Capsicum annuum.
A classic of Hungarian cooking brought to North America in immigrants' suitcases in the early 20th century. Its silhouette is immediately recognizable: a long, tapered, slightly curved fruit 15 to 20 cm, looking like a miniature banana ripening in the sun. It shares the banana's palette too — pale yellow-green when young, then flaming orange, then deep red at full maturity, each stage having its place in the kitchen.
Not to be confused with its cousin Hungarian Hot Wax, of identical silhouette but fiery temperament — the Sweet Banana version is entirely mild, without any heat (zero on the Scoville scale), with thick, juicy, lightly sweet, crunchy flesh. It's probably the most versatile pepper in the garden: crunched raw in slices in a salad, pickled in jars where it becomes the famous "banana pepper" of American subs and pizzas, fried in Hungarian-style escabeche, stuffed with cream cheese, tossed whole on the grill alongside a barbecue, or simply chopped into an omelette. More productive than most sweet peppers, with sometimes 20 to 30 fruits per plant.
Grower's tip: Like all peppers, it hates cold and wants a long season. Indoor start 8 to 10 weeks before last frost, at 25-28 °C on a heat mat for uniform germination. Transplant only when nights are stable above 12 °C — late May at the earliest in Québec. Good news: Hungarian peppers tolerate cool nights better than Mexican varieties like jalapeño, which makes them one of the most reliable peppers in our climate. Lightly stake loaded plants — they can bend under the weight of the fruits.
- Open-pollinated. Largely self-fertile, but some crossings possible with other Capsicum annuum nearby (sweet peppers, other hot peppers), so isolate or bag the flowers for seed saving.
- Height: 60 to 75 cm.
- Maturity: 70 days after transplant for yellow-green fruits, 80 to 85 days for red.
- Exposure: full sun, sheltered from wind.
- Rich, well-drained, warm soil. Space plants 40 to 50 cm apart.
- Indoor start 8 to 10 weeks before last frost. Transplant once all risk of frost is past (early June in Québec).
