Lemon drop pepper plants

The citrus aji. People call it aji limon, and they mean this.

By Debra Austin

Species: Capsicum baccatum

Aji limon, lemon drop, same plant

Lemon drop is the English name for aji limon, a Capsicum baccatum from Peru. The pod is wrinkled, pointed, and yellow when it is ripe. The flower has the spots baccatums show. If someone hands you a smooth yellow wax pepper and calls it a lemon drop, it is a different plant.

On our list: Aji Lemon Drop, a seedling of the same variety, and Aji Lemon Improved Size, which is the same flavor in a larger pod. Crosses that keep the name are here too, including Tepin x Lemon Drop and Primo x Lemon Drop. A jalapeno with lemon in the name is not one of these.

Heat and the citrus flavor

Aji Lemon Drop is listed at 10,000 to 50,000 SHU. Aji Lemon Improved Size uses that same band. That is medium: you can taste the lemon before the heat takes over, which is the whole reason to grow it. The improved-size pod is not milder just because it is bigger.

What to do with the pods

Slice them into ceviche, a vinegar, or a fruit salsa. They are one of the few hot peppers that belong next to raw fish. Cooking them into a sauce is fine, and you will lose some of the perfume if you cook them hard. The fresh pod is the point.

Growing lemon drop plants

Baccatum habit: tall, wiry, and happier in a cool night than a habanero is. Give it a seven gallon pot if you want a full plant, and a stake once it sets fruit. It is slow to the first flower and then it does not stop.

The rest of the baccatum shelf, including sugar rush and aji amarillo, is on the aji page. This page is only the lemon line.

The Lemon Drop we grow

Questions people ask

How hot is a lemon drop pepper?

Aji Lemon Drop and the improved-size form are listed at 10,000 to 50,000 SHU. Hot enough to notice, mild enough to taste the citrus.

Is a lemon drop the same as aji limon?

Yes. Lemon drop is the name used in English. Aji limon is the same baccatum.

Is a lemon drop a habanero?

No. A habanero is Capsicum chinense. A lemon drop is Capsicum baccatum, fruitier and usually milder.