Add flavor to food without the heat.

AJI DULCE Known As ajicitoo,asají gustoso,ají cachucha Or sweet habanero 50 Seed Aji dulce peppers (Capsicum chinense) are small, sweet peppers similar to habaneros but without the heat. The fruit of the aji dulce plant is about 2 inches long, and start off green then turn red when ripe. Aji dulce plants bear fruit when they are about 18 inches tall.

This pepper is used to season dishes and is an important ingredient for sofrito, a sauce used in several Latin American cuisines. A must for those Style black beans, homemade or canned. Just add a couple of CACHUCHA peppers and the flavor soars.

In Puerto Rico, it is known as ají dulce or ajicito (sweet pepper and small pepper, respectively, in Spanish). In the Dominican Republic, it is also known asají gustoso or ají cachucha (tasty pepper, and cap-shaped pepper, respectively, in Spanish). It has the shape and size of a habanero pepper without the intense heat. Unlike many other countries in Latin America, hot peppers are not commonly used in the cuisine of Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, or Cuba. However, there can be some ají dulce fruit that is pungent, probably due to out-crossing.

1 Mix equal parts potting soil, compost, perlite and sphagnum moss. Fill a 12-inch pot 3/4 full with the mixture. The pot should have adequate drainage. Start seeds two months before the planting season. Sow seeds on the surface and cover with a sprinkling of soil. Cover the seeds with plastic and keep them in a south-facing window. Mist the soil to keep it moist. 2 Plant seedlings in time to put them out after the last frost. When planting seedlings, place the plant in the center of the pot and cover the roots with soil. Water thoroughly and add more soil if necessary. 3 Place the potted pepper in full sun. Set a small tomato cage -- 2 to 3 feet high -- over the pot to support the plant as it grows. Water the pepper daily if necessary to keep the soil moist.

4 Fertilize every two weeks with half-strength liquid tomato fertilizer beginning when blooms appear. 5 Harvest the peppers as soon as they ripen to keep the plant producing. Once the pepper turns dark orange or red it is ripe. Cut the pepper from the plant just above the fruit. Peppers left on the plant too long will develop a hotter flavor. 6 Overwinter the plants for the next year. In the fall when the leaves begin to drop, cut the plant back to 3 or 4 inches above the soil line. Place the container in a cool, dark room and leave it until the spring, after frost danger has passed.

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