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What are Cherry Peppers?

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

The cherry pepper is a small, sweet, and mild to medium pepper that derives its name from its shape and appearance. When fully ripe cherry peppers are a luscious bright red, delightfully round and about the size of a cherry tomato. Most cherry peppers are no more than an inch to two inches (2.54-5.08 cm) in diameter. You may find the cherry pepper labeled as the Hungarian cherry pepper, since they are popular in Hungarian dishes.

Cherry peppers are an ideal size for pickling or brining, and they also make for an excellent garnish on a dish. They shouldn’t be thought of as merely good for pickling or for decoration, since they are quite tasty. While pickling is certainly a viable way to treat cherry peppers, consider slicing them in halves for green or pasta salads. You can use either pickled or fresh peppers for this purpose. They’re also excellent added to three bean salads, on top of pizza, or in sweet and sour dishes.

Cherry peppers are small, sweet, pepper that can be mild to medium is spiciness.
Cherry peppers are small, sweet, pepper that can be mild to medium is spiciness.

A popular trend with cherry peppers is to make deep-fried poppers. These are normally peppers that have been filled with cheese, coated and fried and you can simply pop them in the mouth. Filling the cherry pepper is easily accomplished if you remove the stem. Alternately, you can stuff or fill them by slicing them in half.

If you’d like to reduce the fat content of your pepper dishes, instead of deep-frying, consider halving cherry peppers and filling them with a little cheese and bread crumbs, and then baking them. These bright little gems inspire a host of stuffed or filled recipes, and are the perfect size for an amuse bouche or appetizer. They can also be diced as part of a fresh salsa or form an interesting contrast to tomatillos, which are about the same size and are used in most salsa verde recipes.

Cherry papers are often used in salsa.
Cherry papers are often used in salsa.

You’ll occasionally find green cherry peppers, which means they have been picked before they were fully ripened. Some find these delicious, and others feel they don’t capture the sweetness of the red cherry pepper. Further, heat of the cherry pepper is going to vary, and it’s a good idea to taste your peppers to see is you’ve purchased medium or mild ones. If the pepper tastes too hot for the dish you plan, removing the seeds normally reduces the heat.

Sliced cherry peppers can be a good addition to a leafy green salad.
Sliced cherry peppers can be a good addition to a leafy green salad.

Cherry peppers remain some of the most popular peppers to grow at home, since they don’t require a large space. They do need full sun, and should definitely not be planted until after the last frost of the year. Frost can kill young seedlings quite easily. Although it’s rare, different species of peppers can be cross-pollinated by bees. If you’re hoping for fairly mild peppers, make sure to not plant them next to any hot ones, or you might end up with hot peppers instead.

Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

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Tricia Christensen
Tricia Christensen

Tricia has a Literature degree from Sonoma State University and has been a frequent DelightedCooking contributor for many years. She is especially passionate about reading and writing, although her other interests include medicine, art, film, history, politics, ethics, and religion. Tricia lives in Northern California and is currently working on her first novel.

Learn more...

Discussion Comments

anon285978

Do I have to use Provolone to stuff them? Is there another cheese that works well?

anon170781

I made shooters a few years ago, cherry peppers stuffed with prosciutto and provolone cheese, I let them marinate in olive oil with garlic cloves in it, after a week they were ready to eat, and they lasted for months like that, just make sure you use a clean jar and I kept little to no airspace at the top.

boot98camp

That is not a good idea to try to preserve them in olive oil. They will go bad after a few weeks. what i like to do is cut the stems off, remove the seeds, then freeze them. They will last about a year or maybe even longer.

I usually cut them that way, as i like to stuff them with prosciutto and provolone cheese, then marinate them in olive oil, with fresh basil and garlic. They are great.

anon15788

Can I pick my ripe cherry pepper, wash them and then just cover them in Olive Oil to preserve them? If so, how long will they last in the oil?

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    • Cherry peppers are small, sweet, pepper that can be mild to medium is spiciness.
      By: Gresei
      Cherry peppers are small, sweet, pepper that can be mild to medium is spiciness.
    • Cherry papers are often used in salsa.
      By: Sea Wave
      Cherry papers are often used in salsa.
    • Sliced cherry peppers can be a good addition to a leafy green salad.
      By: Konstantin Yuganov
      Sliced cherry peppers can be a good addition to a leafy green salad.
    • Mild cherry peppers can be a colorful addition to a simple vegetarian pizza.
      By: emde71
      Mild cherry peppers can be a colorful addition to a simple vegetarian pizza.