only chile with black seeds.

Hey!  If you give the Protal Locoto en Polvo a try, drop me a line and tell me how you like it!