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green or red? Jalpenos... what do you do?

i usually pick them green and make pickled rings and use them in salsa but this year i let a few go red to try them more ripened. just curious what others prefer. anybody prefer red over green? 
 
I'll eat them red over green if available, but the heatless jalas I'm growing this year just refuse to ripen. I've had the same pods on my plant for 2+ months and only one has even hinted at a blush. Needless to say, I've been using those green
 
RED!  Love to use the Red jalapenos for a fermented sriracha sauce and also to make candied jalapeno rings.  The reds are sooo much better than greens for candied peppers.  jmho... 
 
I prefer red chile peppers in general for sweet things like jellies/jams.  Green chiles tend to have a grassy taste that I don't particularly care for in a jam/jelly. 
 
Have Fun~
SL
 
luvmesump3pp3rz said:
i usually pick them green and make pickled rings and use them in salsa but this year i let a few go red to try them more ripened. just curious what others prefer. anybody prefer red over green? 
I do this exact thing. I personally prefer them green. I prefer that grassy flavor that SL says doesn't belong in jams/jellies. She's probably right about that. I don't have much experience with those. But raw and fresh, definitely green for me. I don't care for too much sweet with my peppers. My first red was a shocker and not for me...raw, anyway.
 
Red Jalapeños are delicious. Much like a red bell in flavor. I'd eat them red more often than I do, but our season doesn't allow it. But that's one of the reasons I focus on Jalapeños, they're great red or green, so in our season's face!
 
Step 1.
Pecan wood +
Smoker =
Chipotles
Smoke-dry them or use combo dehydrator
 
Step 2.
Store some dried pods
Make some powder
Make some chipotles in adobo
Mabe BBQ sauce from chiptoles in adobo
 
 
I prefer them red, but am happy to have them green, too. It kinda depends on the uses but really, I'd use the red for pretty much every application, but the greens are a bit more limited imo.

A big consideration for be is that i can get green Jalapeños at the market for cheap year-round, but i can only count on getting the red ones from my garden during chile season. So, i try to take advantage of that as much as possible.
 
Bhuter said:
I do this exact thing. I personally prefer them green. I prefer that grassy flavor that SL says doesn't belong in jams/jellies.
Lots of businesses make and sell pepper jellies made with green peppers so there are a lot of people who agree with Bhuter. I would not say they don't belong because obviously people like it.

My comment was that I don't care for green peppers in jellies, I prefer red chiles in sweet jams. Good thing there are options!

The only thing I will say doesn't belong is pimentos in potato salad. Nope, no way, useless, should never be in potato salad.
 
salsalady said:
Lots of businesses make and sell pepper jellies made with green peppers so there are a lot of people who agree with Bhuter. I would not say they don't belong because obviously people like it.

My comment was that I don't care for green peppers in jellies, I prefer red chiles in sweet jams. Good thing there are options!

The only thing I will say doesn't belong is pimentos in potato salad. Nope, no way, useless, should never be in potato salad.
I'm sorry about the misquote, Ann. I have a problem not reading things thoroughly sometimes. I see what you were sayin'. You were meaning YOUR preference. My fault. I just tried my first jelly last week and can see why you'd want sweetness there. I, myself, don't know how I'd like a peanut butter and grass sandwich. Lol. But I'll keep my eye out for green pepper jelly.

I can say I've had both red and green pickled jalapeños in tomato-based, brothy soups, like minestrone and they're both a definite enhancer. I don't eat those type of soups without them...like pizza. So raw jals, I like green. Pickled, can be either.
 
It's all good, Bhuter.

I like pickled green jalapeños and Verde sauces....Just not green jalapeño jam. Some people don't like black pepper....GASP!!!!

It's all good...There's room for all tastes..
 
I just want to go on record that there's not a whole lot of chiles our there that is wanna eat unripe. I can't count how many times i was proving/dickin'round in the garden and accidentally popped off a green pepper of whichever variety and felt bad about it, so i are it. And, almost every time, i find it disappointing.

Exceptions include Bells, Poblanos,Serranos, Anaheim-types...and, especially, Jalapeños. It's probably not a coincidence that those were chiles I'd been eating before i became a pepperhead, and it's also probably not a coincidence that they are chiles that are traditionally enjoyed green.... But it ain't an annuum thing; i ate green Guajillos, Tien Tsins, Thais, and probably others but i never did dig any of those unripe.

But, for me, unripe chinense are a huge disappointment. They just haven't had time to develop that unique chinense character that i crave so badly.

But, I'm going to be picking Jalapeños today. I have about 2 dozen plants. I'll be grabbing all red ones, unless the guy at the cantina asks me for green ones. Given a choice between the two, there's just no contest...
 
karoo said:
Last season I made some "traffic light" pickle Jalapeño rings.
Some red, green and orange.
Great mix of flavours and colors.

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Damn you beat me to it!

At the end of the season I pick all the jalapeños left on the plants so a nice mix of green through to red. These are pickled along with a basic pickling mix but I add halved Aji Pineapples and a finely chopped superhot :) wait a month and YUM

Green cant be beat for poppers and I use red - I let them get a bit over ripe for flavour intensity - as a base for my hot sauce.
 
good info and opinions, i`m letting some ripen to red and add them to the ripe cowhorns when i make red pepper flakes and chile powder. first frost still looks to be a few weeks away so i`m hoping more of them go red.  :cheers:
 
When i make relish and rings i like to use both. The flavors will meld a bit. One of the best is a jalapeno that is just starting to turn red. They are not quite starting to get sweet and the heat seems to be peaking. Nothing wrong with either of them really but i can buy green ones cheap. Ripe jalapenos are nowhere to be found even at farmers markets and specialty markets. If you cant wait for jalapeno to ripen try Fresno. Mine were putting out ripe pods much faster. Heat and flavor are close but not as sweet as a ripe jalapeno. Fresno also dried faster for me. Walls are thinner and the powder is very good.
 
I always say a red, ripe jalapeno is the most underrated pepper out there. It's hotter than people think (depending on the exact strain, of course, but generally speaking) and they taste richer (to me). And still a lot of the general public doesn't even know a Jalapeno ripens to red. Its crazy how often I get to tell people this.
 
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