Chungyang Red Pepper facts for kids
Chungyang Red Pepper is a super hot chili pepper grown in Korea. It's a special type of pepper that was made by improving Thai and Jeju-do chili peppers. Dr. Il-ung Yoo developed this unique pepper in 1983. Chungyang Red Peppers are quite spicy, usually measuring between 10,000 and 23,000 Scoville heat units. To give you an idea, a regular bell pepper has zero Scoville units, and a jalapeño is around 2,000 to 8,000 units!
The name Chungyang comes from two Korean counties: Cheongsong and Yeongyang.
Growing Chungyang Peppers
Chungyang Red Peppers love warm weather. The best temperature for them to grow is about 25 to 28 degrees Celsius during the day. At night, they prefer it to be around 18 to 22 degrees Celsius. It's important that the temperature doesn't drop below 13 degrees Celsius.
When the temperature stays steady between 20 and 25 degrees Celsius, the plants produce the most fruit. If it gets too cold (below 15 degrees Celsius) or too hot (above 30 degrees Celsius), the plants can get damaged. This might cause them to drop their flowers or grow oddly shaped peppers.
Even though these peppers like warmth, they don't need a lot of direct sunlight. However, if they don't get enough light for a long time, the peppers might not be as good. They might also produce fewer peppers. They need about 30,000 lux of light. This is less light than many other common vegetables need.
How Farmers Grow Them
Most Chungyang Red Peppers are grown outdoors in fields. Some farmers also grow them indoors in special greenhouses.
Growing Outdoors
Farmers usually pick outdoor peppers starting in late July. The peppers ripen from the bottom of the plant first. Peppers closer to the roots often ripen better and have a brighter red color. Farmers can keep harvesting peppers until the first frost arrives. On average, one plant can be harvested about five times.
The quality of the peppers can change with each harvest. For example, the very first peppers picked from a plant often have thicker skin. They also taste better because they have a good mix of sweet and hot flavors. However, these first peppers might be a bit darker red than later ones. This can sometimes make people think they are not as good, even though they taste great!
Growing Indoors
When farmers grow Chungyang Red Peppers indoors, they can harvest them all year round. The quality of the peppers stays the same from the first harvest to the last. Indoor plants also tend to grow taller and produce more peppers than outdoor plants.
A big advantage of growing indoors is that the plants stay dry. This helps prevent many diseases that can happen when plants get too much moisture. Because of these benefits, more and more farmers are choosing to grow Chungyang Red Peppers indoors.
