Wimpy Jalapenos?

jay said:

Steve Wertz said:

Vinegar seems to
intensify capsaicin.

..or is it because you have a large mix of various degrees of heat in each
pepper that is blended in the pickling process and they take on the hottest
common denominator? .. assuming they were not predominately mild or TAM to
start with. It seems to me that vinegar makes them less hot. I took some
HOT homegrown ones and sliced and put them in vinegar and they were not as
hot and in fact were sort of mild in a few days.

Well, there is a school of thought, call it an old-wives tale or
urban legend maybe, that when peppers are mixed, marinated, or
even just stored together in a paper bag, they will all become as
hot as the hottest pepper of the bunch.

I don't know how true this is, and I may have even read it here in
RFC. In which case it's probably BS ;-)

Let's ask Sheldon. If he say's it's BS then it probably *is*
true.

-sw

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?

I've been suspicious that habaneros are much less hot
than they should be. I've obtained some red habaneros
(possibly Red Savina?) both at a Mexican food store
and at Whole Foods that were properly hot, but the
regular supermarket habaneros are not as hot as I
expect them to be. I chopped up my last three and
used them in guacamole yesterday. It wasn't as hot
as I wished.

On the other hand, Thai peppers seem to be doing
just fine. I sliced a bunch of them and dried them
slowly in my big cast iron pot over low heat,
stirring frequently. Now, I've got a little jar
of Thai chili slices that are dry and brittle and
quite hot, even by my standards. They'll go well
in the pizza-like things I make using the Middle
Eastern Flatbread from Trader Joe's.

"Steve Wertz" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

jay said:

Steve Wertz said:

Vinegar seems to
intensify capsaicin.

..or is it because you have a large mix of various degrees of heat in
each
pepper that is blended in the pickling process and they take on the
hottest
common denominator? .. assuming they were not predominately mild or TAM
to
start with. It seems to me that vinegar makes them less hot. I took some
HOT homegrown ones and sliced and put them in vinegar and they were not
as
hot and in fact were sort of mild in a few days.

Well, there is a school of thought, call it an old-wives tale or
urban legend maybe, that when peppers are mixed, marinated, or
even just stored together in a paper bag, they will all become as
hot as the hottest pepper of the bunch.

I don't know how true this is, and I may have even read it here in
RFC. In which case it's probably BS ;-)

Let's ask Sheldon. If he say's it's BS then it probably *is*
true.

-sw

I do remember a few years ago my wife planted a some jalapeno peppers
between cherry tomato plants. The peppers had no heat but the tomatoes sure
did. Don't know about in a bag together but we never did that again.

--

Joe Cilinceon

"Mark Thorson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?

I've been suspicious that habaneros are much less hot
than they should be. I've obtained some red habaneros
(possibly Red Savina?) both at a Mexican food store
and at Whole Foods that were properly hot, but the
regular supermarket habaneros are not as hot as I
expect them to be. I chopped up my last three and
used them in guacamole yesterday. It wasn't as hot
as I wished.

On the other hand, Thai peppers seem to be doing
just fine. I sliced a bunch of them and dried them
slowly in my big cast iron pot over low heat,
stirring frequently. Now, I've got a little jar
of Thai chili slices that are dry and brittle and
quite hot, even by my standards. They'll go well
in the pizza-like things I make using the Middle
Eastern Flatbread from Trader Joe's.

I haven't noticed any difference in heat levels here in Kentucky but then
most of the produce here that I buy are from local growers. Three habaneras
in anything should set of you home fire alarm so they must be defective if
they didn't. The Thai peppers are also great here. ; )

--

Joe Cilinceon

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?
When I buy jarred sliced jalapenos, particular Trappey brand, they have
a wicked burn to them. Fresh ones purchased at the market should be able
to match that burn, right? But lately it seems they're not. They have a
bit of burn to your mouth but not much...and I have no problems handling
them when cutting them up.
Have I become chile jaded?
Goomba

I think I've told this story before, but:

About 10 years ago my mother-in-law hosted a family reunion. Her
husband had been telling us that a couple of his bell pepper plants
weren't bells, they were small and HOT.

He picked a bunch of the small round peppers, washed them and put them
in a bowl on the buffet table, insisted each of the adults try them.
Of 10 adults, results from small bites varied tremendously from "OMIGOD,
that's hot", to "WHAT are you all talking about?" When we tried each
others' samples, we found a tremendous variation in the heat of the
peppers from the same plant, picked on the same day, all seemingly at
the same level of ripeness.

It may also depend on the "terroir" as the winemakers say--the
micro-climate where they are grown, soil, weather, etc. Maybe even where
exactly they grew on the plant.

I think it's like when you pick two gorgeous strawberries and one is
divinely sweet and flavorful and the other is barely edible.

gloria p

Joe Cilinceon said:

I do remember a few years ago my wife planted a some jalapeno peppers
between cherry tomato plants. The peppers had no heat but the tomatoes sure
did. Don't know about in a bag together but we never did that again.

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune.
Why hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do
as peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

I bought some nice spicy-hot oregano the other day. Nice stuff -
really warms you up.

-sw

Steve Wertz said:

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune.
Why hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy
to do as peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

That reminds me of a question I've had.

Why has nobody developed a pepper as large and thick
as a red bell pepper, but as hot as a Red Savina?

It should be doable, no?

I think it could be very commercially successful,
at the industrial level, if not consumer retail.

"The Ranger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Goomba38 <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?

Unfortunately, the loss of zip to jalapenos neither your imagination nor
is it likely to improve within the foreseeable future. (clipped stuff) >
If you have them available, visit one of your local nurseries that
specializes in heirloom plants (or seeds). (ditto)

My favorite farmer says that the peppers near the edges of his fields that
get less water (more stress?) are hotter than ones under the sprinkler. So
there you go. They told me to look for ones with striations (they look like
stretch marks) and to look for the variety that is a proven hottie. I found
too that pickling seemed to cool the heat a little, even tho I kept most of
the seeds. I am not afraid to ask the produce clerk (or the farmer) if I can
try them. The greener jalapeños taste crisper/cleaner and the redder ones
more depth/fruity flavor. M2CW.
Edrena in West Taxes

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?
When I buy jarred sliced jalapenos, particular Trappey brand, they have
a wicked burn to them. Fresh ones purchased at the market should be able
to match that burn, right? But lately it seems they're not. They have a
bit of burn to your mouth but not much...and I have no problems handling
them when cutting them up.
Have I become chile jaded?
Goomba

I think it's hit or miss. We get fresh jalapeños from our CSA and have
found the variance in heat to be quite large from week to week (and even
pepper to pepper).

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz said:

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune. Why
hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do as
peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

That reminds me of a question I've had.

Why has nobody developed a pepper as large and thick as a red bell
pepper, but as hot as a Red Savina?

It should be doable, no?

I think it could be very commercially successful, at the industrial
level, if not consumer retail.

Three or four years ago, my brother grew jalapeños and various mild
capsicum chinense and capsicum baccatums. The chinenses were disturbing
because they tasted like a habanero but had no heat at all.

The jalapeños must have crossed with one of the C. chinenses because he
had volunteer peppers the next year that looked like jalapeños, and were
thick and juicy like a jalapeños, but were firey hot and tasted like a
habanero. I never saw the bushes to see what kind of leaves and flowers
they had. Anyway, he sliced and dehydrated a bunch of the peppers. I
salvaged some of the seeds from the dehydrated peppers and tried to grow
them last year. (I have a sneezing fit every time i open the bag
because they are so hot.) It took them about a month to germinate and
then they all died -- but at least they germinated. I thought they
might be infertile mules, or might have been killed by the dehydrator heat.

I planted them again this year and pampered them with mild bottom
heating, and they are germinating right now and look a lot more
vigorous. If they survive (and I think they will) it will be
interesting to see what the F2 hybrids are like. If I'm really really
lucky, after several generations I might be able to select a strain that
resembles the original hybrid.

Best regards,
Bob

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?
When I buy jarred sliced jalapenos, particular Trappey brand, they have
a wicked burn to them. Fresh ones purchased at the market should be able
to match that burn, right? But lately it seems they're not. They have a
bit of burn to your mouth but not much...and I have no problems handling
them when cutting them up.
Have I become chile jaded?
Goomba

Those are my thoughts as well although I noticed their wimpiness many
years ago. I think that they are being bred milder so that white
people can eat them and feel macho. I noticed the same thing with
radishes as well. They used to be hotter.

Steve Wertz said:

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune.
Why hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do
as peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

Eeeeuuuuwwwww. Tomatoes are supposed to be sweet-and-salty.
Hot would be Just Wrong.

gloria p

Puester said:

Steve Wertz said:

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune.
Why hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do
as peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

Eeeeuuuuwwwww. Tomatoes are supposed to be sweet-and-salty.
Hot would be Just Wrong.

The pungent, salty, sweet and slightly sour, together, are the
basis for many of the famous flavors of SE Asia.

-sw

Goomba38 said:

Is it my imagination or have fresh jalapenos become a bit wimpy?
When I buy jarred sliced jalapenos, particular Trappey brand, they have
a wicked burn to them. Fresh ones purchased at the market should be able
to match that burn, right?  But lately it seems they're not. They have a
bit of burn to your mouth but not much...and I have no problems handling
them when cutting them up.
Have I become chile jaded?
Goomba

I noticed jalapeno peppers getting weaker and milder several years
ago.
http://groups.google.com/group/rec.food.cooking/browse_thread/thread/7f90a347f1bee589/bfc0a65ad7d35d6b?lnk=st&q=&rnum=2#bfc0a65ad7d35d6b

zxcvbob said:

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz said:

A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune. Why
hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do as
peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

That reminds me of a question I've had.

Why has nobody developed a pepper as large and thick as a red bell
pepper, but as hot as a Red Savina?

It should be doable, no?

I had a navy cook buddy who was working on crossing a bell pepper with a
habanero...don't know how successful he's been. But I'm sure he's not
the only one.

--
"I'm thinking that if this dilemma grows any more horns, I'm going to
shoot it and put it up on the wall."

- Harry Dresden

That would be like crossing a cat with a dog.
"ravenlynne" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

zxcvbob said:

Mark Thorson said:

Steve Wertz wrote:
> A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune. Why
> hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do as
> peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?

That reminds me of a question I've had.

Why has nobody developed a pepper as large and thick as a red bell
pepper, but as hot as a Red Savina?

It should be doable, no?

I had a navy cook buddy who was working on crossing a bell pepper with a
habanero...don't know how successful he's been. But I'm sure he's not the
only one.

--
"I'm thinking that if this dilemma grows any more horns, I'm going to
shoot it and put it up on the wall."

- Harry Dresden

Aluckyguess said:

That would be like crossing a cat with a dog.
"ravenlynne" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

zxcvbob said:

Mark Thorson wrote:
> Steve Wertz wrote:
>> A spicy hot, natural tomato. You could have made a fortune. Why
>> hasn't someone mass-marketed these yet? Should be easy to do as
>> peppers and tomatoes are kinda related, no?
> That reminds me of a question I've had.
>
> Why has nobody developed a pepper as large and thick as a red bell
> pepper, but as hot as a Red Savina?
>
> It should be doable, no?

I had a navy cook buddy who was working on crossing a bell pepper with a
habanero...don't know how successful he's been. But I'm sure he's not the
only one.

You are assuming the species distinction between C. annuum and C.
chinense is really valid; I'm not so sure.

I have jalapeño x habanero F2 hybrids growing in my garden right now.
They were planted kind of late, so they are just now blooming. I'm
anxious to see what the fruit are like. (I assume they will vary some
from plant-to-plant)

The parent habanero wasn't really a hab, it was a different /mild/ C.
chinense pepper; I'm not sure what varieties my brother grew that year,
but they were all jalapeños and mild chinenses and mild C. baccatums.
The F1's looked like jalapeños, with thick-walled juicy fruits that were
fiery hot. The taste has aspects of jalapeño and habaneno.

Bob