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Now what do I do?!?

V

Vitis

I've been making hot sauces for a couple years, with nothing hotter than the orange habaneros that I typically grow in the garden.  Yesterday I went a little crazy picking stuff at a local farm.  Have about 8-9 pounds of very hot stuff (for a total of $15!!). (I realize it should say Bahamian goat in the image...my 8-year old daughter was in the field with me writing the names!)
 
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I usually make fermented sauces, but I'm little nervous about how to proceed with this lot!  I am thinking that maybe I ferment most of these varieties separately, and then eventually mix/blend with other sauces to control and adjust heat levels.  I typically freeze my sauces after they age for a while.  I'll be starting tonight, but will probably freeze of these peppers so that I have more time to deal with them. Thoughts?  Advice on any of these varieties?  Again, this is my first experiment with ghosts, scorpions, and reapers.....
 
 
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Hi folks,
 
Thanks for all the welcomes!  I'll post what I started doing with these peppers later this evening.  
 
The farm is in Bowers, PA.  The annual chill pepper festival is there each year and was last weekend.  The local farm was part of the festival, and they are located at: Meadow View Farm, 371 Bowers Road, Kutztown, PA 19530
 
Unbelievable variety of peppers...both hot and sweet.
 
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Greetings from just south of you.  Meadow view farms is famous as is it's owner Jay Weaver creator of all the peppers named "Jay's".  Most of those chillies are probably going to be outside your comfort range.  If that turns out to be the case you should core them before processing it will dull the heat a little and youll stil get to experience all the different flavors and types of heat.  That being said, IDK that coring a Moruga will make it less hot, might just make it mad.
 
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Thanks for this info Topsmoke.  It was certainly a fantastic farm.
 
Yes, I knew what I was getting into when I selected these peppers. Admittedly I went a little (lot) overboard, as I also grow quite few more common varieties at home (jalapeños, cayennes, thai, sante fe, orange habaneros). My wife thinks I've lost my mind.
 
I started three batches fermenting yesterday:
 
#1: a mix of scotch bonnets, 7 pots, and Bahamian goats
#2: a mix of ghosts and fatalli
#3: a mix of scorpions and 1 reaper
 
My plan is to carefully blend these with some very mild or sweet pepper ferments (hopefully with a pretty neutral flavor profile...any suggestions besides bell peppers?) to get to a variety of different heat levels and flavor profiles.
 
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Vitis said:
Thanks for this info Topsmoke.  It was certainly a fantastic farm.
 
Yes, I knew what I was getting into when I selected these peppers. Admittedly I went a little (lot) overboard, as I also grow quite few more common varieties at home (jalapeños, cayennes, thai, sante fe, orange habaneros). My wife thinks I've lost my mind.
 
I started three batches fermenting yesterday:
 
#1: a mix of scotch bonnets, 7 pots, and Bahamian goats
#2: a mix of ghosts and fatalli
#3: a mix of scorpions and 1 reaper
 
My plan is to carefully blend these with some very mild or sweet pepper ferments (hopefully with a pretty neutral flavor profile...any suggestions besides bell peppers?) to get to a variety of different heat levels and flavor profiles.
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Hi Vitis - welcome to THP! 
 
All three you have going will be pretty damn hot or towards the upper end of the heat scale.  Not a bad thing at all, but not necessarily 'usable for the family' either.  You'll have plenty of stuff to experiment with, which is always a good thing.  :)
 
I'd suggest mixing these down - that is using them as the heat kicker in ferments/sauces using ripe jalas and/or serranos, and perhaps mixing some of these with sweet bells and/or fruits like mango or pineapple or papaya.  Rocketman (hot sauce maker/beer brewer/all around awesome dude) has a few posts detailing ferments with sweet potato which could be another avenue for you to explore.  
 
Whatever you decide, please make sure to post back w pics of your process and results - we love to learn and follow along!  :)
 
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whenever I make a "sissy" sauce, i use bells.  Carrots don't taste like peppers, peppers taste like peppers.  It's the best way to preserve the unique flavor of each pepper while still dulling the heat. Youll be making sissy sauce until the sun explodes with the amounts of peppers you have though LOL.  That Moruga Reaper combo is going to turn you inside out!  My only advice is .... learn to love the pain.
 
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Topsmoke said:
whenever I make a "sissy" sauce, i use bells.  Carrots don't taste like peppers, peppers taste like peppers.  It's the best way to preserve the unique flavor of each pepper while still dulling the heat. Youll be making sissy sauce until the sun explodes with the amounts of peppers you have though LOL.  That Moruga Reaper combo is going to turn you inside out!  My only advice is .... learn to love the pain.
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"learn to love the pain"...fantastic :)
 
Maybe I'll have to go back to the farm and pick 100 pounds of bells!  Going to be fun regardless!
 
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