You haven’t had a perfect veggie board until you’ve had one that features red sweety drop peppers! First, they’re adorable and the bright red color looks amazing beside the green, orange, purple, and yellow of other vegetables on a platter. They’re my new food obsession.
Even better than their appearance, their taste and texture add just the right note after a cucumber dipped in tzatziki, a carrot smeared with hummus, or a piece of seared broccolini. Shaped like a tear drop and smaller than a Hershey’s Kiss, sweety drops have a sweet and tangy flavor that’s bright, but not hot. Texture will vary with preparation, but the peppers have a natural crispness.
Sweety Drops is a nickname for biquinho peppers (Capsicum chinense) that come from the region of the Andes Mountains. They’re relatively new to the international culinary market and increasingly available. Peru is a significant source, but the peppers are now grown in various locations worldwide.
In warm climates, you can grow them yourself in containers or in the garden. While seeds and starter plants may not be widely available at the local nursery, they’re not too hard to find. Easier to find are lightly pickled sweety drops in a jar. While I haven’t yet found them on the shelves of a local supermarket, I can order them through local markets to be shipped to my home.
Once they arrive, sweety drops are perfect for afternoon porch parties. They can be served alongside the rich, creamy cheeses I usually have on hand – brie, mascarpone, and goat cheese. In fact, they can even be stuffed with goat cheese. But they’re also delicious with Manchego, goat cheese mozzarella, and white cheddar.
At one of these porch parties, my chef neighbor mentioned that he uses sweety drops in a pesto to dress Italian Grinder sandwiches. He seems to love them as much as I do.
I can see them garnishing drinks, served on bruschetta, in a tapenade, on a salad, in pasta, on an antipasto platter…the possibilities are endless. I feel certain they’ll make my holiday table this year.
If you haven’t tried these little bulbs of joy yet, don’t be alarmed that biquinho is translated little beak. These peppers don’t bite. They don’t burn. Instead, they delight! Do yourself a favor and try a sweety drop!