Cabacina Laranja

Cabacina Laranja is a Brazilian Capsicum chinense pepper more commonly linked in Brazilian references with the Cabacinha, Cabaça, and Fidalga naming group. The name refers to the fruit’s gourd-like form, and Brazilian sources describe it as a long-known regional pepper rather than a modern breeder-made line. It is especially associated with parts of inland São Paulo and southern Minas Gerais, where Cabacinha or Fidalga is described as a recognised Brazilian pepper with culinary and ornamental value.

The plant is described as vigorous and productive, with published size descriptions ranging from compact plants around 60.0 to 80.0 cm to taller plants around 1.20 m, and some current grower listings describe even larger, support-needing plants under the Cabacina Laranja spelling. Brazilian descriptions give dark green oval leaves and upright stems, while commercial listings emphasise heavy fruit set and a strong ornamental effect once the plant is loaded with pods.

The fruit is the defining feature of this pepper. Sources consistently describe it as smooth, shiny, and distinctly gourd-, vase-, amphora-, or bell-shaped, usually around 3 to 5 cm long, with Brazilian references giving about 4 cm in length and roughly 15 to 25 mm in width. The pods begin green and ripen to orange, and the shape is unusual enough that the pepper is repeatedly singled out for visual appeal as much as for flavour.

Its flavour is regularly described as fruity and aromatic, with some current descriptions comparing the profile to peach or apricot. Culinary uses repeatedly include sauces, fresh salsa, pickling, salads, simmered dishes, and whole-fruit preserves, and Brazilian sellers also note that its colour, scent, and form make it useful for decorative presentation as well as cooking. Cabacinha material is established enough in Brazil to appear in seed-quality and breeding research, including work on Cabacinha pepper seed drying and on Cabacinha lines in yield studies, which shows that it has moved beyond hobby circulation into formal agricultural study.

A major heat conflict exists around this pepper’s published listings. Current international sources using the Cabacina or Cabacinha Laranja spelling often place it around 5,000 to 8,000 SHU, while older Brazilian Cabacinha or Fidalga references place related material around 50,000 SHU. The core identity remains consistent across those sources: a Brazilian orange-ripening Capsicum chinense with a small gourd-shaped fruit and a fruity, aromatic profile.