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Fresh peppers on the east coast?

HoodedCrowHotSauce

HoodedCrowHotSauce

Hey guys!
 
For us here on the east coast (NJ to be exact), farmer's markets and spicy peppers in our grocery stores are out of season. We are still a budding company, and though we are finally making some headway with local businesses and retailers, we are pretty lost when it comes to finding fresh peppers this time of year. We want to get back into the kitchen, but even any fresh pepper retailers we try to find online seem to be out of season. I understand there's a pepper vendor section on this forum, but it's all quite overwhelming and not sure where to begin. It all seems to be seed vendors at the moment? I could be wrong.
 
I know this is a terribly amateur question, but WHERE do east coasters find fresh peppers? We don't like to stray from our local farms and grocers, but if we are to get into retailers by springtime, we need the fresh stuff. Growing our own is out of the question, we don't have the space or the money. We know there are fresh peppers available to order, but we just can't seem to find the right sellers.
 
Final thoughts, we know we should have prepared. We just didn't expect our product to take off so quickly in our area over the last few months. But anyhow, if there are any threads pertaining to this particular beginner topic, feel free to steer us in that direction. Any help at all or a kick in the ass would be greatly appreciated. Still very new to the forum and trying to figure the way around this joint... :)
 
-HC
 
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Can you be a bit more specific as to the variety of peppers you need?
You can order peppers through your local produce department.  Whether or not they have the variety you need, :shrug:
 
LAPepper Exchange has some mashes, but be careful what you order, whether it's fermented or not, is there salt in it?  How Much salt? Vinegar? 
 
For the future, contract with your local growers to supply you with what you need for the whole next year.  When the peppers are ON, get all you need for the next year, plus a bit more, wash/trim/chop(or grind)/freeze.  Frozen peppers work perfectly fine for making sauces.  About 5 years ago, I processed 200 pounds of jalapenos, and over 300 pounds of habaneros, morugas and 7 Pots.  It was spread out over about 3 weeks, but I was still doing 150-250 pounds at a time.  Staring down 150 pounds of Jonah 7 Pot chiles is daunting! 
 
Side note-  a couple years ago, I'd already done about 250 pounds of jalapenos from a local farmer.  End of the season, they asked if I needed any more chiles.  I said I'd take 20 pounds of red jalapenos, they could drop them by the house after the market.  They showed up with 80 pounds of peppers!!! :eek:  -sigh- I can't turn down perfectly good chiles, so I took 'em all.  I ended up making 10 gallons of pickled pepper and vegetable medley, threw it out in the stores and Whaddayaknow!  They sold out quickly and I've been making more every year. 
 
 
Good Luck, there are some smaller scale growers in southern regions who do have peppers.  Depending on what you need, might be something to check out.
 
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Hey…I know someone close by that grows peppers.  Do you guys grow any of your own peppers in season?  Delicious Orchards usually has the biggest inventory, but not sure if they carry any peppers of season.
 
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Hawaiianero said:
Check this link. Can't say good or bad about them, just know that there are outfits like this across the country.
Best of luck to you.
 
http://www.lapepperexchange.com/shopsite/index.html
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Thank you, we are looking into it now!!
 
salsalady said:
Can you be a bit more specific as to the variety of peppers you need?
You can order peppers through your local produce department.  Whether or not they have the variety you need, :shrug:
 
LAPepper Exchange has some mashes, but be careful what you order, whether it's fermented or not, is there salt in it?  How Much salt? Vinegar? 
 
For the future, contract with your local growers to supply you with what you need for the whole next year.  When the peppers are ON, get all you need for the next year, plus a bit more, wash/trim/chop(or grind)/freeze.  Frozen peppers work perfectly fine for making sauces.  About 5 years ago, I processed 200 pounds of jalapenos, and over 300 pounds of habaneros, morugas and 7 Pots.  It was spread out over about 3 weeks, but I was still doing 150-250 pounds at a time.  Staring down 150 pounds of Jonah 7 Pot chiles is daunting! 
 
Side note-  a couple years ago, I'd already done about 250 pounds of jalapenos from a local farmer.  End of the season, they asked if I needed any more chiles.  I said I'd take 20 pounds of red jalapenos, they could drop them by the house after the market.  They showed up with 80 pounds of peppers!!! :eek:  -sigh- I can't turn down perfectly good chiles, so I took 'em all.  I ended up making 10 gallons of pickled pepper and vegetable medley, threw it out in the stores and Whaddayaknow!  They sold out quickly and I've been making more every year. 
 
 
Good Luck, there are some smaller scale growers in southern regions who do have peppers.  Depending on what you need, might be something to check out.
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Thank you so much for your reply! Right now we need green, orange and red habaneros, Fresno peppers, cherry peppers and ghost peppers. We will definitely look into contracting with local growers and ordering through grocers. This is all still so new to us, so when it comes to how much to order and how much space we have will be a true test.
 
Also Hybrid, we were not sure if freezing them was the way to go, but it makes sense. We were afraid that it would take away the flavor. But now it's time to do more research on the subject! Thank you.
 
tctenten said:
Hey…I know someone close by that grows peppers.  Do you guys grow any of your own peppers in season?  Delicious Orchards usually has the biggest inventory, but not sure if they carry any peppers of season.
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Hey Terry. We only had a few small plants (habanero, jalapeno, banana peppers..pretty basic) in our yard, but we just do not have the room for more than that. We are going to be moving soon though, over the next few months, so we are looking into backyard space. We do want to have our own pepper crop down the line. And we have been to Delicious Orchards numerous times, we pick up red habanero and a couple other chili peppers from them. Love that place. Haven't been there in a while, so thank you for reminding us. It's a hike to get there but worth it. But like you said, I doubt they have anything in season. But maybe we'll stop there this weekend! Also, would you mind messaging me about this local grower you mentioned?
 
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You should be able to get Fresno, orange habs and maybe green habs through your local grocery store.  Dried ghost peppers will work instead of fresh.  Depending on the texture you want, either start with whole pods or ground powder.   Cherry and Red Habs are a little tougher.   
 
Firehouse Pantry is a pretty good source for dried chiles and powders.  They have ghost and red habanero.
 
Freezing doesn't affect the flavor at all.  Only the texture. 
:)
 
HoodedCrowHotSauce said:
 
Thank you so much for your reply! Right now we need green, orange and red habaneros, Fresno peppers, cherry peppers and ghost peppers. We will definitely look into contracting with local growers and ordering through grocers. This is all still so new to us, so when it comes to how much to order and how much space we have will be a true test.
 
Also Hybrid, we were not sure if freezing them was the way to go, but it makes sense. We were afraid that it would take away the flavor. But now it's time to do more research on the subject! Thank you.
 
 
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Hey HCHS - 
 
If you or any friends have positions in the foodservice industry ask them to inquire with their rep - Sysco and US Foods can get ripe fresnos, jalas and habs year round, and sometimes they have manzanos and other peppers too.  
 
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SmokenFire said:
Hey HCHS - 
 
If you or any friends have positions in the foodservice industry ask them to inquire with their rep - Sysco and US Foods can get ripe fresnos, jalas and habs year round, and sometimes they have manzanos and other peppers too.  
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My good friend is actually store manager at Whole Foods.. I'll look into it. :)
 
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While not a business (yet) I am in the same boat as you. I put a few pounds of peppers in the freezer at the end of the summer to get me through the winter. I just did two rounds of ferments on Monday night and that cashed out the remainder of my peppers until spring time. Luckily for me I am just in the making sauce for family, friends, and fun stage of the game so it isn't a bit deal. I am going to use the rest of the winter months to work on logos, websites, and whatnot. But I do feel your pain. Next summer I will LOAD up!
 
Good luck trying to find fresh peppers. 
 
TW
 
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