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Sweet Pepper 'Nokturn' - Irish Seed - Image 4

Sweet Pepper ‘Nokturn’ – Irish Seed

Name: Sweet Pepper 'Nokturn' - Irish Seed
SKU: CHNC
Price: 3.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

€3.00

A sweet pepper sourced from Poland, ‘Nokturn’ (Capsicum annuum) has good sized fruits with an amazing plum purple colour. As they ripen a cherry red colour comes through and it is worth waiting until then to harvest them as the flavour will be much sweeter. They have a nice crunch and can be used any way you would use a bell pepper.

The fruits weigh 50-90g and are triangular in shape. Plants can be up to 80cm tall and might need staking. To save pepper seeds allow the fruit to mature until the skin is wrinkly. The seeds will then be ripe enough. Peppers will cross pollinate so take care if you have more than one variety.

Average 15 seeds per packet

In stock

Categories: Irish Vegetable Seed, Tomatoes, Peppers & Cucumbers Tag: Peppers

Overview
Making Paprika

Botanical Name	Capsicum annumm
Plant Height	80cm
Seeds per Packet	Approx. 15
Sow Depth	10mm
Ideal Germination Temp.	24-30°C
Sun Requirements	Full sun. Glasshouse or polytunnel
Spacing	50cm
Life Cycle	Grown as an annual in Ireland

Making Smoked Paprika

Making your own paprika from homegrown sweet peppers is pretty easy. However, in Ireland, getting the peppers dry enough without a dehydrator could be a challenge.

A dehydrator is a useful bit of kit to have anyway, particularly for seed savers, as it can also be used for the final drying of certain seeds to the low moisture levels needed for long-term storage. Just be sure to use suitably low temperatures when drying seeds to preserve their viability.

A smoker is probably an even less common piece of equipment to have lying around, but don’t worry if you haven’t got one. You can skip the smoking stage and make ordinary sweet paprika instead.

1. Prepare the peppers. Remove the stalks and seeds from fully ripe sweet peppers. I cut mine into pieces and placed them in a roasting tray.
2. Smoke (optional). I put the peppers into a hot smoker for around 20-30 minutes. A brief hot smoke gives them a lovely smoky flavour without cooking them completely.
3. Dehydrate. Transfer the peppers to a dehydrator and dry at a low, steady temperature until completely dry and brittle. They should snap rather than bend.
4. Grind the dried peppers into a fine powder. A cheap electric coffee grinder works perfectly for this.
5. Store. Transfer the paprika to a clean, completely dry, airtight container and keep it somewhere cool, dark and dry.