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Cowhorn... Cayenne... ?

geeme

geeme

The label that came with my cowhorn pepper plant says "Cowhorn (Long Thick Cayenne)." When I started doing some digging to get an idea of how hot these were going to be, though, some sites indicate that cowhorns are different from cayennes. Other sites indicate cowhorns are a variety of cayennes. Anybody out there have a definitive source that leans one way or another? Regardless, I can tell you the first bad boy I pulled was smokin'. I started to put it in a salad (raw), but quickly decided that was a mistake (even after pulling it out of the salad, the other veggies still burned in the mouth.) Slapped it in a skillet with some lime juice, then melted cream cheese on it. It was still pretty potent, but at least tolerable like that.

Also, a curiosity - the first Tam I pulled was pretty hot. I described it as having similar heat as a regular jalapeno. However, the rest have been very mild - more like a sweet bell with a slight kick. Is it common to get fruits from the same plant that vary so much in their heat?
 
yeah, the peppers will al vary in heat on the same plant. At least it's a normal thing for me.
One of my purira's puts out a ton of peppers, most of which are fairly mild, like a Mild Jalapeno... Every once in a while though, it will produce a pod that puts Habanero's to shame. It's kind of like playing Pepper Russian Roulette when eating them.
 
geeme said:
Salsalady,

Thanks for your reply. Trying to post my first pic - my baby cowhorn plant. So far I haven't had the problem you've been having. Unlike yours, too, mine was quite hot, which is part of why I'm wondering if the label on it was correct.

Best wishes on the throwdown!

G

P1000016b.JPG
Click to expand...
just seeing if copying this from another post works.

Is this the chile in question? It does look like my plant.
 
OK it looks like the copy/paste worked. On my plant, the chiles get a rotten spot at the lowest point. Like on the chile on the left, it would get rotten right above where it's getting red. Haven't had any get red yet. I'm interested in what others think this variety is.
 
The cowhorns aren't true cayennes but the word cayenne unfortunately covers a wide range of peppers these days :(
 
Salsalady -

Yep - the same plant. The picture made me laugh a bit, though. It was taken after I turned the pot. The side you can't see is already totally red (that side got more sun the last few days.) The one on the right is also starting to redden, though you can't tell from the pic. I'm curious to see if the other pods are as hot as the first one or not, given that yours had very little heat.

G
 
I haven't pulled any of the "regular" jalapenos yet - trying to be patient, as not one has even begun to blush! But admittedly, I was surprised the cowhorns started turning before the jalapenos even considered it, given that the jalapenos were the first to appear. So I guess I'm now wondering if the possibility exists that the jalapenos won't ever turn - are there jalapenos that are just green? None of the tams have blushed, either, but they're just too fun to pick and eat on the spot!

Salsalady -

Do you have a pic of what's happening to your probably-a-cowhorn pepper?

G
 
J762 said:
yeah, the peppers will al vary in heat on the same plant. At least it's a normal thing for me.
One of my purira's puts out a ton of peppers, most of which are fairly mild, like a Mild Jalapeno... Every once in a while though, it will produce a pod that puts Habanero's to shame. It's kind of like playing Pepper Russian Roulette when eating them.
Click to expand...

Funny you should say that about Russian Roulette but I ate a relatively innocent looking De Arbol from one of my plants yesterday and it was blazing hot. All the rest are just normal tingly stuff. I find quite a large variation in the Cayennes I have tasted fresh but 99% of mine end up dried and ground into powder.
 
The cow's horn peppers that I grow are like those in the above pic and are sweet with no heat. I see some confusion with all these similar varieties: ram's horns, cowhorns, goathorn, bull'shorn, CORNO DI TORO
 
Here's a picture of the peppers on the plant-
rottenpepper1.jpg



Here's a picture of the peppers from a couple weeks ago-
rottenpepper2.jpg


You can really see the rotten spost. None of these peppers ever got ripe. I'm interested to see what others think about the variety...
 
I am growing those. Heat level has been inconsistent from pod to pod, but leaning toward the mild side. Also, I'd say 3/4 of the first batch pods on that plant developed Blossom End Rot (BER) which appears to be your plant's malady too. It was the worst case of BER of any plant in my garden. Eventually BER quiets down for the season, but not before you've had to pull your best, early pods before they are ripe, due to the rot. Later pods probably won't have as much extent of BER. Keep the watering consistent and not overdone and you will get that rot to leave you alone quicker.
 
Check out this link on Chili Pepper Diseases: http://aces.nmsu.edu/pubs/_circulars/circ549.html There are some pictures at the bottom. Have you cut one open to see what's going on inside? Here's another one, with a few more tidbits: http://www.thechileman.org/guide_disease.php Very curious. Since the plant seems healthy enough, though, I'm wondering if it's poor pollenation. Though that doesn't seem to fit entirely, either, or in theory your other plants would have the same issue (unless you're pollenating by hand.) And although the picture doesn't coincide directly with your own, I wonder if it might be early stages of bacterial soft rot, since it does look like a weakening of the internal tissue. I've spent some time looking at various sites that talk about disesases, but haven't found any pics that look like what is happening to yours.

I'm thinking that your plants and mine aren't the same, although there are similarities. Yours are narrower at the stem end, then widen to the middle before tapering off to the bottom. Mine are widest at the stem end, then aside from wrinkles, taper all the way to the bottom. Yours also have what I'm going to call indented seams - the areas where the seed membrane extend inward from the flesh, giving sweet bells their flower-shape when sliced horizontally. Mine don't have the indented seams, but are more uniformly round.

Stepped outside to take another look at my plant after you posted your pics. The one in this morning's pic with just the tip glowing red is now completely red. The one on the far right is now noticeably red all over, though not quite "there" yet. Also that one on the right, though hidden by the leaf in front of it in the pic, almost reaches the dirt. I am unabashadly amazed and delighted by these little plants!
 
I'm not finding any pics of BER that look like what's going on with Salsalady's pods - looked at several extensions of various universities. All the pics of BER that I've found include discoloration - sometimes black, sometimes brown, and sometimes even tan. These look more just water-logged. Also, the pics I've found of early BER don't look like that, either - they're more actual spots, while Salsalady's are like entire bands. Wish I knew more about this stuff!
 
I know this thread is old but my cow horn peppers from Bonnie are getting huge but are not turning red? This is the first pepper I've grown and it's doing very well I'm just wondering when they will be red and ready to be used how will I know
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Sent from my VS986 using Tapatalk
 
Ive got a Bonnie Cowhorn too.Its doing very well in the ground. The description on Bonnie's website is a bit misleading though. Mine are far hotter than they claim. Ive had nice sized peppers on the plant for about a month and none have turned red.
 
I've got the thick walled red not from Bonnie's plants but it usually takes 3 weeks after the get to their correct size to redden up all the way.
 
Update. just checked mine carefully again today. I have one turning red now. Its one of the first ones that appeared. I already ate the other one. The flavor of the first green one was very cayenne like btw. Im not a big fan of that flavor but they might make a good hot sauce if you enjoy that flavor.
 
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