Peppadew is a trademarked

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create ...

name of South African food company Peppadew International (Pty) Ltd. for a pickled version of the Juanita pepper. Peppadew International produces and markets a variety of food products under the Peppadew brand, including jalapeño peppers, Goldew peppers, pickled onions, hot sauces, pasta sauces and relishes, but is best known for its

sweet piquanté pepper Sweet piquanté pepper is a cultivar of '' Capsicum baccatum'' grown in the Limpopo province of South Africa. See also * Peppadew, a brand known for selling pickled sweet piquanté pepper products. * Pimiento, a similar looking, larger pepper fro ...

cultivar A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain those traits. Methods used to propagate cultivars include: division, root and stem cuttings, offsets, grafting, tissue culture ...

of ''

Capsicum baccatum ''Capsicum baccatum'' is a member of the genus ''Capsicum'', and is one of the five domesticated chili pepper species. The fruit tends to be very pungent, and registers 30,000 to 50,000 on the Scoville Heat Unit scale. Chili pepper varieties in ...

'') grown in the

Limpopo Limpopo is the northernmost province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The capital and largest city in the province is Polokwane, while the provincial legislature is ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

History

Peppadew International and the Peppadew brand was founded in 1995 after founder Johan Steenkamp discovered a

in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Upon discovery of the pepper,

plant breeders' rights Plant breeders' rights (PBR), also known as plant variety rights (PVR), are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material (including seed, cuttings, divisions, tissue ...

were applied for and obtained with the South African Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in order to protect the species. Johan Steenkamp started cultivating and processing the peppers in the

Tzaneen Tzaneen () is a large tropical garden town situated in the Mopani District Municipality of the Limpopo province in South Africa. It is situated in a high rainfall fertile region with tropical and subtropical agriculture taking place in a region ...

region of South Africa, where Peppadew International's factory is still based today. Steenkamp later sold his interest in the company in 2004. Peppadew International were the first to market this type of pepper. Although the pepper is sometimes described as a cross between a pepper and a tomato, this description is not botanically accurate, and refers only to the resemblance in color and size between red peppers and cherry

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es. In 2011 Bon Appetit published a recipe for Pimento Mac & Cheese calling for Peppadews, then had to run a follow-up piece telling readers how to find the peppers. In 2016 the Baltimore Sun reported that there was a black market for the pepper's seeds.

Processing

Peppadew brand peppers are grown into seedlings from hand-selected seeds for six to eight weeks. They are then transferred to contract farmers who then grow the peppers under the guidance of Peppadew International's agricultural team. The raw peppers are then harvested and sent to Peppadew International's processing facility where the peppers are de-seeded, treated and bottled in a unique brine.

References

External links

Brand homepage
{{South African cuisine South African cuisine Pickles 1993 introductions