The Chili Willy: Is It Time You Started Growing The Worlds Rudest Chili?

Chili Willy

The chili willy is a cute little pepper famed for its phallic appearance. It can be grown, eaten or just displayed as a novelty centrepiece.Chili Willy

If you’re a chili enthusiast there’s always room for more chili facts, and none can be as fun, entertaining and interesting as those about the chili willy pepper.

Let’s take a closer look at this willy shaped fruit and all it has to offer:

What Is The Chili Willy Pepper?

The chili willy is a type of Capsicum Annuum Var. Annuum, otherwise known as an heirloom pepper. You can get it in red, yellow or green varieties all of which may vary in their appearance to some degree.

You can find the pepper most commonly cultivated across Mexico, Texas and Asia, although you can get seeds and plants worldwide.

Nobody knows if this plant was bred to look as rude as it does, but these days it is equally used for food and novelty.

Some people absolutely love its spicy flavour, but for some, the joy of seeing such a weird and wonderful plant growing in their home or garden is enough of a return on their cultivating investment.

Where to Buy Chili Willy Peppers

Laugh away, it’s totally ok. It’s not hard to understand why this unique chili is rude, crude and outright fantastic. Also known as Peters Peppers or Penis Peppers, the Chili Willy Peppers have a very distinct willy shape.

When it comes to buying these peppers it can be difficult in some areas where seeds or plants are more difficult to come by.

Some countries, though, have an abundance of plants and seeds on offer so it really does depend on your location.

Chili Willy Peter Pepper Appearance

When you see it, you can’t ignore its shape. The chilly willy or peter pepper is accurately named. When fully grown and ripened, the chili pod has a long conical shape and a bulbous end that shares an uncanny resemblance to… well we all know!

It doesn’t only look good but also tastes spicy so you can cultivate it not just for show, but for use in lots of different recipes like pickles, sauces and even sweet dishes like chocolate chilli pots.

At the very least you can use it as a garnish to give your guests quite the shock.

Attending a dinner or BBQ with this chili is also a good conversation starter between your family and friends so do consider the chili willy as a gift next time you attend an event.

Chili Willy Penis Pepper Taste and Heat

These naughty peppers are medium-hot to pretty darn fiery (reportedly in the 10,000 to 23,000 Scoville Scale Units range) and are really great tasting (fantastic for spicing up salsa as well as conversation).

The texture is not meaty or dense like a jalapeño, making them ideal for drying and using at a later date.

Once you get past the laughs, there’s a pretty significant hot pepper here – hotter than a jalapeño. They are hot enough to stop you giggling once you get stuck in to trying one, that’s for sure.

Growing Your Own Chili Willies

You might be able to find chili willies at farmer’s markets if you are lucky, but if you really want chili willy peter peppers, you’re going to need to invest time into growing them.

Peter pepper seeds are often widely available online, and that’s how this chili has survived and grown its cult following over the years.

Here’s how to grow your own chili willies:

  1. Place your chili willy seeds into potting soil in a warm spot long before the last frosts are due. You’ll want to gently pat some soil over the top and then sprinkle some water over the seeds. You can find some handy tips on germinating your seeds quickly in this Youtube video.
  2. Once your seeds have germinated you should keep the soil moist, but not drenched – watering when the top layer of soil looks dry.
  3. When the chili plants have a few sets of leaves you can thin them out and plant them out (if it is warm enough and the time for frost is over). They can either go about 20 inches apart in a greenhouse, polytunnel or garden (if your climate is hot enough) or one to a ‘permanent’ pot if you are growing indoors.
  4. Once your plants are growing nicely in their permanent spot you should take care to fertilise them and prune them as needed so you get full, bushy plants to harvest from. You can harvest around 18-20 weeks from planting the seeds if the proper care is provided to the plants.

The key to growing healthy chili willy plants is to ensure they get enough sunshine and plenty of drainage. One of the quickest ways to kill any chili plant is to grow it in soil that does not drain well.

The excess moisture can cause mineral buildup, root rot and it can lead to fungus issues on the leaves.

Your plants should have really well draining soil that doesn’t drain so fast nutrients are lost, but that also doesn’t hold onto moisture so much your plant gets sick.

Will You Be Eating Or Growing Chili Willies Soon?

This is one naughty pepper, that’s for sure. In fact, it gives the popular term “food porn” a whole new meaning.

If you want your own peck of peter peppers, you’ll need to be on the look-out (or get ready to grow them).

But, when you do find chili willies, enjoy the laugh along with the good taste.