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New grower, how do i know when they are fully ripe?

B

Blakeg88

I finally have my first pods changing colors, my problem is this is my first year growing so i dont know how to tell when they are fully ripe and ready to pick? the little tag that came with my Habs shows them as yellow habs but mine are coming in a bright orange. they went from green to orange almost straight away. do these look ready to pick? or should i give them a few more days, its been 4 days since they really changed colors.
 
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A couple years ago I got frustrated and couldnt wait any longer for ripe pods to start cooking with.  I discovered green pods have their own unique flavor.  Different variety taste different, but when green they have something that ripe pods do not.  Since then, I have had a different opinion.  Now my answer is what is ready?  If growing for your self, I think it is all a matter of taste.  Not hot enough?  Well, double what you are cooking with and the green will come threw along with the heat.

Today, I think the right color means better hurry up and eat it.  Now green peppers and tomato, they give me a frigging head ache.  How do you know when they are at any frigging stage?  Tomato arent horrible because you can judge surface tension (squeeze it) but green moruga?  Oh damn that is hard.

Taste the rainbow.
 
AlabamaJack said:
some of the capsaicin is metabolized into sugar...that is why a fully ripe pepper taste's "sweeter" than it's green counterpart.
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I'm not sure that the pepper can/would convert capsaicin to sugar, but you're right about ripe pods continuing to produce sugar.  I think the added sugar just masks some of the heat, and changes the way it burns in your mouth.
 
when i am growing out a pepper that is new to me i like to try the pod in multiple stages of ripeness.
 I always let one pod stay on for too long on purpose so i have a reference point of how much of what color it will change too before it goes soft
If wasting 1 pod by letting it over ripen lets me know what its final color will be, that is worth it to me :)
 
 
 
enjoy your fresh Ripe pods 
 
:cheers: 
 
AlabamaJack said:
yes sir...the orange ones are ready...
 
from what I have read, the pepper is its hottest when I first starts turning it's final ripe color....after that, some of the capsaicin is metabolized into sugar...that is why a fully ripe pepper taste's "sweeter" than it's green counterpart...
 
AJ
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not sure on the accuracy of the idea that it turns capsaicin metabolites into sugar. Not sure that chemically makes sense at all.
 
Once a orange hab (and ive grown the one in the pic) starts to turn, you can put it on the kitchen counter and it will finish in a couple days.
 
Gorizza said:
 
I'm not sure that the pepper can/would convert capsaicin to sugar, but you're right about ripe pods continuing to produce sugar.  I think the added sugar just masks some of the heat, and changes the way it burns in your mouth.
Click to expand...
 
I had questioned years ago when the pepper was the hottest and by that I mean max cap content/unit whatever and found an article...don't get  me lying here because I don't remember where I read it...but several years ago, I bet I read 10,000 pages on peppers/growing peppers and just gleaned from it what I wanted/needed to know...there is a wealth of information out there by legitimate institutions....
 
heck, I may have even discussed it on the forum here and posted the link or quote...that's been a long time ago..
 
just trust me when I say I won't lie to you or comment about anything I just have an "opinion" on...
 
seems to me the color change chemical reaction had something to do with the capsaicin and in fact used some of it...
 
I will look and see if I can find the reference
 
AJ
 
EDIT:
 
now you got me curious...I searched the website and I have been spreading the information that a pepper is its hottest as mentioned above...If I am wrong, I need to know so I can correct my bank of knowledge...I have been saying this since 2013 or 2014
 
AlabamaJack said:
I will look and see if I can find the reference
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Looking forward to it. I'm always glad to learn something new. If capsaicin is a metabolite that would be news to me.
 
I will not derail your post any more...and I will stop saying that capsaicin is metabolized into sugar until I find the research article(s) that state otherwise...if/when I do, I will open another thread
 
AJ
 
Guatemalan Insanity Pepper said:
 
 I always let one pod stay on for too long on purpose so i have a reference point of how much of what color it will change too before it goes soft
If wasting 1 pod by letting it over ripen lets me know what its final color will be, that is worth it to me :)
 
Click to expand...
 
Definitely this.  Many varieties stay good on the plant a lot longer than they will stay good off the plant.  Sometimes you find yourself growing out a cross you were unaware of crossing.  Knowing what ripe looks like for a particular plant and knowing how long you can let something sit in a ripened state is incredibly useful.
 
thanks again for all the info everyone! i popped the 3 off i had that were very bright orange last night. i tasted one of them and oh man! lit my mouth up! they are plenty spicy haha ive got a few more turning on other plants as well i will probably be closing in on a dozen ripe pods this time next week. time to start making hot sauce!
 
AlabamaJack said:
I will not derail your post any more...and I will stop saying that capsaicin is metabolized into sugar until I find the research article(s) that state otherwise...if/when I do, I will open another thread
 
AJ
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I read the same thing. A pepper left on the plant too long loses some heat due to capsaicin metabolization. I forget which one exactly it was in but it was one of those technical papers publish by agricultural departments of a midwestern school.
 
AlabamaJack said:
yes sir...the orange ones are ready...
 
from what I have read, the pepper is its hottest when I first starts turning it's final ripe color....after that, some of the capsaicin is metabolized into sugar...that is why a fully ripe pepper taste's "sweeter" than it's green counterpart...
 
AJ
Click to expand...
That's weird....I know I read that somewhere before. Maybe like 5 years ago, or more. I have no idea where I heard it though.
Maybe it's the perceived heat, because once the pepper starts to ripen, all the capsaicin has been produced. But then the fruit is still converting starches to sugars, as fruits tend to do. So, like you say, it tastes sweeter, and that covers up a little of the capsaicin burn.

I don't know, maybe I'm just talking outta my ass!

But for me, at least with the hots and superhots, the change in heat between almost ripe and ripe is too small to detect.
 
thanks for verifying my memory...I agree that it was one of the midwest schools or maybe TAM...I have looked several times and can not find it....if I call correctly the capsaicin metabolism subject and "when they are hottest" was a by product of other research so that is what makes it difficult to "refind the article"....the article is on a hard drive of one of my old computers...heck I got 4 of em in this room and lord only knows which one it is on...
 
AJ
 
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