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GyO presents: '24 BONNET BONANZA + revenge of the fifth

confession: your very own @growyourown calls himself a pepper lover and has never grown scotch bonnets! BLASPHEMOUS, i know; i intend to rectify this in 2024. i have several varieties to try, and am excited to do so. i just gotta write this now partially because i have the seeds and i'm excited, and also because if i get this intro crap out of the way, it's a quick post to make once i actually drop seeds over christmas.

scotchdc.jpg

HERE'S THE SEEDS I BOUGHT FOR THE YEAR (note asterisks):
bonnets:
scotch bonnet trinidad red 900k *
scotch brains yellow 1M+
scotch bonnet 6-colour mix:
--choc/peach/red/orange/yellow/safi
others:
chin – fatalii yellow 900k
chin – congo black X butch t choc 1.1M **
pube – rocoto giant yellow 50k
frut – hijo puta madre 80k
frut – malaga bird 100+k ***

asterisks:
* did not come with the order. fast email communication resolved they would re-send this item.
** pacakge said "7pot congo red x butch t" not black x choc, this was my requested bonus item, so okay if it wasn't exactly what i wanted.
*** came as "malawi bird's eye", possibly annuum not frut. makes my side quest of all five harder, mentioned the likely alphabetical order accident in the email, hoping they resend this one too, but not holding my breath.

so here we go, projected sow schedule:

dec 31:
TRAY I
6x giant yellow P
6x rio hualaga P (‘23)
TRAY II
6x puta F
6x malaga F
TRAY III
6x e.p.f.h. P
3x purira F
3x lotah bih F

jan 27:
TRAY IV
4x bonnet yellow C
4x bonnet orange C
4x bonnet red C
TRAY V
4x bonnet safi C
4x bonnet choc C
4x bonnet peach C
TRAY VI
4x bonnet trinidad red C
4x scotch brains C
4x fatalii yellow C
TRAY VII
-failures from jan 1? (must succeed with frutescens for all five)
-others from previous years? (superhots?)
-bahamian goat '21 (if they are technically bonnets then i'm not a total virgin)

feb-mar:
baccatums - srp, aji cito, aji omnicolour
annuums - jalapenos et al.

keepcalms.png

wish me luck and let's have a toast to a prolific 2024 season, and to celebrating happy holidays together with family.

cheers friends, see you with seeds in soon, hot peppers-ho!
-GyO
 
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Click to expand...
i picked the other one that is ready but i did not do any tasting or processing of everything i harvested on sunday. the ones i cut up for the dehydrator last week were very juicy:

IT SQUIRTED ALL OVER MY FACE!
 
taste tests below!

but first some pics:

IMG_20240825_193714.jpg
this is what i took off on sunday 25/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, fatalii, rio hualaga
SB yellow/orange and the one chocolate, congo x butch t, AOC, EPFH
SB red, aji cito, malawi bird, SRP

IMG_20240829_191909.jpg

this is what i took off on thursday 29/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, SB safi, SRP, fatalii
SB yellow/orange, SB red, rio hualaga
AOC, aji cito, malawi bird

got a bunch of seeds and some pod bodies added to the dehydrator now, and froze the rest of what you see.

the taste tests!

ecuadorian pepper from hell: was very nice. essentially a red bell flavour but very sweet, maybe like cherries. the texture was not crunchy though, like no snap to the piece you bit off, it was much softer to bite/chew. although that might have just been overripeness causing that. heat was respectable, by no means overpowering but a good whole-mouth tingle to go with the yummy flavour. quite a good overall pepper, qualifies as a favourite in the below-habanero (medium?) heat sector. but if you want hotter and more nuanced (but not red) flavour, i would say that rio hualaga orange has this one beat. tried it last year and it blew my mind how good it was. TASTE: 8/10 HEAT: 3/10

fatalii: tasted good from what i remember before my entire mouth caught fire! very abrupt and strong heat to this guy, i had to drink several glasses of various (non-dairy) liquids to get the sting to die down. this type will work any place you would use a ghost pepper, and depending on your taste preferences you might like it better. they're about equal to me, but i feel the fatalii's heat to be somewhat "punchier" in the in-your-face way. TASTE: 6.5/10 HEAT: 7/10

scotch bonnet safi: apart from sheer pod size, this one did not impress me. although they were the earliest pods from the plant which may account for the lacklustre heat, the pods were by far the largest of any bonnet and fully coloured to red or super-dark orange. typical red flavour, with maybe a slight grassiness/immature aftertaste. the heat (nowhere near a hab level) took a while to come on, but then lasted for a good duration in the back of the mouth and throat. TASTE: 5/10 HEAT: 3/10

thanks for your interest!

things are still ticking along in the garden, i expect another good pull each week now it seems like. that's what happens when you grow over 70 plants though lol

peace,
-GyO
 
growyourown said:
taste tests below!

but first some pics:

IMG_20240825_193714.jpg
this is what i took off on sunday 25/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, fatalii, rio hualaga
SB yellow/orange and the one chocolate, congo x butch t, AOC, EPFH
SB red, aji cito, malawi bird, SRP

IMG_20240829_191909.jpg

this is what i took off on thursday 29/8, top-btm l-r:
portugal/jal cross, jalapeno, SB safi, SRP, fatalii
SB yellow/orange, SB red, rio hualaga
AOC, aji cito, malawi bird

got a bunch of seeds and some pod bodies added to the dehydrator now, and froze the rest of what you see.

the taste tests!

ecuadorian pepper from hell: was very nice. essentially a red bell flavour but very sweet, maybe like cherries. the texture was not crunchy though, like no snap to the piece you bit off, it was much softer to bite/chew. although that might have just been overripeness causing that. heat was respectable, by no means overpowering but a good whole-mouth tingle to go with the yummy flavour. quite a good overall pepper, qualifies as a favourite in the below-habanero (medium?) heat sector. but if you want hotter and more nuanced (but not red) flavour, i would say that rio hualaga orange has this one beat. tried it last year and it blew my mind how good it was. TASTE: 8/10 HEAT: 3/10

fatalii: tasted good from what i remember before my entire mouth caught fire! very abrupt and strong heat to this guy, i had to drink several glasses of various (non-dairy) liquids to get the sting to die down. this type will work any place you would use a ghost pepper, and depending on your taste preferences you might like it better. they're about equal to me, but i feel the fatalii's heat to be somewhat "punchier" in the in-your-face way. TASTE: 6.5/10 HEAT: 7/10

scotch bonnet safi: apart from sheer pod size, this one did not impress me. although they were the earliest pods from the plant which may account for the lacklustre heat, the pods were by far the largest of any bonnet and fully coloured to red or super-dark orange. typical red flavour, with maybe a slight grassiness/immature aftertaste. the heat (nowhere near a hab level) took a while to come on, but then lasted for a good duration in the back of the mouth and throat. TASTE: 5/10 HEAT: 3/10

thanks for your interest!

things are still ticking along in the garden, i expect another good pull each week now it seems like. that's what happens when you grow over 70 plants though lol

peace,
-GyO
Click to expand...

Okay after that, I'd love to hear your taste test for the Rio Hualagua-did you do one last year?
 
@NJChilehead - from my last year's glog:

"i had 4 peppers ripen earlier in the season and taste was BEAUTIFUL on them; very sweet flavour with nice even heat. at first i was like "this is sweet like a carrot" but a second later i decided it's way better than a carrot, and flavoured more like an orange bell pepper, but even better-tasting. then i remembered the persimmon fruit, and how i was blown away the first time i tasted one. i don't remember what they exactly taste like, but i do remember it being unlike any fruit i'd eaten before, and these peppers gave me the same kind of feeling. it's very thick-walled too like a bell pepper which makes it texturally more enjoyable to eat."
 
growyourown said:
@NJChilehead - from my last year's glog:

"i had 4 peppers ripen earlier in the season and taste was BEAUTIFUL on them; very sweet flavour with nice even heat. at first i was like "this is sweet like a carrot" but a second later i decided it's way better than a carrot, and flavoured more like an orange bell pepper, but even better-tasting. then i remembered the persimmon fruit, and how i was blown away the first time i tasted one. i don't remember what they exactly taste like, but i do remember it being unlike any fruit i'd eaten before, and these peppers gave me the same kind of feeling. it's very thick-walled too like a bell pepper which makes it texturally more enjoyable to eat."
Click to expand...

Man I agree with you about persimmons, absolutely delicious. When I first read this, I misunderstood and thought you were saying that the Rio Huallagua tasted like a persimmon! I was about to start some seed and hope for the best!
 
yeah i don't remember exactly the taste of the persimmon, but this pepper is very sweet in the same regard. also like i said EPFH like cherries, it doesn't taste like a cherry, but with a comparable sweetness and texture.

one taste @Tinkerbelle mentioned (i think about a rocoto as well) was apricot, and i think that agrees with what i taste in the rio hualaga. i don't eat apricots, but i remember they are sweet and "unique" orange-coloured flavour.

it may very well taste like persimmon though, i just don't remember what persimmon taste like, other than very sweet and unique.
 
growyourown said:
yeah i don't remember exactly the taste of the persimmon, but this pepper is very sweet in the same regard. also like i said EPFH like cherries, it doesn't taste like a cherry, but with a comparable sweetness and texture.

one taste @Tinkerbelle mentioned (i think about a rocoto as well) was apricot, and i think that agrees with what i taste in the rio hualaga. i don't eat apricots, but i remember they are sweet and "unique" orange-coloured flavour.

it may very well taste like persimmon though, i just don't remember what persimmon taste like, other than very sweet and unique.
Click to expand...

Can't wait to try them! Are you planning on adding any other Rocotos to your rotation next year?
 
no i don't. i do have the giant yellow rocoto going this year that i haven't tried yet because they are taking their sweet time to ripen. i think i noticed one or two starting to colour up now.

i have an idea what my theme for next year will be. i will most likely do a few of the same rocotos again, but i am satisfied with the ones i have now.
 
Looking forward to hearing your review of the giant yellow rocoto if you happen to do one! Next year I'm definitely throwing more Rocotos into the mix, provided my family and I like the taste of them (and based on everyone's reviews, I don't see how we couldn't). I'm strongly considering trying to overwinter at least one of my Rocotos, probably the turbo or Ecuadorian Red PFH based on their productivity so far. I really want to see the results of second year plant based on what I'm seeing at this point, and I'll definitely be smart and trellis or cage it next time. I'm going for a total of 6 Rocotos, so I'm thinking if I overwinter those two, I'll add Aji Largo, San Pedro Orange, Tatiana, and a chocolate one to round out the collection. I should really make a GLOG next year.

BTW, I didn't see whether you mentioned this-have you tried the yellow scotch bonnets yet?
 
not yet, i had saved some pieces of various ones from the first picking, but it was getting too late i didn't want to eat them, then they sat in the fridge and were forgotten about. i have not cut up the ones i picked on monday yet, so maybe this weekend i'll do a few more taastings.

the giant yellow i am expecting to be more mild in terms of heat and colour/flavour profile, but we'll see if it has that same je ne sais quoi as the other rocotos i've experienced. may be a few weeks out on that one though
 
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