Name: Capsicum baccatum Mad Hatter F1 hybrid pepper

Type of Plant: A vigorous pepper plant that grows well in northern areas and bears lots of peppers in the late summer and fall. Mostly sweet peppers, although an occasional fruit with mild heat is possible.    

Why I Love This Plant:  I love how robust this plant is, the flavor of the peppers and their size and shape. They are totally versatile in that they’re great for eating raw with dips, slicing into any dish that calls for sweet peppers, and for roasting to preserve or add to whatever you’re cooking.  I first learned about this pepper because it was an AAS winner in 2017 and was presented to all the garden communicators at a GardenComm annual symposium.

A Word to the Wise:   This pepper grows to 24” tall and wide, and can use staking for support. As the season gets colder and you’re near to a hard frost, pick all the peppers whether they are red or green since all are tasty and good for cooking.

I was picking the Mad Hatter peppers into November as usual. Because of their shape, you can cut off the “noses” quickly and then either cut into pieces for cooking, or use those to scoop up dips such as hummus.

The Mad Hatter pepper plants grow at least two feet tall and wide so provide them with supports.

I preserve these peppers by tossing them with a bit of olive oil and then roasting on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees. Once they are cooked I freeze any we don’t eat that night.

These peppers are easy to cut for cooking! Just slice off their “noses” leaving the core and seeds in place.