Malagueta
A rare Brazilian variety. Semi-wild relative to the Tabasco. Small peppers with wrinkly skins. Searing heat. Light to medium green ripening to red. Originally, pre-1492, the name Malagueta was given to a hot , small, lanceolate, black grain from the Bight of Benin in W Africa, (then called then the Grain Coast), which was used as a substitute for the highly expensive real grain pepper originating from the Moluccas (now in Indonesia). The Portuguese held the commercial west African route and were for many years the sole distributors. It seems that through the natural bastardisation of language, this Portuguese noun was applied to the small capsicums, that are nowadays called Malagueta and are used, almost exclusively, in the Brazilian state of Bahia (formerly the center of the Brazilian slave trade and consequently having a large population of African descent. The malagueta is a very characteristic ingredient in the distinctive food of Bahia.) pods_position: erect