They reach an average of two to three inches in length, start out green (as nearly all chilies do), but then rather than going bright hot red, they start to turn a gorgeous shade of distinctive and vibrant yellow.
Like most of the other peppers in the Aji pepper family (which are also bright-colored and fruity flavored), the Aji Pineapple is around 20,000 SHU, which is ranked as moderately hot.
They earned their name through their very distinctive pineappley/fruity taste.
They are a little more difficult to come across, and if you do want to try one, then you will have to order them from a specialized online retailer.
They are delicious in many dishes, with a moderate spice level, that gives your food a manageable kick. Their curious pineapple taste also makes them an ideal inclusion in hot sauce.
If You Want These Peppers….
As we have highlighted, Aji Pineapple chilies are a little rarer to come across, so having them as a favorite chili is difficult. If you want unfettered access to these fruity peppers, then we suggest that you give growing them a go.
The plants are very productive, so you certainly make your money back on the cost of the seeds, and your freezer will be brimming with these yellow spicy pineapple delights.
They fruit in late summer (when grown in most climates), but as you will be harvesting more than you can eat with, we recommend that you freeze them to use in your cooking throughout the year.
Some firm favorite ways that we enjoy to use up a surplus of Aji Pineapple chili peppers are delectably fruity hot sauces, food garnishes, general sauces, as well as chili powder (which you can achieve by dehydrating them, and them blitzing them to your desired consistency with a spice grinder).
When you are trying to incorporate these chilies into your food, we think that you should first try them in their fresh form – think tropical tasting salsas (the pineapple flavor is a really good when paired with avocado) and salads, especially fruit salads, where they are a natural tasting pairing).
Alternately, you can put them in sandwiches, where their sweetness can be a nice balance against sandwich fillings like salty, cured meats, such as ham, salami and bacon.
Final Thoughts
These moderately spicy chilies are perfect if you are after a fruity chili, without having to get to the scoville levels of chilies, like the fruity but spicy habanero, and scotch bonnet. It has the signature tropical sweetness, and a pineappley taste that is great both fresh, in chili sauces, and in powder form as a seasoning.
They are stocked on specialist online retailers and Amazon. The Aji Pineapple chili pepper is one of the tastiest chilies in the world!
