THE ULTIMATE CAPSICUM

Now I really have picked what must surely be the last of the capsicums, although, as it is going to continue warm and dry for at least the next week, probably forever, I am sure there will be more flowers. When Cath gave me the seeds last year she told me that the Yellow Cornos was the best tasting capsicum she had ever had. I didn't believe her (sorry Cath) because I had never tasted a really good yellow capsicum at all and thought the yellow colour was just a marketing ploy. So I sowed lots of the Red Cornos and only a few of the yellow.

You have seen dozens of photos of the red ones over summer and, sure, they are very nice. So are the Pimento's from Tony. But the Yellow Cornos actually is the ultimate capsicum for taste. It is so good we usually eat 1 each, biting into it whole, like an apple. Even Roger, who is skeptical about the quality of my taste buds, agrees that it is good enough to be classed as a fruit and eaten like one. Cooking reduces its taste somewhat, so does putting it in a salad. It cries out to be eaten whole and raw. If you can get the seeds, try it yourself, I don't have enough to give away because I darn well sowed so few. But next year I will save masses of them.

They don't seem to colour evenly but maybe they crossed a bit with Cath's Red Cornos and became this hybrid. Unlike other capsicums, I decide when to pick it by its feel, rather than its colour - once the skin gives a bit when you squeeze it, that's when the taste is fully developed, I have found. Picked too hard they aren't as good. The things we learn; funny.

Capsicums are good. Sow them thick and eat them whole!