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Green pods

ChilliNZ

ChilliNZ

Let's say I am a bit of a capsaicin slut and I can't bring myself to wait the few weeks for pods to ripen...
How do green pods compare to red ones in terms of heat and flavour? Like MUCH less hot and MUCH less flavourful?
Also, I've noticed some of the pods are a pale green but others are a dark green. I think it happened with other chillis last year.
What's the story?
 
Flavor is so subjective - I don't like green bell peppers, but most people I know do. (They're ok, just not my favs.) And I despise black pepper with a passion, while you probably like it. Some people like green jalapenos, I prefer red. So in the flavor department, you're on your own!

That aside, heat can vary tremendously, but then that's even true of ripe pods on the same plant. In general, though, unripe pods are typically much less hotter than ripe pods. Not always true, but is in general. The age/closeness to maturity makes a big difference. A small, fairly new pod may have no heat whatsoever, while one close to starting to turn may be rather hot.

Pale vs. dark green - could be age, with younger ones paler and older ones darker. Could also be due to the amount of sun each pod gets, determined by the amount of leaf cover they receive.
 
yes thats very true.. if the pods are stressed a bit before harvest they will get hotter.. but that is usually when they are ripe.. i had to pick a bunch of butch t's due to wind damage and the unripe pods on that plant were very hot.. but that could be just the plant variety... i didnt like the flavor of the pods so i did a powder mix with habs to give it more flavor with a big kick in heat..
 
i have had green (red) scotch bonnets and i really liked the taste.
my preference for jalapeno and serrano is to have them red. cayenne red.
 
Do you mean different shades of green on the same plant or among different plants? Among different plants, of course you will see different shades of green. Some varieties even have a black or purple immature pod colour. It's the same as with mature pods... some are light red, some are dark red, and then you have your yellows, oranges, browns, etc. ;)

I can't think of an exception where an unripe pod doesn't have less "taste" and less heat than a ripe one. They can also be very bitter (especially if plucked and eaten at a very early stage) and sweeter tasting varieties will of course not be as sweet as they would be when mature. I guess you could say that they taste, well, unripe! Remember that they are still developing. ;) That being said, yes, some people do like the taste of unripe pods. I personally don't mind unripe chillies in food (e.g. fresh green chillies used in curries or green jalapenos or green bells on pizza or whatever--but normally in conjunction with ripe chillies too, whether that be fresh, dried, flaked or powdered) but I don't like the unripe taste on it's own.
 
I think it depends on what the green pod is.
A LOT of pods in other countries are used green because they taste better green.
Others taste like nothing unless they are ripe.
Some stuff is almost as hot green as they are ripe.

I don't think you can say all green peppers IN GENERAL are less hot or hotter ripe or taste better or worse ripe.
I see a LOT of stuff sold green at the local Mex. Marts(Chilaca,De Arbol and others).
I think you have to go by what you have and check them out for flavor,taste or both...
Also some stuff there is a trade off,maybe a milder taste for less heat or visa versa.
Play it by ear/tongue.
 
From what I understand, a pod will be at its peak heat level just before it is fully ripe. Once it gets completely ripe, the capsaicin starts to get converted to sugars. So an unripe pod is likely to not have as sweet of a flavor as the ripe version and the heat will likely not be as high either.
 
compmodder26 said:
From what I understand, a pod will be at its peak heat level just before it is fully ripe. Once it gets completely ripe, the capsaicin starts to get converted to sugars. So an unripe pod is likely to not have as sweet of a flavor as the ripe version and the heat will likely not be as high either.
Click to expand...

This jives with what I have read about Jalapenos. Peak heat is just as they start to turn red. Unsure if that's true, or not.
 
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