Tabasco Peppers , how do I tell when they are ripe

TnTom · Jul 16, 2010

My Tabasco plant is covered with lots of peppers. They are green/yellow and the flavor is great. I ate one that had fallen to the ground and wonder at one point are they considered "done". If I never picked them and let them dry on the plant will they turn red at some point.
I'm still undecided what I want to do with them. Maybe a salsa of sorts.

I just wish that I had planted more than 2 plants. Oh well there's still next summer.

paulky_2000 · Jul 16, 2010

They will eventually turn a deep orange or red when completely ripe.

HOWEVER

They are awesome when picked green and preserved in plain white vinegar. I use them "pickled" like this on tons of stuff.........beans, greens, black-eyed peas, barbecue, salads, and damn near anywhere you can use vinegar......

YUM!

Armadillo · Jul 16, 2010

I love them red! Sliced up on bread with cream cheese. Powder!!! In Spaghetti sauce. etc.....

TnTom · Jul 16, 2010

paulky_2000 said:
They will eventually turn a deep orange or red when completely ripe.

HOWEVER

They are awesome when picked green and preserved in plain white vinegar. I use them "pickled" like this on tons of stuff.........beans, greens, black-eyed peas, barbecue, salads, and damn near anywhere you can use vinegar......

YUM!

I'll do that. the one I munched was hot I almost went for a second but decided against it. I did the same thing with some Cayanne (sp) peppers (in white vinegar) about 5 years ago and still have some left in the bottle. It is so good on everything. Its a little scary to look at but the taste is still great.

TnTom · Jul 16, 2010

Armadillo said:
I love them red! Sliced up on bread with cream cheese. Powder!!! In Spaghetti sauce. etc.....

That's a great idea. They are a little small for a sandwich maybe. I love yellow banana peppers on bread and butter. Cream cheese is a stroke of brilliance!

I'm thinking a crouton with a spread of cream cheese and a pepper on top sprinkled with a dash of garlic and a six pack.

charlesNYC · Jul 16, 2010

hmmm.. spicy marinara.. that might be a really nice way to use cappy's dried tabasco powder...
because omfg that thing hurts as a beef marinade when compared to commercial crushed red pepper.

TnTom · Jul 17, 2010

Im going to take the plunge and pick a few. There are still flowers and lots of little peppers. Its been the pet in my garden this year.
If I save the seeds should I be able to germinate new plants?

cjbrewer5 · Jul 17, 2010

If you save seeds, then you need to let them ripen fully red. At least your germination rates will be alot higher if you let them ripen to red on the plant and then save the seeds from those pods. Hope this helps!

Charles

TnTom · Jul 18, 2010

cjbrewer5 said:
If you save seeds, then you need to let them ripen fully red. At least your germination rates will be alot higher if you let them ripen to red on the plant and then save the seeds from those pods. Hope this helps!

Charles

I'll do that then for sure. Thats helps a lot.

I picked 5 yesterday and made some salsa. I used a freshly picked tomato and an onion 4 cleaned peppers, some chopped celantro a dash of garlic. On a scale of 1 - 10 for hot it was about a 7.5 or so. The flavor was so good.