Green or Ripe?
- Thread starter Helltaco
- Start date
I only use green:
- When I'm making a meal and in the middle of it realize 'x' pepper would make a really nice addition, but I don't have any ripe ones, or
- At the end of the season when we're getting frost or a too-cold snap and the plants are about done, anyway. I'll pull all the pods that are not excessively immature at that point, or
- When my only option is grocery store peppers (I've never seen my grocery store carry ripe peppers outside of peak season.)
A fully ripe pod has had the chance to fully develop it's flavor, which can be amazing compared to green. Green is often grassy, which may or may not be what I want for a particular dish. (And most often is not, at least, not as far as the chile is concerned.) Nowadays almost anyone can go to their local grocer and pick up both a red and green bell pepper, which is a good comparison for all peppers. Green bell peppers are simply unripe. Do a side-by-side taste test, and decide for yourself which you'd rather eat on a regular basis. I'll take the red any day. Assuming you can get yellow and orange, try those at the same time. My fav is still the red, no matter what the variety, in part because they develop more fructose than orange or yellow.
- When I'm making a meal and in the middle of it realize 'x' pepper would make a really nice addition, but I don't have any ripe ones, or
- At the end of the season when we're getting frost or a too-cold snap and the plants are about done, anyway. I'll pull all the pods that are not excessively immature at that point, or
- When my only option is grocery store peppers (I've never seen my grocery store carry ripe peppers outside of peak season.)
A fully ripe pod has had the chance to fully develop it's flavor, which can be amazing compared to green. Green is often grassy, which may or may not be what I want for a particular dish. (And most often is not, at least, not as far as the chile is concerned.) Nowadays almost anyone can go to their local grocer and pick up both a red and green bell pepper, which is a good comparison for all peppers. Green bell peppers are simply unripe. Do a side-by-side taste test, and decide for yourself which you'd rather eat on a regular basis. I'll take the red any day. Assuming you can get yellow and orange, try those at the same time. My fav is still the red, no matter what the variety, in part because they develop more fructose than orange or yellow.
Green chile is a staple here using the anaheim type of peppers but the same peppers are used red as well for red chile. Red chile here is usually made from powder or dried pods with a little flour, oil, salt, and sometimes garlic, oregano, and cumin. Green chile is usually made with fresh or frozen green chiles, chicken or vegetable stock, tomatillos, flour, onion, garlic, salt, and maybe cumin. They taste considerably different but both are good.
In the garden about the only peppers I'll intentionally pick and eat green are Jalapenos and anaheim varieties.
In the garden about the only peppers I'll intentionally pick and eat green are Jalapenos and anaheim varieties.
Most of the people i new growing up almost always ate red or ripe peppers only after drying, and if you ate a fresh peppers it was almost always green, on purpose. A lot of the annuum peppers get too sweet tasting for me when they turn red. I think small green annuums have a great flavor. I'm sure it's cultural, I've noticed people from Latin American countries pick a lot of their peppers when they're still green. I love talking to grandma's about this kinda stuff. They usually just say it tastes better or it has more bite when green.
I use almost exclusively ripe peppers, the only exceptions are jalapenos, which I usually use green, exceptions being for desserts, and habeneros, of which I use green ones for certain salsas and marinades.
Depends on what you plan on doing with it. Either can be acceptable depending on the use.
Acceptable or preferred, that is.
I like to let everything ripen myself, all peppers.
I am with everyone on the jalapenos, but I will still let ripen if I don't need right away.
I am with everyone on the jalapenos, but I will still let ripen if I don't need right away.
For the most part:
annuum - green! The flavour is better as is the texture. I use the ripe ones for drying - the flavour is completely different then. Fresh ripe annuums are sourish and weirdly mushy. (try snipping up green Thai Dragons or anything similar onto your eggs as they're frying - works best if you like your eggs sunny-side up!)
baccatum - ripe! The flavour is properly developed (fruity and sweet).
chinense - 90% of the time - ripe! For the same reason as above. I do however enjoy full size green chinense (esp. habs and bhuts) as a sauce - the Green Mamba! They have a taste similar to cucumber but fiery!
pubescens - ripe - as for baccatum.
annuum - green! The flavour is better as is the texture. I use the ripe ones for drying - the flavour is completely different then. Fresh ripe annuums are sourish and weirdly mushy. (try snipping up green Thai Dragons or anything similar onto your eggs as they're frying - works best if you like your eggs sunny-side up!)
baccatum - ripe! The flavour is properly developed (fruity and sweet).
chinense - 90% of the time - ripe! For the same reason as above. I do however enjoy full size green chinense (esp. habs and bhuts) as a sauce - the Green Mamba! They have a taste similar to cucumber but fiery!
pubescens - ripe - as for baccatum.
How do you know which peppers belong to which types?
What are the characteristics that make them differ?
A question I always wonder that never seems to be answered anywhere.
What are the characteristics that make them differ?
A question I always wonder that never seems to be answered anywhere.
