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

powder-flake "Crushed Red Pepper" - what variety is it?

I'm just curious....when you buy a jar of "Crushed Red Pepper" from any basic
supermarket spice rack, or sprinkle it on your pizza at the local pizzaria,
exactly what type of pepper is that (usually) ?

I'm sure there is variation, but the ingredients usually say something generic like
"Chili Pepper" or "Red Pepper". I'm just curious what variety of pepper is generally used for commercially produced crushed red pepper.

Maybe I'll take some seeds and try to germinate them. :)
 
They shouldn't have a problem germinating and the price is certainly right for an experiment. I assume it's some sort of Cayenne pepper, but I would also assume that it's not made to exact specifications

I personally LOVE Chile De Arbol for shaking. It has a lot more flavor and quite a bit more sting. I make a couple of quarts a year
 
I think i remember reading somewhere that generic crushed red peppers are usually made from a combo of ancho, bell, cayenne.
 
Pepperfreak said:
I think i remember reading somewhere that generic crushed red peppers are usually made from a combo of ancho, bell, cayenne.

I heard that as well.

I also tried germinating some seeds from a shaker and no luck. I think because they're dehydrated the chances of valid seeds in nominal, but maybe still possible.
 
I was just going to ask this as well. Why would there be bell peppers though in there if it says chilli's? Also I was wondering if they are roasted because they look more brown then my dried peppers. Mine are a brighter red.
 
I think pure flaked cayenne would be "too hot" for the average joe... or josephine :lol:

the darker color is probably from the dehydration temperatures being high, which in turn may kill the seeds....
 
Ballzworth said:
I heard that as well.

I also tried germinating some seeds from a shaker and no luck. I think because they're dehydrated the chances of valid seeds in nominal, but maybe still possible.

Well, it IS possible. A couple of days after posting this , I was at a local pizza shop and shook about 10 seeds out of a red pepper shaker and took
them to work. I wrapped them in a wet paper towel, and put them in an empty DVD case (those round towers that a roll of 100 blank DVDs or CDs
comes in...makes a great mini-greenhouse) and sat them on the windowsill. I did the same at an Italian restaurant the next day, and put them
in a damp towel/ziplock bag at home.

Out of those 20 seeds, this ONE little guy actually germinated. Shocked me to see it. So, we'll see what grows, and if it will produce anything.
IMG_4661-e1268823463378.jpg
 
Very cool. Funny that you're using the CD spindle cover, I was looking at mine thinking the same thing. The perfect dome for a growing plant. The 100 CD spindle is about 7 to 8 inches tall.
 
ultravista said:
Very cool. Funny that you're using the CD spindle cover, I was looking at mine thinking the same thing. The perfect dome for a growing plant. The 100 CD spindle is about 7 to 8 inches tall.

That's what I used. Didn't have a ziplock bag here at work but had an empty CD spindle and thought "Good enough". I may hacksaw out that rod in the middle and let a plant grow in there and see how
it does. Or just invert it, and put the dirt down in the cover, then cap it with the lid, When the plant gets to big to fit, just take the lid off, let it keep growing, and have about a 5" pot to use for a while longer.

Hmm... this idea is getting better and better.....I might have 20-30 of those for seedlings next year. :P
 
I took a few seeds from a bag of crushed "Asian" peppers my wife uses. Albiet a low germination rate, I did have a few sprout. I am curious as to what they are (I may never know). The were imported from China.

The leaves are very long and thin. Well at least the first two are ...
 
i also tried germinating seeds from chilli flakes i bought from the supermarket.100% successful, they're growing well, some of my best plants in fact.all i did was soak them for half an hour before planting in sieved compost.
 
Ok, I had to try some Toney's Crushed red pepper seeds. I've got 10 in a ziplock bag already. I'll keep ya posted if any germinate.
 
I never had a commercial crushed pepper mix that was worth 10 cents. My wife (Thai) and I use lots of gound dried chili that I, grow, dry anf then grind in a coffee grinder. It will get your attention.
 
I was looking on the back of a package of "crushed chilis" from Walmart (Greatvalu) and after listing Chilis peppers(yes, generic as it may seem), they say it may contain sesame seed and soya product......uh?
 
I used cayenne, thai dragon, and tepin last year for my shaker. They got dark blood red after I dehydrated them. My father-in-law grab the shaker and hit a pice of pizza with it. I said " be careful, this isn't Pizza Hut peppers". He didn't use it again.

And btw Jetskee, the BLT Pizza at The Pizza Cottage is the bomb!
 
Back
Top