flavor heat / taste profiles and changes in them

CAPCOM

CAPCOM

I have always liked hot peppers and up to a few years ago super hot peppers. Though I could only eat the later in small pieces with food or in powder form sparingly. As my tolerance to capsaicin is low.
 
Although I am inclined to believe that that may have changed with little warning, or the peppers themselves have changed.
 
I have always been a huge fan of the Judys brown moruga and grown them every year. This past season I grew and enjoyed the taste of maddballs as well. I seem to be developing an acquired taste for brown pods.
 
I have in the last several weeks noticed I am consuming more pepper (a half pod) with lunch. And I am detecting flavors I previously did not. The pods are winter pods that are being produced on my 2 one year old brown morugas.
The burn, a deep heat at the back of the throat and a searing on the top of the tongue is accompanied by the usual flavors. An slightly smoky, earthy flavor that has always for some reason, and I cant for the life of me say way, made me think of mushrooms. Lately however I smell a subtle essence of cantaloupe and a taste of over ripe fruit, a putrid sweetness if you will. A taste some may equate with unsweetened raisins.
 
Have I changed? Are the fruits producing different profiles in the indoor winter grow? Or may this be some of the traits that accompany the dark phenol brown moruga.
 
I'm getting very few primo and reaper pods still off my overwinters. I had one last week, just the pepper alone as I do a lot. The first thing I noticed was some subtle difference in from mine in the winter. IMHO
 
I'm a fan of the earthy flavor that the brown superhots have.  Your tolerance to capsaicin may have changed as well.  I've noticed that mine has grown quite a bit over the years.  I lay off of the spicy food in the summer months when I'm already nice and hot, but in the winter time I have to have heat with almost every meal.  My tolerances moves in cycles I guess.
 
I would also think that the heat and flavor of pods can vary to a certain degree even if they are from the same plant (heat especially).  A plant in winter will definitely grow smaller and milder fruits.  This is specially true with the naga type peppers. 
 
I have heat with virtually every meal, its crazy, like a religion with me. This is the first year I have been able to sustain mature plants over the winter due to past aphid conflicts. So it is a first for me to have a continuous supply of pods.
Yes, the pods are smaller, but only slightly.
I just thought what I was experiencing was strangely new and kinda in my face obvious and needed some objectionable/supportive  opinions.
 
About a year ago (i think), in the Grow Tech Forum, in a discussion on indoor grow lights, it was pointed out that light spectra influenced the formation of many plant chemicals... some light frequencies that have nothing to do with photosynthesis are needed, if a plant product (ie.: pepper fruit) is to taste right.

In my own experience, basil grown under warm white T8 fluorescents has a foul weedy/loamy taste -- presumably, it was lacking in some essential oils. It was nearly inedible, and sure as hell did NOT taste like basil.

The argument in the thread i was perusing was that a full-spectrum light would be better than a red/blue LED system or most other lights (which have a few peak frequencies of light, but nowhere near a full-spectrum output, like natural sunlight).

I can't remember the thread's title, but i seem to recall that THP members Miguelovic and Max5npa/AbleEye were major contributors of input to this topic.
 
mikeg said:
About a year ago (i think), in the Grow Tech Forum, in a discussion on indoor grow lights, it was pointed out that light spectra influenced the formation of many plant chemicals... some light frequencies that have nothing to do with photosynthesis are needed, if a plant product (ie.: pepper fruit) is to taste right.

In my own experience, basil grown under warm white T8 fluorescents has a foul weedy/loamy taste -- presumably, it was lacking in some essential oils. It was nearly inedible, and sure as hell did NOT taste like basil.

The argument in the thread i was perusing was that a full-spectrum light would be better than a red/blue LED system or most other lights (which have a few peak frequencies of light, but nowhere near a full-spectrum output, like natural sunlight).

I can't remember the thread's title, but i seem to recall that THP members Miguelovic and Max5npa/AbleEye were major contributors of input to this topic.
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That does sound feasible. others have already mentioned a size difference in winter pods and I have noticed the same on a smaller scale. On a slightly different subject, I wonder aged bulbs spectrum's change in support of your comment. The HPS I use is the original that came with my system 2 years ago. in any event, I just changed it out for a EYE HORTILUX 1000. I will retire the old bulb to emergency backup. I am also trying the new NOTG product One shot. I have some new flowers appearing and will see if the ensuing pods remain as the ones prompting this thread or return to what I remember the brown morugas being. Still lots of time to play with these theories.
 
CAPCOM said:
That does sound feasible. others have already mentioned a size difference in winter pods and I have noticed the same on a smaller scale. On a slightly different subject, I wonder aged bulbs spectrum's change in support of your comment. The HPS I use is the original that came with my system 2 years ago. in any event, I just changed it out for a EYE HORTILUX 1000. I will retire the old bulb to emergency backup. I am also trying the new NOTG product One shot. I have some new flowers appearing and will see if the ensuing pods remain as the ones prompting this thread or return to what I remember the brown morugas being. Still lots of time to play with these theories.
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Sounds quite interesting. Please let me know how it turns out. I don't have nearly enough info on this, and i hope to raise wild C. chinenses (CAP 691, Cumari do Para, Aji Charapita, etc.) under lights. These, apparently, have subtle and exquisite tastes, so any input is quite valuable to me.

Thank you for starting this thread.
 
mikeg said:
Sounds quite interesting. Please let me know how it turns out. I don't have nearly enough info on this, and i hope to raise wild C. chinenses (CAP 691, Cumari do Para, Aji Charapita, etc.) under lights. These, apparently, have subtle and exquisite tastes, so any input is quite valuable to me.

Thank you for starting this thread.
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FYI,
There is nothing subtle about cumari do para in taste, It has explosive chinense flavor right up front and in your face and not in the least unpleasant,(if you have not had one yet, you are in for a surprise) and a very nice quickly dissipating heat. One of my favorite chinense flavored peppers. But unique ,they are.
 
I think building tolerance is a myth. Unless you are talking about genetic traits passed down, certain ethnicities that have always eaten superhots, etc. Things that were mild are mild, and extreme, extreme. I do eat them and enjoy them, but not because my tolerance has built up, but just because I enjoy the heat, even the extreme.
 
Could it be psychological more than anything else?  The burn of all sorts of different peppers and chili sauces used to always go straight to my ears, but after eating so much fiery food over a long period of time that sensation of my ears exploding does not happen anymore (I'm grateful for that).  The heat is certainly very enjoyable and addictive.  I'm reminded of an adrenalin rush every time I eat something truly fiery, and then the endorphins kick in and I'm on cloud 9.
 
Yes I do believe psychological and also perspective. Eat a moruga and a ghost is not hot to you anymore, but it's the same... you just raised the bar. There are lots of factors that come into play, I believe. 
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I think building tolerance is a myth. Unless you are talking about genetic traits passed down, certain ethnicities that have always eaten superhots, etc. Things that were mild are mild, and extreme, extreme. I do eat them and enjoy them, but not because my tolerance has built up, but just because I enjoy the heat, even the extreme.
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I would have to disagree with you on this one, I have noticed being able to consume larger quantities of powder, sauces and even fresh pods than I did prior to becoming a member here. 2 1/2 years ago consuming almost any amount of super hots was out of the question, now I am seeking after the hottest chocolates I can get my hands on.
Before, there was just intense and painful heat and the taste followed only after the heat was gone. Now I actually taste the pepper first and then the heat and then both together. I am inclined to give merit to the light spectrum theory though as I just consumed a whole brown moruga fresh off the vine with lunch. a 1st time for that.
 
It's just that I think tolerance is not the right word for what is happening, and I'm not sure what the right word is.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
It's just that I think tolerance is not the right word for what is happening, and I'm not sure what the right word is.
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I just always have used it because it is a catchphrase word and I understood the inferred meaning.
 
I guess it also doesn't help I have a high tolerance, I took the Defcon ZERO challenge (circa 2007) while people were on their knees and puking, and didn't wince. People were waiting for me to break, and I was breaking down the smoky notes, etc. lol... John can tell you, it was at Duff's. But I never built up anything.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I think building tolerance is a myth. Unless you are talking about genetic traits passed down, certain ethnicities that have always eaten superhots, etc. Things that were mild are mild, and extreme, extreme. I do eat them and enjoy them, but not because my tolerance has built up, but just because I enjoy the heat, even the extreme.
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I have to respectfully disagree on this one, Boss. Desensitization of the TRPV1 receptor is a real thing, not a myth.
 
http://www.jbc.org/content/278/50/50080.full
 
Third paragraph down: "Prolonged or repeated activation of TRPV1 induces desensitization and insensitivity of the receptor to subsequent stimuli"
 
Desensitization of the TRPV1 receptor is what we more commonly refer to as "building a tolerance".
 
I like the word desensitization better and I agree something happens chemically probably (didn't click). And I also believe this takes years, and some think they can train their mouths by stepping up peppers over a few weeks, I've seen people post exercises on the forum, and to me I think, just eat spicy, don't train yourself or think about it, and in a few years you'll notice you can eat really hot stuff not prob.
 
I do not dismiss something happening, and I should have worded it better. I guess the word tolerance is okay after all.
 
Like I said, mine is naturally high so I'm not the one to really notice these things. I was putting Blair's Jersey Death on arroz con pollo, back when it was released.
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I guess it also doesn't help I have a high tolerance, I took the Defcon ZERO challenge (circa 2007) while people were on their knees and puking, and didn't wince. People were waiting for me to break, and I was breaking down the smoky notes, etc. lol... John can tell you, it was at Duff's. But I never built up anything.
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Maybe you're just an outlier.  :lol:
 
The Hot Pepper said:
I guess it also doesn't help I have a high tolerance, I took the Defcon ZERO challenge (circa 2007) while people were on their knees and puking, and didn't wince. People were waiting for me to break, and I was breaking down the smoky notes, etc. lol... John can tell you, it was at Duff's. But I never built up anything.
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Exactly, what is there to build up it you are already there? Many people probably, including myself at once envied such ability to withstand the extreme heat, but I have since changed my mind on that in that I have the whole world of heat before me to play with whereas the mild heat peppers dont even register with the extreme chili heads. I can still use the milds and think of the as hot somewhat hot.
 
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