What are Enjoya Peppers? Fairly new to the marketplace, Enjoya peppers are stunning and delicious, red and yellow streaked peppers from Holland. Shaped exactly like a bell pepper, they're a bit heavier and sweeter, and maintain both of their colors whether they're raw or cooked.
I could not be more excited to share the incredibly stunning Enjoya Pepper with you today!
My friend Nancy of Melissa's Produce posted a picture of these peppers on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. My jaw dropped when I saw it.
I'd never seen a pepper like this and at first glace it looked like someone had stroked them lightly with a paintbrush. I just had to get my hands on these.
And once I did, I created ten beautiful recipes that feature them.
What are Enjoya Peppers?
These beautiful peppers were discovered in 2013 by grower Wilfred van den Berg, in a greenhouse at his nursery in the Netherlands.
They were a gorgeous natural accident.
Just look at that! Are you kidding me?
Like little works of art -- I could decorate a shelf with them, display a bowl of them on the dining room table, or simply set them on the counter to look at. However, they are in fact perishable, so they should be eaten!
What do Enjoya Peppers taste like?
And yes, they are super delicious, though their flavor is not as unique as their appearance. They're sweet, but not super sweet, very crunchy and crisp and a bit juicy.
They are more dense than other peppers, each one weighing about ¾ pound!
And would you look at this cross section! The "stripes" run all the way through the flesh to the seeds.
Enjoya Peppers should be treated just like other bell peppers -- they can be chopped and added to salads, roasted, sautéed, puréed, and the list goes on.
Where to Buy Them
Keep an eye out for these beauties. Very soon Melisss's Produce will be distributing them to Bristol Farms and Gelson's Markets.
If you happen to live in the Netherlands, here are all the locations where you can find Enjoya Peppers. (Hope at least a couple readers are there!) And you should start seeing them at your local grocery stores, too.
There's more information about the Enjoya Pepper here.
Enjoy(a)!
And check out this awesome recipe (pictured below), and a few more recipes made with Enjoyas Peppers here. They are delicious in all sorts of recipes!
Let's Review
- Enjoya were discovered in a greenhouse by accident.
- They're from Holland and were discovered in 2013.
- A gorgeous pepper streaked with bright red and yellow.
- They are sweet, heavy, and bell pepper-shaped.
- Enjoyas are quite versatile and can be used raw or cooked, in all sorts of recipes.
Nancy Eisman
You're so welcome Valentina, and thanks for doing them such beautiful, eloquent justice!
valentina
Awww, thank you Nancy! 🙂
Sabell
Beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I discovered a purple pepper with green veins on my travels to the big island with and thought it was the coolest thing. I'll keep a lookout for this one.
valentina
Thank you! Purple and green sounds amazing -- I'd love to see one, one day. 🙂
Cathy | She Paused 4 Thought
WOW each one is a masterpiece. I will be on the lookout for those beauties.
valentina
Thanks Cathy. You will love them. 🙂
Deb|EastofEdenCooking
Just gorgeous! I can't wait to find them at the grocery store!
valentina
Thanks, Deb. I'll update the post as soon as I know for sure where they are. 🙂
David
These are truly a work of natural art! But I fear I may never see them in Tucson - although we FINALLY got shishito peppers this week for the FIRST time! So, maybe the Enjoya peppers will trickle here eventually!
valentina
One day! Awesome that you got Shishito peppers! How will you be preparing them?
Georgeanne
I doubt you will have to worry about them getting to Tuscon, David..I found them here in Scranton PA in the regular grocery store and we are always last to get anything new!! So gorgeous almost makes me not want to ever use it! -- I am waiting til my daughter gets home from work to show her..she is the creative one with cooking here.
valentina
So happy to hear you've got one! I just love them! 🙂
Jeanette LeMarr
Is there anyone who will send me a few seeds from this? I would love to grow them and get them out there locally to friends and family!
valentina
Hi Jeanette, I'm sorry but I don't have a source that provided Enjoya pepper seeds. I think this site would be your best bet to inquire about it --> http://www.enjoya.com/en If I find any other information, I'll post it here. 🙂
Jeanette LeMarr
Thanks for your reply. I was just looking for someone with a fresh pepper who would be willing to pop 10 seeds in an envelope and send. I could send a SASE with a fee no problem. The site says the seeds are not available for purchase at this time.
valentina
If I'm able to get some I'm happy to do it. I'll let you know when and if I do. 🙂
Jeanette LeMarr
Thanks!! 🙂
Sara
I had one today on my salad and it was soooo delicious! 🙂
valentina
Awesome! I bet it was a pretty salad! 🙂
Alan
I planted 10 Enjoya seeds in February 2017 in my greenhouse, from a beautiful speciman fruit I purchased at Whole Foods here in central Virginia in the fall of 2016, and properly saved the seeds. Took about 3 weeks until 4 of the seeds germinated! No other germinations (and I gave up on addition germinations July 1st, 2017). The four that popped up were the slowest sweet pepper plants I have ever started, but I moved them out about June 20th after hardening off. One died but the other 3 hung in there, and by August 1st they were about 14 to 16 inches tall and I noticed each plant had 2 or 3 tiny infant peppers. By the 3rd weekend (HOT, zone 7a) in August the plants maxed out at 18 - 19 inches tall, and the little peppers were still green and the three largest were about the size of a golf ball. None eventually achieved the size of a baseball and by mid-Sept all had 2 or 3 shades of orange splotching - random and appeared relative to the amount of direct sunlight received. Anyway, this past year was very disappointing compared to the unique (and sweet, juicy, tasty) fruit I purchased. I saved about 20 seeds, none of my fruit had many seeds, and I will try again this year. In fact I will sow the seeds about 1/20/2018 this year. In final, my plants received a moderate amount of blue label Neptune’s Harvest via a foliage spray starting 2 weeks after transplant and every three weeks thereafter. Well, there's some info - maybe it will help someone. I remain open to any suggestions. Good luck to all that try this one themselves!
valentina
Hi Alan, Wow, this is such great information to those who might try to grow them. Thank you so much for sharing your experience! I hope you have better luck this year, with a lovely red and yellow harvest. 😀 I'll have couple more Enjoya recipes coming soon. Please let us know how the crop goes!