Peter Pepper

You know that Peter Piper nursery rhyme doesn't make sense because the peppers would be pickling peppers not pickled peppers. Pickled peppers would already be picked and processed. Peter wouldn't pick a peck of pickled peppers off the bushes, rather, he'd pick a jar off a grocery store shelf.

These chile peppers are also called Willie Chiles and they look like little red pricks. Or yellow, or orange.

Wikipedia says they're hot but not that great for culinary use except for pickling. But what does Wikipedia know? Wikipedia also says they are rare. Grown in Texas and Louisiana and Mexico. Yet you can buy the seeds quite cheaply on eBay from China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, England, Germany, Estonia, Australia, Hungary, Ukraine, all over, and they are cheap.

Wikipedia: Peter Pepper.

The pepper has often been noted for its phallic appearance when fully grown. The pepper, particularly the red variety, has been described as a "miniature replica of the uncircumcised male organ".[2] The pod of the pepper is wrinkled and has a round tip with a cleft.

Stop it, Wikipedia, you're killing me.




I used these seeds for a birthday card a couple of times. Using an Xacto knife, the seeds were inserted into Japanese handmade paper. The idea was to cut the card to fit a clay pot then plant the card. But none of the cards were planted, and that's a bummer. The plan failed.

I used water colors to paint a vague image using slapdash strokes like Japanese kanji to suggest a wrinkly red pepper and green leaves and very thin strokes for brown stems. Then used an ink pen to define them, but just barely. They were sweet little pictures that take only a minute to draw.

But the people who got the cards couldn't destroy the little paintings. Apparently they're in the habit of saving their birthday cards.