Essegi 2020: lol!

Hi guys, how are you? It's a while i don't visit glogs...
Last year i haven't even opened one.
Long story short: grew Bleeding Jigsaw and Jalapenos from Semillas. Also bought a red rocoto, just in case.
Well, it has been my worst year, as soon i planted out stuff there's been at least 2 weeks of cold and rain. Then some other rain...
Jalapeno was ok. I even learnt to cook them slower than usual to get better and most consistent results... Bleeding Jigsaw, i dunno, didn't impressed me that much:
1) i've kept two plants, no one bleeded.
2) i've given away some plants, many, if not all, bleeded.
It's mid low end super, so enough for me, not very productive (1 plant barely produced any pod, the other some and started to produce nearly nicely very late), taste is ok.
 
This year i wanted to grow a bit more.
So i ordered from RFR that ones:
Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate
Hidalgo
BTR Scorpion
 
Damn seeds after 1 good months haven't arrived, tracing wasn't much helpful (seeds seemed to be in LA, then Milan, then maybe again LA in the same day, then nothing) so i placed an order at Semillas (of course i could argue, but i doubt it was vendor's fault and i just wanted seeds) with these:
 
BTR Scorpion
Serrano Tampiqueno
Apocalypse Chocolate
 
Yes, i really wanted Serrano (Hidalgo is a variety...), and BTR sounded just good.
 
Until today. Today arrived RFR seeds with extra bonus:
Bhutlah Scorpion
Molly 
 
While i didn't even knew about Molly, Bhutlah Scorpion is indeed an heavyweight... Also having 2 freebies with an order of 3 is really impressive!
I really didn't expect that!
 
So in the end i have those seeds:
 
BTR Scorpion (SLP)
Serrano Tampiqueno (SLP)
Apocalypse Chocolate (SLP)
Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate (RFR)
Hidalgo (RFR)
BTR Scorpion (RFR)
Bhutlah Scorpion (RFR)
Molly (RFR)
 
Now i'm laughing thinking about what to do... I wanted to keep 6 plants, 2 per type... Because i don't like 1 per type, i can have the unlucky one and get the wrong idea, or have the wrong seed, or messing that seed myself or whatever...
I can plant 4, maybe 5 seeds each. I have 3 annuums and i can keep one each... Then 2 per chinense. That would be 13, more than twice what i wanted...I'll have 4 BTR, but from RFR site photos seems a bit more elongated, to me, than Semillas one, so i just consider them different...
I'm not even thinking about preserving seeds for 2021.
 
I guess i'll plant in 1-3 weeks, maybe it's a bit late (conversely, if i had waited 2 weeks last year would have been better, i just needed to know the weather with 4 months in advance).

 

[CaneDog]

Good luck this year, Essegi.  I hope you have none of the troubles you mention that occurred last season.
 
I will grow one serrano this year and was trying to choose between the Tampiqueno and Hidalgo. Before I decided, the vendor ran out of Hildalgo so the decision was made for me.  Do you think you'll grow one of the serranos?  If so, which one interests you most?

 

[PaulG]

Welcome to the 2020 grow season, Giancarlo!
 
You wound up with a pretty nice list after all is
said and done! Good luck when you get underway.

 

[Devv]

Good to see you Giancarlo, good luck this season!
 
That, and I'm waiting (hoping) for those great climbing pics

 

[Essegi]

Just some cheap photos.
Here my to-be-firepower:

 

And i hope to overwinter that Rocoto. It still has a decent pod. I plan to use it on an amatriciana. I have never been much interesed in that dish until last year that i made it some times. It's just another great stuff, worth of legends.
 

Good luck this year, Essegi.  I hope you have none of the troubles you mention that occurred last season.
 
I will grow one serrano this year and was trying to choose between the Tampiqueno and Hidalgo. Before I decided, the vendor ran out of Hildalgo so the decision was made for me.  Do you think you'll grow one of the serranos?  If so, which one interests you most?

Thanks! I hope that if i start later i'll skip some bad weather we got on spring... I've just to be careful to not be too late.
I asked for productivity at RFR since i can't grow many plants and the response was just that Hidalgo is very productive, so i take it is more than Tampiqueno. So the former itnterest me more, but i just have to see. For sure i'll grow at least one each. Aside that i just wanted some Serrano, since i grew the classic i picked something with a "name".
I've seen that 2 plants are enough to eat some times, tough more wouldn't hurt. I grew Serrano just once and i liked it better than any Jalapeno. It was just more productive and reliable and the size is better for me. 
 

Welcome to the 2020 grow season, Giancarlo!
 
You wound up with a pretty nice list after all is
said and done! Good luck when you get underway.

Thanks Paul! If i had to chose 8 varieties i'd have taken an Aji and something like a Scotch Bonnet instead of 2 supers, at least... But after a couple of low profile years i want something strong, so it's fine.
 

Good to see you Giancarlo, good luck this season!
 
That, and I'm waiting (hoping) for those great climbing pics

Thanks Scott!
Unfortunately i quitted true climbing for some issues i really didn't need and i've lowered my mountain activity... Still on late 2018 i made my best vacation and on 2019 my longest hike and my hardest one... But now I should really move to bike while keeping hikes and occasional mountaineering but i'm just lazying around. I post a couple of photos of my last hike at Falzarego:
 

 

 

 

[PaulG]

 Wish I was there!
 
Is that you up on the middle rock pinnacle  
 
Which approach did you take to the rocks?

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Do your thing man!
 
Where's your PLOG?

Spoiler

pizza blog

 

[PaulG]

Clev-aire, mon frer!

 

[Essegi]

 Wish I was there!
 
Is that you up on the middle rock pinnacle  
 
Which approach did you take to the rocks?

Dolomites are indeed special, every corner is woth a visit. No one climbed that day here. 2 years ago i climbed the second and third from right. I wasn't the leaedr, there are some spilts so it isn't trad, we used just a friend. This was my first and second last multi pitch way... It wasn't difficult (max 4th degree). We went up 60m on lowest one, descended 20 meters, then up 40 meters, down again 40 meters. 5 pitches. Then down in an hole in the middle of towers for about 20 meters. That was a cool ending.
 

Do your thing man!
 
Where's your PLOG?

Spoiler

pizza blog

Hey boss! Not doing pizza much lately. But friends gave me a specific book about yeast, so i should really start again.
I can share most interestin pizza i had last year:
 
On may i had a trip to Napoli... And i plan again in some months. Pizza was one of the main reasons.
 
I've eaten other stuff too. By the way i went first to "Da Michele". This is the most (in)famous pizzeria, the one that every tourist should visit. It's called the temple of pizza. Even many neapolitans sais that it's the absolute best in the world. "If you haven't been to Da Michele you can't say you have eaten a pizza". It's also famous because you have to wait since there's so much people... Also it makes just margherita and marinara because nothing else is needed (well, i agree that these are still the best).
We went at 11:15 am and managed to enter at 11:45. We had gone later, we had waited much more. In the meantime a local guy said us: here it is pizza. The rest is a copy. Maybe good but a copy.
For sure there's no other place legendary as this one for pizza. And it isn't even a cool looking place. I was moderately hyped since i've heard also something not that good. But, you know, we italians can't even agree if weather is good or bad, so... By the way, it was a place to stop.
 
Enough talk, here's the photos:
 

 

 
Yeah, that's the orignal Da Michele pizza, i saw it on photos and it was recognizable. Didn't look perfect but looked damn good!
 
But tasted good?
...
...
...
Mozz and tomato were top notch... But the only magic about the pizza was that: this tasted uncooked and burnt at the same time! While it had its merits i can say it was the worst thing i had there! And it was the most expensive pizza (still not expensive, but worth noting).
Really, i'm not overreacting. A friend of mine couldn't eat anything else till dinner, and that demonstrate that there was something wrong.
I don't know if it was just a bad day but reading on the net i'm not the only one that complains about that. They now make 1000 pizze per day and some people say that it isn't possible to have quality with all this volume and its' no more a worthy one, just a tourists trap... Also other things...
I wish to retry and see if it was just a bad day... But i'm not really keen to wait in a long queue... If i'll ever go again and have the same result that place will change from "must go" to "avoid at all costs".
 
Well, next day at Pompei (really impressive place for its scale, surely worth a visit):

 
Now this was good!
 
At dinner we wento to Starita at Materdei, another big one. There's even one in New York.
 

Flawless.
 

 
Fried pizza. I already tasted it and thought it's good stuff, but i preferred normal pizza. But this one... Think that it was 2 days we were eating crazy amount of stuff (ok, we also walked at least 50km, but food was so much), i really wasn't hungry... And this thing is heavy.
Well.
One of the best thing ever. Probably best stuff i had those days. So tasty yet balanced... That good it could wake the dead!
Napoli is famous for fried stuff and there's plenty of places for fried pizza. Must have more!
Special note for the speed: place opened ad 7pm, we went there some minutes later, was nearly full. Orderd, after 3 minutes we had pizza fritta and 5 for normal pizza. Incredible.
If you ever go in Napoli go to Di Matteo or Starita instead Da Michele (unless you really want to try yourself the legend and have time) and surely there are many others worth of attention.
 
By the way, every pizza in Napoli has its personality... Just from the photo above you can understand it's all the same stuff yet is different.
 
Now something less conventional and very different.... Renato Bosco pizzeria.
It's quite near my home (less than 1 hour). Renato Bosco is a big name in pizza gourmet. I prefer neapolitan pizza, but i like to vary and it's indeed great stuff. Of course many people rages about calling this a pizza.
Execution and ingredients are high quality.
 
Appetizer:
 

 
Mozzarella di pane (bread mozzarella).
It's a special bread cooked with vapour that resembles a bit mozzarella for look and consistency (rubbery, but in a good way). I have nothing against that but i can't say it's my favourite one. Overall taste was excellent tough.
 

 

 
This is crunch, Classic, crunchy pizza on tray. Flawless execution. No need to say more.
 

 
Aria di pane (air of bread). This is a speciality of the place. It's crunchy on exterior and soft inside. Really, amazingly, light. A pleasure to eat.
 

Pizza with spontaneous fermentation.
Now i thought this was interesting and worth a shot... I've read a couple of articles and now it doesn't seem that good idea. Long story short of what i've read: a cooking lab doesn't have enough competences to be totally sure of wich kind of bacteria you eat. Now i'm not a chemist but makes sense... Now i doubt that famous and competent people risks something in a not sure process.... Still i think i'll avoid that until i understand better if there are risks... The fact is,since there's really nothing wrong in using yeast, all this fuss about spontaneous fermentation seems just a gimmick.

 

[PaulG]

Woah, Giancarlo! Those look so great.
 
We were in Naples last year, and had pizza in a
nice restaurant off the beaten path. It was so good!

 

[CaneDog]

Wow!  Really cool stuff and great pictures!
 
My understanding of spontaneous fermentation (mainly from brewing) is that the materials, surfaces, and etc. used for production become so heavily covered with the desired yeast or bacteria that it isn't really "spontaneous" anymore; rather it's much closer to an intentional inoculation (which would make it something of a gimmick).  There's just so much of the intended stuff around that it quickly takes over.  Still, I might be a bit reluctant to trust someone else, too, especially with food versus beer.

 

[tsurrie]

Really good looking pizzas... I'm just after lunch but I could get hungry again just from looking at those pictures.
And nice pics of Dolomites too.
Good luck with the grow this season, Giancarlo.

 

[Essegi]

So i looked better at my rocoto... And i harvested something. I've never harvested in January...
 

That was so ripe...
 
But fully usable:

 
Then another:

 

Bathed in oil and garlic, fried just a bit
 

Classic aglio olio peperoncino, with a bit of breadcrumbs.
 

I picked the rest aside the best one. Tomorrow i'm making some chili.
 

Woah, Giancarlo! Those look so great.
 
We were in Naples last year, and had pizza in a
nice restaurant off the beaten path. It was so good!

I plan to go again that spring. Do you remember the name of where you have eaten pizza (i take you had some)?
 

Wow!  Really cool stuff and great pictures!
 
My understanding of spontaneous fermentation (mainly from brewing) is that the materials, surfaces, and etc. used for production become so heavily covered with the desired yeast or bacteria that it isn't really "spontaneous" anymore; rather it's much closer to an intentional inoculation (which would make it something of a gimmick).  There's just so much of the intended stuff around that it quickly takes over.  Still, I might be a bit reluctant to trust someone else, too, especially with food versus beer.

As far i have understood in spontaneous fermentation in pizza you just let bacteria go wild and use this for rising, then cook. I'm more inclined to explore sourdough world... But it seems an hassle to keep it going... But maybe, one day...
About brewing i know lambic style has some spontaneous fermentation, i had an Oude Geuze Boon, really strange beer, not bad but not my fav... Brewed in 201/6/2017 with a best before date set in 2038.
 

Really good looking pizzas... I'm just after lunch but I could get hungry again just from looking at those pictures.
And nice pics of Dolomites too.
Good luck with the grow this season, Giancarlo.

Thanks!

 

[stickman]

Hi Giancarlo! Nice to see you're still mountain hiking and honing your pizza-making skills as well as growing Chile's for another year. Good luck with your 2020 growing season. We're pullin' for ya!

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

 

[Essegi]

After a day of bath in H2O2 at 0,3% i planted:
 
BTR Scorpion (SLP) x 5
 
Serrano Tampiqueno (SLP) x 5
 
Apocalypse Chocolate (SLP) x 5
 
Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate (RFR) x 5
 
Hidalgo (RFR) x 5
 
BTR Scorpion (RFR) x 5
 
Bhutlah Scorpion (RFR) x 5
 
I plan to keep 2 each. Maybe i lost a Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate because i nearly knocked over a glass... And maybe a Apocalypse Chocolate (my glasses fell on the glass... I'm just changing them that week).
I sadly didn't start any Molly but i gave seeds to a friend, along remainingg Hidalgo and Tampiqueno seeds.
I'm giving to a colleague BTR Scorpion (SLP) and Apocalypse Chocolate seeds...
 
So i remain with about 10 of BTR Scorpion (RFR), Bhutlah Scorpion and Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate.
Maybe i'll keep for the next year... But if someone wants them i can send gladly.
 

Hi Giancarlo! Nice to see you're still mountain hiking and honing your pizza-making skills as well as growing Chile's for another year. Good luck with your 2020 growing season. We're pullin' for ya!

Sent from my moto g(7) play using Tapatalk

Hey Rick, great to see you there! Let's hope for a better year than 2019!

 

[PaulG]

 
BTR Scorpion (SLP) x 5
 
Serrano Tampiqueno (SLP) x 5
 
Apocalypse Chocolate (SLP) x 5
 
Bhutlah Scorpion Chocolate (RFR) x 5
 
Hidalgo (RFR) x 5
 
BTR Scorpion (RFR) x 5
 
Bhutlah Scorpion (RFR) x 5

Geez, Giancarlo, whatcha growin' for heat?
 

 
Just kidding, my friend. As it is said in buckaroo
country, that's a 'small but wiry' list! 
 
to great success with them!

 

[Essegi]

Geez, Giancarlo, whatcha growin' for heat?
 

 
Just kidding, my friend. As it is said in buckaroo
country, that's a 'small but wiry' list! 
 
to great success with them!

Well, i don't know if my friends will speak more about superhots and cursing me for that   or about Serrano poppers.  With bacon, philadelphia and cheese are a success... I tried Asiago instead of Cheddar since it's extremely much easier to obtain... People liked them even more!

 

[Essegi]

 
Got hooks!
This is a Serrano Tampiqueno.
In total i have:
 
Hidalgo x 2
Tampiqueno x 2
 
I need to hang light asap.
 
Also, i put out rocoto... It's still a bit cold in night tho... Should be around 0° on the coldest night those days and i hope a bit more near the wall. But temps could still go down...

 

[Essegi]

I have another Hidalgo and another Serrano, so 3 each total.
Now i hope to have some supers for the end of the week or things are wrong...
 
Now for my usual super hi tech light setup:
 

 
 
I had an helmet on one Hidalgo but i managed to remove it bare handed:
 

 
Leaves are very small but seems undamaged.
 
 
Also that evening i started to plan my next trip to Napoli with some friends and we bought the tickets...
So it was a good occasion to use my last rocoto on an amatriciana:
 

 
1 Red Rocoto
1 Kg spaghetti
1 Kg homemade tomatoes
340 g guanciale (ratio should be 4:1 with spaghetti, here was 3:1...).
350g pecorino di Amatrice
 
No bacon on this, please.
 
 
So i cut and cooked guanciale with Rocoto:
 

 
Aided with a bit of wine (like 2-3 tablespoons)
 
 
I removed guanciale when cooked.
 

 
Maybe i could cook it a bit more... But it seems i nailed it.
 
 
Then fat must be left on the pan, adding tomato:
 

 
Cooking for a good 10 minutes.
 
 
Then re-add guanciale, after removing the Rocoto (and eating it. It's an excellent way to eat a pod!).
 

 
Cook more and regulate salt...
 
I strained spaghetti al dente, i added a food part of all cheese, grated, stirred a bit, then i threw the sauce in and a bit of cooking water.



Bad photo:
 

 
Probably my best amatriciana. Surprisingly, Rocoto did add some heat... Not that much, but enough to feel a little and even be pleasant.
 
 
Bottom of pot:
 

 
Always the best part!
 
All was concluded with some Japanese Whisky Nikka From The Barrel.
Can't really complain about that dinner.

 

[Guatemalan Insanity Pepper]

 
YUM  
 
i will be following along this year Essegi   

best of luck on great harvests in 2020