The Padrón Peppers is a variety of pepper native to America that was brought to Spain by Franciscan monks who adapted their cultivation in Padrón, in the parish of Herbón, in the 16th century.
It is a small pepper, bright green, with small dimensions and a length between 5 and 10 cm.
It is harvested between May and the end of September or the beginning of October, although its cultivation in greenhouses has made its presence in the markets last almost the whole year.
Initially it was a typical product of Galicia, especially from the town of Padrón to which it owes its name, but now it is grown in other areas such as Levante, Andalusia and even in North Africa.
Padrón Peppers has earned a well-deserved reputation for two reasons, its flavor and especially for its “itching” since many of them sting, to a greater or lesser extent, without a clear reason for this, or at least not It is known with certainty.
The reality is that all the specimens are not spicy, they are not even all those of a plant or they are not all those of a plant, which has led to the development of numerous theories without certainty of the veracity of any of them .
Some attribute that they sting to their greater sunshine, and this would justify that difference between some peppers and others still within the same plant.
It is also known that as the season progresses, speaking of Galicia and its natural environment, without greenhouses, the proportion of Padrón Peppers that bite against those that do not increase, which motivates even people to consume them less or with more caution at the end.
I’m going to dare to venture a theory about it.
My father once grew Padrón Peppers in his garden. The normal thing was that they did not sting, but some went out of the rule. But if they were left in the bush they would mature and turn totally red and then itched like the strongest of the chillies. Therefore, my conclusion is that Padrón Pepper is a pepper that is consumed when it is not yet ripe. In the era of full production, as it is collected every day, it is more difficult for a specimen to “escape” two or three days and mature until it starts to itch, although some always escapes. But when the season progresses the production decreases and is not collected every day, first every two days and then even every three or four days and if any specimen escapes one day, which is increasingly likely, it can easily reach greater maturation and consequently chop.
There is another curious issue in the world of Padrón Peppers and it is their way of telling it, since it is normally sold in bags of 100 units, and it is that it is taken by “hands” with four units in each hand, so it is said That a bag is 25 hands. And it is to admire the practice and the speed with which they do it.
The fact is that Padrón Pepper has earned a lot of its fame and is highly valued and consumed only as a garnish, and is prepared fried or grilled and seasoned with fat salt later, recommending not to let them cool.
You can buy Padrón Peppers online through our Gastronomic Spain page and receive it at your home, in all European countries.
