annuum What variety.. Serrano Huasteco do you think???

Hello Pepper fans.. looks like I came upon the right place!
I am a new member and this is my first post.. and not my last... and I'm going to jump right in with a good one I hope.

I have been looking for years.... for "just the right pepper".
One that I used to have... years and years ago, 12 or so I'd say now...
I think it is a variety of Serrano pepper.
It was sold here at a local nursery as a plant and labeled "Fire Pepper" ... that's it..
I unfortunately did not save any seeds the last year, expecting to be able to get the plants again next spring anyhow like I had done for 4 years and I was traveling too much for work to try to nurse them in the basement that year again.

Only ones I had left... had already been put into canned salsa, so the seeds were killed by the canning process.
Didn't even freeze any that year for "fresh" use later... bummer.... or I'd have probably been ok. I was heartbroken when I found I could not get them... and the nursery did not know what they were and where to get them. (small Mom & Pop place)

Anyhow.. they were short.. all were less than 2 inches, usually a little bit blocky being 1/2 inch wide or so at the top and "not terribly hot", but they had a unique very "spicy" taste to them when a fully ripened red.. delicious in salsa and chili soup.
Near as I can figure they were a type of serrano.
I tried Tampiqueno from seeds from one of the well known seed companies, but they just did not turn out the same.. they were much longer and not nearly as tasty.

Could they have been the Serrano Huasteco variety??

I really miss them.. they absolutely made my salsa and my chili recipe a huge success.. and though my chili is still pretty good. It has won a few prizes (sure.. I'll share it soon), nothing has been the same without them.
I let them get good and ripened, cherry red or so.. then I diced them up onto my tacos, and anything else that needed a bit of a zing. Didn't take much.. but the "spicy" came through faster than the heat, so you could enjoy it without paying the price for it. A Native-American fellow I knew then... loved to eat them... RAW!!! He loved the flavor..
The flavor was as best as I can describe... "strongly spicy"... and maybe about as hot as a Jalapeno.

Anybody have an idea what they might have been?
Then, I need to find some to plant this spring.


Thanks
Revwarnut
Bruce Aurand - Minnesota

I believe there is an old Serrano cultivar "Fire". CCN carries plants of this cultivar, but I don't know of any place that carries seeds.

http://www.chileplants.com/search.aspx?SearchName=FIRE&ProductCode=CHIFIR&SizeID=&SearchMode=simple&LengthID=&WidthID=&HeightID=&OrientationID=&FoliageID=&FleshID=&UseID=&Color=&Location=&Keyword=&HeatID=&TypeID=38&DeterminancyID=&CategoryID=1&SeasonID=&NewProduct=&Letter=&SearchButton=Pressed

Revwarnut!

Awesome find Indiana_Jesse!! Serannos are awesome peppers. I'd never heard of this one before.

Since they don't have them for sale as seeds online, but do sell the plants, maybe call them and tell them your story.
Perhaps they might sell you some seeds from their growing stockpile.

You mentioned that the "Fire" serranos you liked were similar in heat to the jalapeno. I have both Huasteco and Tampequeno seeds, and the packets (both are from tradewindsfruitstore.com) list the SHU on each. The Huasteco is listed as 10,000-23,000 SHU, while the Tampequeno is listed as 2,500-4,000. Typically, jalapenos have a 2,500-5,000 SHU.

There is a serrano variety I grew last year that has a heat level similar to a jalapeno. It is called "Sinahuisa," and is an heirloom. I purchased the seeds from Native Seed Search. My sinahuisa plants were loaded with peppers! They have more flesh than the typical serrano, and they have a great pepper flavor that stands out, AND they are only a couple of inches long. They are NOTHING like the commercial "Franken-Serranos" you find at the grocery stores.

i have been growing these little guys since, oh. 1995 or so. have a plant that is 3/4 years old, the pods are less than 2" and vary from 1 - 2 inches. the problem is they take so long to mature in my cool environment. i would put the heat value at 15,000. but consistent is the small pod size.

http://www.ferry-morse.com/product_detail.aspx?id=1337

good luck on finding your perfect variety.

Thanks for all of the tips!
I am going to research all of the options.
With luck... one of them will either be the one I have been looking for... or it will have the characteristics I want it to have.

A liitle hot... (less heat would actually be better in order to be able to use more of them...) and the unique "spicy" taste that they have.

Thanks again..

Oh.. and ... living in Minnesota, I had the same problem getting them to mature properly...Sometimes, due to frost warnings I had to dig them up, put them in plastic ice-cream pails, and finish them in my basement at a window!
One thing that I did to fix this issue... was I'd start them quite early, (now...) and had better luck then... even with that, I still put some downstairs.
That ended up having a good benefit.
I managed to save several of them overwinter and replanted them the following spring with a great head start!!
I was able to save 4-5 the first year, and then I lost all but one over the next 4 years until the last one died too!!
(from forgetting to water them ...)
I have managed to cure that problem to some extent now, by using mulching material of some kind on the plants that I overwinter.
In fact...I have some bell pepper plants in the basement now that are awaiting their return to the great outdoors....
All but one of them...... have peppers on them right now.... each about the size of a peanut.


Bruce

Indiana_Jesse said....

I believe there is an old Serrano cultivar "Fire". CCN carries plants of this cultivar, but I don't know of any place that carries seeds.
http://www.chileplan...hButton=Pressed

Click to expand...

And that is probably what it was.... The picture looks EXACTLY like it.. about 1/3 as wide as it is long....
Problem is... CCN wants a miminum order of 12 plants (mixed types ok)....at $3.45 each!! OUCH! And... $14 shipping on top of that!!
And.. for this particular variety, they don't sell the seeds... arghhh!

Man....
I do know one of my co-workers and a couple of other friends in New Jersey that may be able to snag a couple of these for me.
I may try that route, but first.... I am going to try the seed supplier for Cross Country Nurseries ( http://www.chileplants.com) (same place as the link Jesse sent)

That is... Habanero Hill according to CCN's own info they posted about their plants on their website.
The listed website is not working for Habanero Hill that I found at the following buisness search web-link, but ... they do have an email to the company option... I am going to use that and see if I can get those and maybe a few other seed types as well... Perhaps I'll even call them too..

Habanero Hill
Address: 140 Haasville Road, Anthony, NM 88021
Tel: 575 571 2247

http://www.hotfrog.com/Companies/Habanero-Hill


I will be certain to update all of you on the results...

A HUGE thanks to you Jesse!!! .... Awesome!!!!

Bruce

Call the nursery with the plants too!
The don't have them on their website as seeds, but I bet they would sell you some.
If it isn't a big seller, they wouldn't bother to list them.
It is worth a shot.

Glad I could help!

Awwww.. Nuts! The seed supplier to CCN does not have any available this year for the "Fire" variety of serrano..
I am going to try CCN themselves next.
Figured out that the last time I had them.. was about 15 years ago.
Yes, it has been that long of a search!!
So close... Really do not want to wait until next year either.
Don't suppose anyone has some seeds?
Will update you all on this quest.


This is my email response from Habanero Hill. I made sure to thank them for looking into it. (wonder where they get their seeds???. That was not shared)

At present I do not carry any serrano seed varieties.
However, after several inquiries I will have the Fire, Sinahuisa, and Tampiqueno varieties offered
the 2014 season.
At present I know of no one else besides CCN that carries these varieties.
Sincerely,
Audrey
Habanero Hill

Click to expand...

Well, the verdict is in on the "Fire" cultivar Serrano seeds.

None to be had.
Cross Country Nurseries replied and stated that while they have the plants, they have no seeds available.
Their supplier, Habanero Hill, won't have any to offer until the 2014 season.

They did offer an alternative to the 12 plant minimum. 6 at an extra dollar each (plus the $14.00 shipping of course) for any 6 plants they sell. I will have to think on that one... but still a bit more than I'd like to spend, I usually grow my own plants or buy some of them in the sets of 6 locally.

Anyone out there have any?

I'll have to do with another variety I guess.
Think I'll try some of the other Serranos out there and see if any are close enough to what the "Fire" ones were. (a wonderful "spicey" taste, thick walls, prolific producers)

The search continues... even though it appears that I have at long last found them.

Gonna try a few other varieties as well. I always try at least 2 "new" gardern items every year.
Think it is time to kick that up a bit with the peppers. Not into the "super-hots" myself.. I love "hot" and spicey food, but it doesn't love me so much in my older years it seems... Plus.... those hot peppers are every bit as hot "going out" as they are "going in"....(you know what I mean ) .. and I just can't handle that like I used to.

member willard3 seems to know a thing or two about mexican peppers, perhaps you should take his input on the matter.
http://www.tradewindsfruitstore.com/servlet/the-Hot-Peppers/start/151/total/197/Categories
good luck on finding the perfect serrano

Tim in Tucson said:

You mentioned that the "Fire" serranos you liked were similar in heat to the jalapeno. I have both Huasteco and Tampequeno seeds, and the packets (both are from tradewindsfruitstore.com) list the SHU on each. The Huasteco is listed as 10,000-23,000 SHU, while the Tampequeno is listed as 2,500-4,000. Typically, jalapenos have a 2,500-5,000 SHU.

There is a serrano variety I grew last year that has a heat level similar to a jalapeno. It is called "Sinahuisa," and is an heirloom. I purchased the seeds from Native Seed Search. My sinahuisa plants were loaded with peppers! They have more flesh than the typical serrano, and they have a great pepper flavor that stands out, AND they are only a couple of inches long. They are NOTHING like the commercial "Franken-Serranos" you find at the grocery stores.

Click to expand...

I'm growing Sinahuisa for the first time and I agree completely with Tim: bumper crop, fleshier than Serrano, and I found the heat level very similar to my Serranos.