Since I'm waiting for my own plants to fruit this year I've been buying peppers at the store to hold me over. But why do all the store bought peppers suck? I mean, they taste fine and everything, but there's almost no heat. For instance, I've tried 3 different brands of jalapenos and none of them have given more than a slight tingling sensation. I feel ripped off everytime but keep having hope the next brand I try will actually have somewhat spicy peppers.
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shopping Why do store bought peppers suck?
- Thread starter Geist
- Start date
I don't know about where you live but most anywhere here in Australia only stocks cayenne & birds eye. (with the odd inclusion of 'ball chili' &/or jalapeño). These are easy to cultivate, and proflific plants.
Furthermore, the varieties grown are strains improved (or ruined) to have longer shelf life. There's other points too, they might be grown; hydroponically, badly, and are probably not sun ripened.
Furthermore, the varieties grown are strains improved (or ruined) to have longer shelf life. There's other points too, they might be grown; hydroponically, badly, and are probably not sun ripened.
Fruits such as tomatoes are picked when green and then ripened with gas just to give them that ''red' look. Perhaps they do the same with peppers?
Apparently there is no demand for HOT peppers. 
Yet, at my local supermarket, the hottest hot sauce we sell is Hot Ranga Habanero and it just walks out the door.
I wish supermarkets would stop trying to tell their customers what they want for once and just listen to them....
Yet, at my local supermarket, the hottest hot sauce we sell is Hot Ranga Habanero and it just walks out the door.
I wish supermarkets would stop trying to tell their customers what they want for once and just listen to them....
Well, see, back in the 1980s, an agri hybridist was experimenting with making milder jalapenos to see if it could be done and ended up creating a Frankenpepper. Then the thought was, hey, doing that could increase the market for the pepper. They were just getting popular---back then, no, not every AM-PM Mini-Mart, 7-11, Maverick, and whatever convenience store had jalapeno rings---and with so many people talking about them, it was thought that mass-growing a milder jalapeno would increase market share. Well, guess what? It worked. The jalapeno became more popular than anyone dreamed. But the problem was, this Frankenpepper got into the general cultivar gene pool and now jalapenos are getting milder except for those people are breeding to make hotter. I seem to recall the Frankenpepper jalapeno was made by splicing in some bell pepper stock, and that's how they made it milder.
The Frankenpepper is by no means the end of the jalapeno. But most of the ones you buy in the store are going to be the milder Frankenpeppers. Unless you live in the Southwest. Here, our jalapenos are imported from Mexico and they are nice and hot. It's a reverse thing here, see. People here won't buy them if they're not hot. Now, yes, a place like a supermarket here, they might be the Frankenpepper because they'e buying from McProduce McDistributor. But the Hispanic mercados here, you will get real jalapenos. You should also look to your Community Supported Agriculture farmers markets / community markets as the growers there will be growing proper jalapenos and not the Frankenpepper. The Frankenpepper is the seed stock sold for commercial growers and goes by several different names. It is correct that many of the commercial cultivars are/were selected for big crop yeilds, but of those, they also selected for the Frankenpepper so the jalapenos would not be too hot. They are, after all, never sure what purpose the jalapenos are going for be it pickling, salsa, fresh, processed food, or nacho rings at the 7-11. So, they opt for Frankenpepper to make sure no one gets burned, so to speak.
The solution is this: Grow your own, go to CSA farmer's markets, and use ethnic grocers whenever possible. It's no guarantee that ethnic greengrocers won't buy Frankenpeppers, but they're less likely to as their customers will often demand HOT peppers. Look to Southeast Asian, Indian, Pakistani, African, Latin American / Hispanic, and Caribbean grocers for good, hot chiles. You'll also find some hot chiles at some Middle Eastern and North African grocers, in particular those that cater to people from Yemen, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Also, canned or pickled jalapenos from any "brand name" will usually be Frankenpeppers. They're selling to everyone and can't afford stuff not getting sold because some people found it "too hot". Look for small-brand pickles from people who offer real hot jalapenos. They're also amazingly easy to pickle yourself. And when you pickle jalapenos yourself, you can pickle them in apple cider vinegar instead of distilled vinegar. MUCH, MUCH better pickle and the vinegar is great to use on greens. I talk about this stuff all the time on my blog. Check me out sometime.
The Frankenpepper is by no means the end of the jalapeno. But most of the ones you buy in the store are going to be the milder Frankenpeppers. Unless you live in the Southwest. Here, our jalapenos are imported from Mexico and they are nice and hot. It's a reverse thing here, see. People here won't buy them if they're not hot. Now, yes, a place like a supermarket here, they might be the Frankenpepper because they'e buying from McProduce McDistributor. But the Hispanic mercados here, you will get real jalapenos. You should also look to your Community Supported Agriculture farmers markets / community markets as the growers there will be growing proper jalapenos and not the Frankenpepper. The Frankenpepper is the seed stock sold for commercial growers and goes by several different names. It is correct that many of the commercial cultivars are/were selected for big crop yeilds, but of those, they also selected for the Frankenpepper so the jalapenos would not be too hot. They are, after all, never sure what purpose the jalapenos are going for be it pickling, salsa, fresh, processed food, or nacho rings at the 7-11. So, they opt for Frankenpepper to make sure no one gets burned, so to speak.
The solution is this: Grow your own, go to CSA farmer's markets, and use ethnic grocers whenever possible. It's no guarantee that ethnic greengrocers won't buy Frankenpeppers, but they're less likely to as their customers will often demand HOT peppers. Look to Southeast Asian, Indian, Pakistani, African, Latin American / Hispanic, and Caribbean grocers for good, hot chiles. You'll also find some hot chiles at some Middle Eastern and North African grocers, in particular those that cater to people from Yemen, Tunisia, and Morocco.
Also, canned or pickled jalapenos from any "brand name" will usually be Frankenpeppers. They're selling to everyone and can't afford stuff not getting sold because some people found it "too hot". Look for small-brand pickles from people who offer real hot jalapenos. They're also amazingly easy to pickle yourself. And when you pickle jalapenos yourself, you can pickle them in apple cider vinegar instead of distilled vinegar. MUCH, MUCH better pickle and the vinegar is great to use on greens. I talk about this stuff all the time on my blog. Check me out sometime.
The supermarkets here sell habaneros for $6.99 a pound. And they then shrivel up and rot. Then they discard those, and get more. Because the store "plan" says they have to carry them and how many they have to have on hand. Thing is, they carry more than people here buy. But the "plan" says have thus-and-so many on hand at all times. Stock, rot, discard, repeat. I always miss the new stock coming in because when I see it, I'll buy a bunch and pickle them. Sad thing is, they never reduce the price of the habaneros to try and move them before they totally go over.
If your going to buy peppers, the best place IMO is a local nursery, not from a chain store. At least our nurseries usually hand plant them from seed so they are somewhat selective. Places like lowes and walmart buy in bulk and they pretty much suck.
Grocery store peppers are often picked in warm climate countries when they are under ripe or totally unripe (for shipping purposes) and then they sit at the supermarket for weeks and get even more mushy and gros. Most often they aren't labbelled correctly and they are usually loaded with pesticides and herbicides
flavor also sucks.
i can get more habanero or cayenne flavor out of any of the 5 jars of pickled peppers I made last year and they're all better than what I can get at stores... and the dude at the farmer's market seems to have an issue with pepper flies, so i'm not going near that unless I really really have to (doubtful).
i can get more habanero or cayenne flavor out of any of the 5 jars of pickled peppers I made last year and they're all better than what I can get at stores... and the dude at the farmer's market seems to have an issue with pepper flies, so i'm not going near that unless I really really have to (doubtful).
I cringe when I see the crappy peppers at the grocery and Nova that is a great idea dropping a few bombs in the pepper bin. It is the same why a homegrown tomatoes taste like a completely different animal to store bought and agree on picking to early for profit and shelf life.
Especially bad here in uk as most of our supermarkets discard corked Jalapenos as they go by colour and shape over flavor or basically knowing what a decent chilli should be. so plenty of immature chillis to go round. lucky for me i live next to a farm shop with its own self grown produce so when chillis are in they are guaranteed to be fresh. oh and they have a thai festerval every 2 years so lots of thai food and hot thai chillis for me this year.... hang on sorry rambled on for a bit too long!!
My wife thought it would be nice to get me some peppers from a place we have here called Stop and Shop (big grocery store). She picked up jalapenos and habanero's, then went to another store and bought jalapeno's there as well.
i'll start with the jalapeno's... one kind looked like the carbon copy of the normal jala we get around here blah... the other kind labeled jalapeno were for the life of me... Fresno peppers.. and actually had heat.. for green ones. How they got them i have no idea.. but for the first day they were good.. quick down hill for both kinds though 2nd 3rd day.
The Habs... (i love her but she has no idea about peppers, she's tomato girl and i am pepper boy) were a light green color not at all ripe but already starting to get spots. I carved off the crap and sat down a the computer to log into well.... here., and eat 4 of them.. the fresno was hotter... more's the pity..... Just my 2 cents.
i'll start with the jalapeno's... one kind looked like the carbon copy of the normal jala we get around here blah... the other kind labeled jalapeno were for the life of me... Fresno peppers.. and actually had heat.. for green ones. How they got them i have no idea.. but for the first day they were good.. quick down hill for both kinds though 2nd 3rd day.
The Habs... (i love her but she has no idea about peppers, she's tomato girl and i am pepper boy) were a light green color not at all ripe but already starting to get spots. I carved off the crap and sat down a the computer to log into well.... here., and eat 4 of them.. the fresno was hotter... more's the pity..... Just my 2 cents.
Why do store bought peppers suck. . . . . . because there ain't no love grown into them. All those growers out there tell me that half the fun of growing is to go for a stroll through your pepper patch just for the sheer enjoyment of it. Gotta spread the love! 