Are Peppadew piquanté peppers the next superfruit?
 
Import and export company Strohmeyer & Arpe, which currently markets the Peppadew range in the US, describes the fruit as "the first truly new fruit to be launched on the world market since kiwifruit". Superfruit are those natural wonders that have such exceptional nutritional, health and taste qualities that they can actually attract customers to a brand and retain them, and consequently are specifically marketed as such.

Peppadew is the brand name of a range of pickles and sauces made from a particular variety of sweet-tasting peppers (Capsicum baccatum) known as "piquanté". The products are processed and bottled by Peppadew International using a secret recipe.

Peppadew piquanté peppers are grown primarily in the Tzaneen area of South Africa's Limpopo province. As picking and de-seeding is done by hand, the growing demand for the product has created over 4 800 jobs in the field, and more than 200 in the factory. Peppadew International also supports its supply base of around 80 farmers with training and technical assistance.

Description
Piquanté peppers belong to the Solanaceae family of nightshade plants, and share the genus Capsicum with many other chilli peppers, ranging in taste from mild to blisteringly hot. Botanically, chilli peppers are fruit. Fortunately the little red piquanté's rank low down on the Scoville scale, which measures the hotness of a chilli pepper based on the amount of capsaicin - the fiery chemical compound that is responsible for many a teary eye and sudden thirst for water - contained in it.

The number of Scoville heat units indicates the amount of capsaicin present. Compared to the world's hottest chilli, the Naga Jolokia which comes in at a searing 1 040 000, the piquanté barely bites at 1 177. Its mildly spicy but sweet flavour makes it popular in all sorts of recipes such as pizza, pasta, salads, omelettes and dips.

The piquanté also tempts when stuffed with a range of soft cheeses.

Discovery
The plant was reportedly discovered in 1993 by South African farmer Johan Steenkamp. On holiday in the Western Cape province, he spotted a bush covered with red fruit that looked like a combination of small peppers and tomatoes. Steenkamp realised the plant's potential the minute he tasted a piece of the fruit and he decided to cultivate it with dried seeds from the original plant, which is not indigenous to South Africa but is believed to have somehow made the Atlantic crossing from South America.

It has taken some years to breed the strongest plants from that original batch, develop the processing methods, perfect the recipes, and register the trademark Peppadew. The product has germinated into a winner, and today is available in a number of countries and has taken the culinary world by storm. Source MediaClub South Africa.

Rösti potatoes with Sweet Piquanté Peppers
What you'll need:
* 4 medium potatoes, peeled
* 1 tsp salt and fresh black pepper
* 1 large onion, finely chopped
* 4 tsp parsley
* 100g Mild Peppadew™ Sweet Piquanté Peppers
* 60g melted butter
* 150g coarsely grated cheese

Coarsely grate potatoes. Add potatoes, cheese, Sweet Piquanté Peppers and parsley to the onions and gently mix. Season well.

Divide into 12 mound-shaped portions. Place on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes in a medium oven, until golden. Serve immediately.

Source
MediaClub South Africa
Peppadew International (Pty) Ltd