• If you need help identifying a pepper, disease, or plant issue, please post in Identification.

dried Aji Panca = Dried Aji Colorado

Aji Panca is Dried Aji Colorado?
 
I haven't found a local source of panca paste yet. i don't really want to spend like $8 bucks+shipping.
If I bought some Aji Colorado seeds from Peter at Semillas could I make my own paste?
are the pods smoked or just dried?
Would be Dehydrator suffice?
Can I go straight from Colorado Pod to Panca Paste without the drying step?
 
Thanks people!
 
Pretty sure those are different varieties.  Aji Panca is a chinense that ripens to a brown color, whereas Aji Colorado is a baccatum that ripens red.  I also have read that Pancas don get the ¨correct¨ Panca flavor until they´re dried, but Iḿ growing some this year, and i cannot wait til they ripen up so i can try them fresh and compare; Aji pancas are delicious as dry pods/powder, if you like the whole ¨earthy¨ thing.  
 
pepper_aji_colorado.chile.jpg

Colorado
photo_002.jpg

Panca
 
As for the making paste without drying, I guess that´d depend on your expectations, and how much of an impact the drying process truly has on the way they taste.  I think it might be easier to paste them when they´re dry, but there´s no reason why you couldn´t make paste from fresh pods.
 
HTH
 
hey thanks for the input guys. 
I'm interested in the Peruvian peppers. So the info i've gleaned from a couple of websites. It seems one of the names for Panca is Colorado or Aji Especial. 
based on this publication. Page 36 and 37. There is a side bar on 37 and 39 that describe them as chinense and they appear to be dried in the sun.
 
it appears to be one of the many misnomer problems in the pepper world. Any idea where to find quality Aji Panca (C.chinense) seed?
 
Edit: Search the pdf for colorado and it'll hit the entries. i don't know Spanish well but i can read it better than i can speak it lol. I do love this pdf though.
 
Thegreenchilemonster said:
Yes, aji panca is the over ripened, then dried version of the aji colorado. Just like aji mirasol is the dried version of the aji amarillo.

Page 21 of the book you referenced specifically says that aji panca is a sun dried aji colorado.
Huh.  So then what are the brown fresh pods that are called Aji Panca?  And how does it go from being a baccatum to being a chinense?  Is it a result of the drying process?
 
Bicycle808 said:
Huh.  So then what are the brown fresh pods that are called Aji Panca?  And how does it go from being a baccatum to being a chinense?  Is it a result of the drying process?
Aji panca has never, or never will be a Capsicum Baccatum. Which fresh brown pods are you talking about, the over ripe aji colorado that they sun dry to become an aji panca?
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20170816-201446.png
    Screenshot_20170816-201446.png
    356.1 KB · Views: 59
There is a baccatum on semillas website called Aji Colorado.
I'm starting to believe there is a regional misnomer of sorts.

There is a South American (at least Peruvian) chinense Aji Colorado that dries to make panca.
And somewhere else in the world they grow a baccatum called Aji Colorado.
 
Malarky said:
There is a baccatum on semillas website called Aji Colorado.
I'm starting to believe there is a regional misnomer of sorts.

There is a South American (at least Peruvian) chinense Aji Colorado that dries to make panca.
And somewhere else in the world they grow a baccatum called Aji Colorado.
Man, there are so many anglicanized misnomers of ajíes, I don't even know where to start.

In South America, especially Bolivia and Peru, where they have been growing and eating aji colorado/aji panca for thousands of years, it would be insulting to call one chile different from the other.

It is a known thing, just like a smoked Xala Capsicum Annuum cultivar from Central America is called a chipotle.
 
Obviously, Aji Panca is definitely chinense. Somehow, every source I´ve seen lists Aji Colorado as a baccatum, which is kinda hilarious when you think about it. How would the act of drying a pod change it´s taxonomic designation?
 
I realize that countless chiles in Latin America have different names when they´re dried versus when they´re fresh.  And, I realize that often, there is confusion amongst varieties and names get mussed up in the process.  This is especially true b/c, often, different ppl even within same sectors of the same region are using the same common name for different peppers, or using two different common names for a single pepper.  Sure.  And, it may be hard to ever ¨crack the code¨ as far as that goes with this pepper, in the past.
 
However, right now in 2017, if you´re buying seeds for Aji Panca from most WWW seed vendors, you´re supposedly buying a chinense that ripens to brown.  If you´re buying Aji Colorado, you´re supposedly buying a baccatum that ripens to red.  You can say that this situation is a result of Ajis being ¨anglicanized¨ (I´m sure you meant to type ¨anglicized¨), but Semillas is a Spanish firm.  They speak Spanish there.  I got this Aji Panca plant growing right now, we´ll see what color the pods turn to, but here´s what i´m growing right now:  http://www.chileplants.com/search.aspx?SearchName=AJI+PANCA+PEPPER+PLANTS&ProductCode=CHIAJP&SizeID=&SearchMode=simple&LengthID=&WidthID=&HeightID=&OrientationID=&FoliageID=&FleshID=&UseID=&Color=&Location=&Keyword=panca&HeatID=&TypeID=&DeterminancyID=&CategoryID=1&SeasonID=&NewProduct=&Letter=&SearchButton=Pressed&pagesize=20
 
I like the look of Peter's (Semillas) pancas. And it says they are sourced from Lima. Might have to give it a go unless somebody (Dale) with Peruvian contacts, can source some legit seeds.
;-)
 
I have a hefty satchel of aji colorado/aji panca seeds, that I would be glad to share with you, Malarky. I choose not to grow them every year, because I can buy aji panca paste from a market just 2 blocks from my house, any day of the year. I prefer growing ajíes that are meant to be consumed fresh, instead of sun dried, then blended into a paste.

I have a lot of respect for Peter's (Semillas.de) operation, though, so I wouldn't want to interfere with any of his potential biz.
 
Bicycle808 said:
Obviously, Aji Panca is definitely chinense. Somehow, every source I´ve seen lists Aji Colorado as a baccatum, which is kinda hilarious when you think about it. How would the act of drying a pod change it´s taxonomic designation?
 
I realize that countless chiles in Latin America have different names when they´re dried versus when they´re fresh.  And, I realize that often, there is confusion amongst varieties and names get mussed up in the process.  This is especially true b/c, often, different ppl even within same sectors of the same region are using the same common name for different peppers, or using two different common names for a single pepper.  Sure.  And, it may be hard to ever ¨crack the code¨ as far as that goes with this pepper, in the past.
 
However, right now in 2017, if you´re buying seeds for Aji Panca from most WWW seed vendors, you´re supposedly buying a chinense that ripens to brown.  If you´re buying Aji Colorado, you´re supposedly buying a baccatum that ripens to red.  You can say that this situation is a result of Ajis being ¨anglicanized¨ (I´m sure you meant to type ¨anglicized¨), but Semillas is a Spanish firm.  They speak Spanish there.  I got this Aji Panca plant growing right now, we´ll see what color the pods turn to, but here´s what i´m growing right now:  http://www.chileplants.com/search.aspx?SearchName=AJI+PANCA+PEPPER+PLANTS&ProductCode=CHIAJP&SizeID=&SearchMode=simple&LengthID=&WidthID=&HeightID=&OrientationID=&FoliageID=&FleshID=&UseID=&Color=&Location=&Keyword=panca&HeatID=&TypeID=&DeterminancyID=&CategoryID=1&SeasonID=&NewProduct=&Letter=&SearchButton=Pressed&pagesize=20
If you're buying seeds for aji panca, then you are buying seeds for aji colorado, that you intend on drying into aji panca. Aji panca is only a term used to describe a dried aji colorado, and not it's own type of aji. One of the reasons a Peruvian made book, written in Spanish, by a Peruvian author, about Peruvian peppers, is so that these types of topics will have a definitive answer about the subject, and we can continue expanding our knowledge about the plants we love to grow.

Anglicized is the word I meant to type, BTW.

Also, claiming that Semillas is a Spanish speaking firm, so they are the definitive resource about Peruvian peppers is not the best reference. That is like saying that an Australian site is the best resource for info on American fried chicken, since they are both English speaking countries.
 
Yeah Sun-dried is the sticky bit. It's pretty humid here. Hmpff.
I've got a market in Madison I've yet to look in yet so I've still got my fingers crossed to just find some panca paste.
I already have found my beef heart! (Local grass fed)
Antihuchos are in my future.

Thank you very much for the offer to share. I wonder if panca is ok dried in a dehydrator and powdered.
I'll hit you up later this fall
 
Malarky said:
Yeah Sun-dried is the sticky bit. It's pretty humid here. Hmpff.
I've got a market in Madison I've yet to look in yet so I've still got my fingers crossed to just find some panca paste.
I already have found my beef heart! (Local grass fed)
Antihuchos are in my future.

Thank you very much for the offer to share. I wonder if panca is ok dried in a dehydrator and powdered.
I'll hit you up later this fall
The dehydrator works well, BTW. A giant jar of aji panca paste costs like $5 here, so it's not really worth my time to grow some aji colorado, then dry it, then make paste out of it.
 
Back
Top