Cumari do Pará

Cumari do Pará is a traditional Brazilian Capsicum chinense pepper tied most strongly to Pará and the wider Amazon Basin. Embrapa places it within the C. chinense group alongside pimenta-de-cheiro, bode, murupi and related northern Brazilian types, and broader Brazilian literature treats the Amazon Basin as the major diversity area for this species. In practical culinary use, Cumari do Pará is especially associated with northern Brazilian cooking and is commonly used in conservas, sauces, and fish dishes, with its aroma being one of the reasons it is so valued.

Morphologically, published Brazilian descriptions consistently place it among the small-fruited, strongly pungent yellow chinense peppers. Embrapa describes the fruits as erect and oval to triangular, with average fruit dimensions around 1.5 cm long and 1.4 cm wide, while other Brazilian sources describe typical fruits around 3 cm by 1 cm. The ripe fruit is usually yellow, aromatic, and intensely pungent. That combination of compact size, pointed-to-rounded triangular form, bright mature colour, and strong fragrance is central to the identity of Cumari do Pará as it is recognised in Brazil.

It also has a substantial scientific footprint compared with many regional pepper types. Research has used Cumari do Pará in studies on drying behaviour, water adsorption in seeds, volatile profile and sensory quality, capsaicinoid analysis, and more recent work on carotenoids, phenolics, capsaicin and antioxidant activity from peppers harvested in Pará. That tells you it is not just a folk-market pepper with local culinary value, but a recognised Brazilian type of interest to food science, post-harvest research and bioactive-compound work as well.