Biquinho, Button Red - Capsicum frutescens

The Button Red Chilli (of the Biquinho type) is an ornamental and flavourful variety with a compact habit and very high yield, very well-suited to growing in a pot. Its small, teardrop-shaped fruits ripen to a shiny red, offering a fruity and mild flavour that suits sensitive palates. In cooking, it is excellent pickled in vinegar, but also as a condiment, in marinades, or to liven up a salad. To enjoy it fully, plant it in a sunny, sheltered, warm spot, in rich, moist, and well-drained soil.

The Chilli, like its very close relative the Bell Pepper, belongs to the Solanaceae family. It was consumed by the Incas from 7500 BC and has been cultivated since 3000 BC. The chilli is a perennial plant in a tropical climate, grown as an annual in our latitudes. It produces small, greenish-white flowers with anthers or seeds of different colours depending on the species.

The Button Red chilli is a horticultural selection of Capsicum, most often classified under the Capsicum chinense complex in "biquinho/button" catalogues. In practice, "Button Red" is considered a red biquinho: it is also found under the names Biquinho (Red), Little Beak, Chupetinho/Chupetinha, or Sweety Drop (for the pickled version). The "biquinho" type is strongly associated with Brazil. The plant forms a very compact, small undershrub, 45–60 cm tall, with dense branching. Its flowers are self-fertile and pollinated by insects.
The fruits of Button Red are fleshy berries, in a "mini" format: they are pendulous, with a rounded base ending in a small point, measuring approximately 2.5 cm long by 1.5 cm wide, and change from green to bright red when ripe. This variety is distinguished by a very high yield (75 fruits or more per plant under favourable conditions) and by a low level of heat, related to its capsaicin content. It is evaluated around 500 SHU on the Scoville scale. The flesh is rather thin, and the fruit can be consumed whole. Its aromatic profile is described as fruity, pleasant, with a chilli "kick" without being aggressive.

Chilli peppers are naturally rich in vitamin C, about twice as much as lemons or oranges. It is a very volatile substance whose content reduces considerably as the chilli dries. It becomes even scarcer when ground into powder. It is also very rich in vitamin A, which is more stable and whose content increases as the fruit dries.

Harvest period and method. Harvest from July to October, continuously, as soon as the fruits have reached their full size and also their final colour (red for a more developed flavour). It is best to cut the stalk with secateurs, leaving a small piece of stem: this avoids tearing off a branch and stimulates further production.

Storage. For short-term storage, keep them in the salad drawer of the refrigerator: they will keep for 1 to 2 weeks. You can freeze them. And, of course, the classic biquinho method: pickling in vinegar, which keeps the crunch and makes a quick condiment.

Culinary uses. Button Red is a chilli "for flavour" more than "for heat": it can easily be eaten whole, in salads, as a topping for dishes, or to add a decorative red touch. Its best use remains pickles: these fruits are perfect for appetisers, on a cheeseboard, in a sandwich, or even as a cocktail garnish.