Wapsi Square Forum

Typeminer wrote:

Jabberwonky wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Beets. Ewww.

The only thing worth growing them for is the part above the ground.

With some careful aging, they make for fine editorial comments at political rallies...

Beet the system!

(I have the teeshirt! My ex has low beet tolerance but a droll sense of humor.)

I had issues getting onto the forums.

It reminded me of when my Mother planted her pepper garden. How high on the Scoville charts depended on how angry she was while planting and tending them. We'd gladly muck out the bathroom with a toothbrush as long as our peppers were brain melting spicy.

Dave wrote: You never ate at The Prince of Wales...

in Palo Alto (Ca)?

TazManiac wrote:

Dave wrote: You never ate at The Prince of Wales...

in Palo Alto (Ca)?

Close... San Mateo.

Thanks FPF! I just noticed the .pdf. It shows up properly there, but still wonky in web form on my Kindle.

It's a sad day, folks. Scotch Bonnets have just attained the rank of "mildly spicy".

I was trying to recreate this lovely spicy cheese soup I had at this lovely little Texas restaurant some time back.

It was creamy and flavourful, with just this lovely, lovely heat. They served it topped with shaved Asiago.

I haven't seen Scotch Bonnets since I was in high school and an art teacher had gifted Mother with heirloom seeds, so when I saw them at the grocers, I had to have them.
I remember them as a sweet, savoury heat, and rough chopped and removed the seeds(I had an idea of planting them).
I only cooked them enough to soften them, and enjoyed...bland cheese soup.

Maybe next time I'll toss in a handful.

Oh, dear. Do you think your taste buds and heat sensors have become jaded?

Or, maybe, somebody has bred some "Scotch Bonnet" peppers "for the masses"... with the characteristic C. chinense flavor, but with much of the heat eliminated? I recall reading that Texas A&M had bred a "TAM Jalapeno" with most of the fire removed... maybe somebody has done likewise for the Scotch Bonnet?

Another possibility - the market (or the farmer) might have slipped another variety of pepper out under the "Scotch Bonnet" name, when it isn't really. Visually, Scotch Bonnet peppers aren't all that different than a Manzano, but Manzanos are another sort of pepper entirely (C. pubescens, from a perennial pepper bush... they're very tasty especially when pickled, but they're not all that hot).

Dave wrote:Oh, dear. Do you think your taste buds and heat sensors have become jaded?

Or, maybe, somebody has bred some "Scotch Bonnet" peppers "for the masses"... with the characteristic C. chinense flavor, but with much of the heat eliminated? I recall reading that Texas A&M had bred a "TAM Jalapeno" with most of the fire removed... maybe somebody has done likewise for the Scotch Bonnet?

Another possibility - the market (or the farmer) might have slipped another variety of pepper out under the "Scotch Bonnet" name, when it isn't really. Visually, Scotch Bonnet peppers aren't all that different than a Manzano, but Manzanos are another sort of pepper entirely (C. pubescens, from a perennial pepper bush... they're very tasty especially when pickled, but they're not all that hot).

That would...totally stink. I wonder if they were picked too early, because they're not that fiery orange/red colour yet. Then again, the habaneros from same store are orange, and sweet...grrrr...stupid idiots wanting high yield!

DinkyInky wrote:That would...totally stink. I wonder if they were picked too early, because they're not that fiery orange/red colour yet. Then again, the habaneros from same store are orange, and sweet...grrrr...stupid idiots wanting high yield!

This is one reason why I'm a big fan of farmer's markets, and backyard gardening when possible. There's a better chance of getting older (open pollenated, traditional and heirloom) veggies that haven't been selectively bred for yield and consistent size and "marketability". All too often, the commercial breeding process has hurt the flavor and individual character, when the plants were hybridized and selected for commercially-valuable characteristics.

Dave wrote:nother possibility - the market (or the farmer) might have slipped another variety of pepper out under the "Scotch Bonnet" name, when it isn't really. Visually, Scotch Bonnet peppers aren't all that different than a Manzano, but Manzanos are another sort of pepper entirely (C. pubescens, from a perennial pepper bush... they're very tasty especially when pickled, but they're not all that hot).

Anyone who mistakes Manzano for Scotch Bonnet (or Habañero) peppers deserves what he'll get if he grabs a scotch bonnet or habañero when he wants a manzano.

At least, around here, the manzanos i see are three or four times the size of the largest habañero, and smooth rather than wrinkled.

The concept of an descovillated habañero or scotch bonnet is even more repugnant than that of "extra-thin-sliced prime sirloin".

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Anyone who mistakes Manzano for Scotch Bonnet (or Habañero) peppers deserves what he'll get if he grabs a scotch bonnet or habañero when he wants a manzano.

At least, around here, the manzanos i see are three or four times the size of the largest habañero, and smooth rather than wrinkled.

The concept of an descovillated habañero or scotch bonnet is even more repugnant than that of "extra-thin-sliced prime sirloin".

Interesting - the Manzanos I raised some years ago weren't that large. There may be a bunch of different cultivars of C. pubescens out there, I suppose.

They're a neat variety to raise - the plant grows as a large bush, it's perennial and can live for years as long as there isn't a killing frost, and the leaves are fuzzy. I really ought to raise 'em again, if I can find a spot in the garden which is sunny enough to keep them happy... I think I've still got some seeds in the freezer.

I agree with you about breeding fire out of hot peppers... it's definitely a foodcrime. There are enough mild chilis available already.

Dave wrote:but Manzanos are another sort of pepper entirely (C. pubescens, from a perennial pepper bush... they're very tasty especially when pickled, but they're not all that hot).

My inner 15yo is rolling...

Debating on brown bag ripening them to see if it helps develop the flavour any....

Dave wrote:Or, maybe, somebody has bred some "Scotch Bonnet" peppers "for the masses"... with the characteristic C. chinense flavor, but with much of the heat eliminated? I recall reading that Texas A&M had bred a "TAM Jalapeno" with most of the fire removed... maybe somebody has done likewise for the Scotch Bonnet?

I worked with a lot of varieties of peppers in my time as an agricultural biochemist. It's not a question of if some varieties of C. chinense have been cultivated that lack much heat; such sweet varieties have been around for centuries and are quite common. They can also be difficult to visually distinguish from other hotter varieties. So it might have just been a perfectly good and normal bunch of peppers, but just the wrong variety for the flavour that you wanted. Or it could be that you've mutated and gained avian DNA.

You could try saving the seeds, growing the plants, and then trying to cross them with hotter peppers in a fun Mendelian genetics project with the kid. It's kind of a toss-up as to what you'll end up with from that, of course. You could end up with more mild peppers. . .or some mouth-destroying horror that shall be evermore known in the annals of cooking as the Dinky Dire Diablo of Deadly Doom.

It does seem to me that jalapenos, though now available damn near everywhere, are nowhere near as hot as they were 30 years ago. Whether that's me or the chiles is hard to tell.

Capsicums do cross-pollinate like mad, and interesting things can happen when you raise plants from saved seeds.

Catawampus wrote:You could try saving the seeds, growing the plants, and then trying to cross them with hotter peppers in a fun Mendelian genetics project with the kid. It's kind of a toss-up as to what you'll end up with from that, of course. You could end up with more mild peppers. . .or some mouth-destroying horror that shall be evermore known in the annals of cooking as the Dinky Dire Diablo of Deadly Doom.

I want those!

Look at DinkInky, paraphrasing Wapsi Classics like that...

So I was at a restaurant recently that custom makes taco type substances...they get to the part about do I want hot sauce, and I ask them if they have "chiles fantasma", and they cross themselves.

Nope, it has to have habaneros at the mildest to pique my interest.

Mind you, the one and only time I ever ate those was in a specially prepared curry, but still...the looks I get when I ask for them is priceless.

I'm still dying to get my hands on that beer(Miss Julie spoke of them) that's supposedly made with them to make a "hot chocolate" drink.

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Habañero

Habañero is a hypercorrection. It really is habanero in Spanish.

shadowinthelight wrote:

AnotherFairportfan wrote:Habañero

Habañero is a hypercorrection. It really is habanero in Spanish.

Interesting.