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Bolivian Rainbows

J

JustinNC

Now I know why they are an ornamental. YUCK! Dad has one and has had it for a couple years now and pulled some ripe pods off to dry. I popped one and just about puked. Terrible flavor. Any of yall eat them. Produces a lot of pods not to be useful.

NOTE TO SELF: ORNAMENTALS ARE THAT FOR A REASON!!
 
Are there any ornamentals that actually *do* taste decent? How about the purple jalapeno (or is that even considered ornamental)? I have yet to grow any ornamentals. I want to try the Black Pearl though, and maybe the NuMex Twilight and Explosive Ember...
 
I had two black pearls last year. My brother and I have tried one of the peppers and yes it tasted like crap but had some decent heat (to us anyway). I used a couple in my salsa just to kick it up a notch and it seemed to do well. So something like that it might be OK on small quantities. The salsa has gotten great reviews to hot heads and non hot heads a like so obviously the few I did use were not enough to throw it off. Not to mention the Black Pearl is cool.......c'mon its black and a plant, that says cool all over it. Good luck on your search and now you know,

ORNAMENTAL=Dont eat (a lot of) me. Only enjoy how cool I look.
 
crazy8 said:
Not to mention the Black Pearl is cool.......c'mon its black and a plant, that says cool all over it.
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Exactly. It just screams awesomeness. I would have got one this year if it wasn't for all those other varieties I wanted to try. Maybe in the meantime I'll find a nice black pot to put it in for when I do get it.
 
I suppose if you took an ornamental and turned it into a bonsai and kept it nice and trim it would be cool to have....but I cant see wasting good garden space on an ornamental when I could stick something I am going to consume in that same spot ;) lol
 
UltraZelda64 said:
Are there any ornamentals that actually *do* taste decent? How about the purple jalapeno (or is that even considered ornamental)? I have yet to grow any ornamentals. I want to try the Black Pearl though, and maybe the NuMex Twilight and Explosive Ember...
Click to expand...


I grew a "Vietnamese Multicolor" last year, just for the novelty. After all the pods turned red, I ended up
grinding them and using them to sprinkle on pizza and in chili. I actually liked the heat and flavor.
I'm growing about 8 plants this year to make a bunch of dried powder. One nice thing, the pods
are small, only about 1" long, so they dehydrate quick.
Heatwise, they are probably in the "cayenne" range, hotter than my Early Jalapenos,
which were very hot compared to store-bought jalapenos.
 
Some ornamentals have a nice heat, nothing spectacular but good enough if you add some other peppers for flavor and the heat will just add an accent. Ornamentals are not stars but can be supporting players in salsa and sauces with good results.
 
There are lots of great looking plants with great looking and tasting peppers but most that are classified as ornamental are not bred for flavor or culinary purposes. I grow lots of ornamentals and they are the first ones people notice and want to buy. As long as you know they are terrible to eat then you can appreciate the beauty instead. I'm a landscaper and I love using ornamentals and people just don't stop talking about these cool looking and rare plants
 
The rate Im going, Im going to be eating Bolivian rainbows. All the plants I have in the ground seem stunted, granted the weather hasn't been great. Sure wish my seeds would get started. Moving this spring put me wayyyyy behind.
 
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