Pepper flavor

[AndyW]

So I see a lot of peppers being described as one or more of the following: grassy, floral, and fruity.
Like for example, ghosts are extremely floral, unripe peppers tend to be "grassy", etc. Do you find that how they're usually described match up to your personal experience?

Like for example, I've seen reapers described as sweet and fruity, but I can't tell a difference between a Reaper and a. Ghost aside from heat. I've even tried cutting from the bottom of a pod and running cold water over it for up to a minute. Just 100% floral.

Has anyone else experienced this?

Of course maybe the seeds I got weren't pure reaper, so who knows

 

[happytinker]

I got a mix of different superhots and superhot crosses growing this year, just because I kept reading about the flavor differences. So far I can notice some subtle differences before the burn kicks in, but it's always hard to describe. Definitely helps having different peppers side by side for comparison. Sometimes exotic fruits have a 'perfume' to them that I would describe as 'floral' or 'tropical', so it can be hard to separate the 'fruity' and 'floral' for me. Still gotta wait for my first ghosts and reapers to ripen before I can tell you what I think about that comparison. I swear I tasted apricots in a 7JPN earlier today, but a BBG7 x Aji Jobito just melted my tongue off, despite having 'fruity' pepper in it with the jobito.

 

[Grass Snake]

I taste floral with most Chinense varieties but I did taste a fruity Ghost pepper once.... Ripe annuums are always fruity for me. I'm not big on super hots but I know some can be fruity 

 

[sinensis]

Like for example, I've seen reapers described as sweet and fruity, but I can't tell a difference between a Reaper and a. Ghost aside from heat. 

 
have you tried cutting them open and smelling them side by side? can you smell a difference?

 

[Bicycle808]

If I were eating these things because they tasted grassy, fruity, floral, or perfumey, i'd just eat a pile of grass and flowers, do a shot of perfume, and have some fruit for dessert.

I think all of those terms are great for describing how one chile differs from another. But I eat these chinense pods for that stankin' Chinese skunk. I can't describe it because nothing really tastes like it, although baccatums come close sometimes. No flower, fruit, grass, or perfume has that character.

I guess those terms kind of describe what else you're tasting with it. Man, I ate my first ripe Fatalii of the season the other day and before I ate it, I just smelled it and it just took me to that pepper place right away....

But yeah if you want to explore the more subtle nuances more deeply, I'd suggest starting with lower-heat varieties because it's easier to concentrate on the flavors without the pain setting in... Once you feel comfortable with the flavor pallet, maybe you'll be better at recognizing the tastes of your supers?

 

[happytinker]

I just wonder how much the unique flavors are linked to heat production, like how hard would it be to cross lemon drop with a bell pepper, and end up with a zero heat bell that tastes lemony? If you grow out enough F2 plants it should be in there somewhere, right?

 

[AndyW]

 
have you tried cutting them open and smelling them side by side? can you smell a difference?

I haven't yet, but I'll try to remember to do that as soon as my ghosts start producing. I'm pretty late and I'm only getting so many reapers because it was an OW.

If I should eating these things because they tasted grassy, fruity, floral, or perfumey, if just eat s pile of grass and flowers, do a shot of perfume, and have some fruit for dessert.

I think all of those terms are great for describing how one chile different from another. But I eat these chinense pods for that stankin' Chinese skunk. I can't describe it because nothing really tastes like it, although baccatums come close sometimes. No flower, fruit, grass, or perfume has that character.

I guess those terms kind of describe what else you're tasting with it. Man, I ate my first ripe Fatalii of the season the other day and before I ate it, I just smelled it and it just took me to that pepper place right away....

But yeah if you want to explore the more subtle nuances more deeply, I'd suggest starting with lower-heat varieties because it's easier to concentrate on the flavors without the plain setting in... Once you feel comfortable with the flavor pallet, maybe you'll be better at recognizing the tastes of your supers?

Maybe so. Most of my experience is either in the habanero range or ghost+ with no real in-between. I may look for lower heat sub-super hot peppers for next year aside from the mild/seasoning peppers I plan to grow.

 

[YAMracer754]

I'm with you on that 100% on the Chineses.. I keep trying to explain it to my pops and for simplicity I just keep telling him like "ooh this one's got that diesel fuel" hahaha

If I should eating these things because they tasted grassy, fruity, floral, or perfumey, if just eat s pile of grass and flowers, do a shot of perfume, and have some fruit for dessert.

I think all of those terms are great for describing how one chile different from another. But I eat these chinense pods for that stankin' Chinese skunk. I can't describe it because nothing really tastes like it, although baccatums come close sometimes. No flower, fruit, grass, or perfume has that character.

I guess those terms kind of describe what else you're tasting with it. Man, I ate my first ripe Fatalii of the season the other day and before I ate it, I just smelled it and it just took me to that pepper place right away....

But yeah if you want to explore the more subtle nuances more deeply, I'd suggest starting with lower-heat varieties because it's easier to concentrate on the flavors without the plain setting in... Once you feel comfortable with the flavor pallet, maybe you'll be better at recognizing the tastes of your supers?

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

[YAMracer754]

Hear ya on that! As far as some of the more flavorful for next season instead of kill u n die peps times 100!

I haven't yet, but I'll try to remember to do that as soon as my ghosts start producing. I'm pretty late and I'm only getting so many reapers because it was an OW.


Maybe so. Most of my experience is either in the habanero range or ghost+ with no real in-between. I may look for lower heat sub-super hot peppers for next year aside from the mild/seasoning peppers I plan to grow.

Sent from my XT1565 using Tapatalk

 

[Ghaleon]

Every pepper I've had has had it's own unique flavor. I feel bad for the people who say they only taste heat.

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Drop a bonnet floater into a pot of curry and it dont take too long to get that "floral" aroma. I tried the same thing with my mystery plant that resembles a Naga or Devils tongue and you get virtually none of that same aroma. The aroma of a Caribbean goat curry is unmistakable if made right. Quite a difference vs a Indian goat curry even though both can be quite hot.
 
My ghost and mystery plant dont smell as "habby" as a bonnet. Not even close. The bonnets are also sweeter but not by a great deal. I would say they are a more fruity kinda sweet by a more noticeable amount. Kinda diggin the idea the ghost/nag? mix though for a less aromatic hot sauce with substantial heat.

 

[Mr. West]

Habaneros are very floral, right? But they sometimes have a chemical smell and taste. Some varietals like the yucatan white bullets are said to have smoky flavor. I get smokiness with well-ripened datils, along with some citrus notes. I've heard of berry fruit flavors and cherry tomato sweetness, etc. Ripeness definitely effects the flavor profile. "Pungency" is usually used to refer to offensive odors, but also describes the heat level of peppers. I'm also interested in trying the less-than-superhots for flavor distinctions.

 

[Ghaleon]

PeppersByMail will soon be selling boxes. The habanero sampler seems like a good fit for you.

 

[hogleg]

A peppers flavor and smell are made up of terpenes. I have to agree with Bicyclebob that chinense flavor is very hard to describe with comparisons. To me they are floral and gassy (not a very good description)
People get excited about testing for SHU #'s..Boring! I will get pretty damm excited when someone starts testing pods for terpene profiles to see what terpenes are actually making these flavors we have trouble describing. Maybe in the future terpene profiles will be applied to strains. Knowing the terpene profiles you like would make it easier to find other peppers with similar but different profiles.
Testing strains for terpene profile has taken hold in the canna industry over the last 5 years. IMO it should start happening with peppers soon.

 

[Bicycle808]

A peppers flavor and smell are made up of terpenes. I have to agree with Bicyclebob that chinense flavor is very hard to describe with comparisons. To me they are floral and gassy (not a very good description)
People get excited about testing for SHU #'s..Boring! I will get pretty damm excited when someone starts testing pods for terpene profiles to see what terpenes are actually making these flavors we have trouble describing. Maybe in the future terpene profiles will be applied to strains. Knowing the terpene profiles you like would make it easier to find other peppers with similar but different profiles.
Testing strains for terpene profile has taken hold in the canna industry over the last 5 years. IMO it should start happening with peppers soon.

 
That would be absolutely ideal.  One could round out his entire row, making sure all the bases were covered.  What an amazing concept, and if they´ve already been doing it with cannabis, we have got to be close.  The capsaicin/shu would be analogous to the thc, but the dang terpenes are the same parameter, even if the specifics are different..

But, when you say chinense are ¨gassy,¨ do you mean like gasoline??  Surely, you don´t mean farts, right?  It´s funny b/c YamRacer754 just said "ooh this one's got that diesel fuel" lol... I think i know whatcha mean... gotta revisit that, next time i chomp on a fresh chinense pod....

 

[hogleg]

 
That would be absolutely ideal.  One could round out his entire row, making sure all the bases were covered.  What an amazing concept, and if they´ve already been doing it with cannabis, we have got to be close.  The capsaicin/shu would be analogous to the thc, but the dang terpenes are the same parameter, even if the specifics are different..

But, when you say chinense are ¨gassy,¨ do you mean like gasoline??  Surely, you don´t mean farts, right?  It´s funny b/c YamRacer754 just said "ooh this one's got that diesel fuel" lol... I think i know whatcha mean... gotta revisit that, next time i chomp on a fresh chinense pod....

 
No not farts 
 
Like some type of petroleum.
 
GG4 and Sour Diesel canna strains and some others have gas notes similar to chinense smell to me.
 
Some of the leading terpenes in those are β-Myrcene, α-Humulene, β-Caryophyllene, Nerolidol 2 and in smaller amounts α-Pinene, β-Pinene, δ-Limonene, Linalool
 
I am fairly certain chinense (namely superhots) terpenes have some similarities to those.

 

[The Hot Pepper]

Perfumey is a very subjective term because, of course, there are many different perfumes from the musky to the floral or fresh. But in relation to peppers, perfumey is more of... not the aroma, but if someone sprayed perfume on your tongue. It's a very sharp, caustic, bitter experience with floral tones. Similar to "gassy" above.

 

[Ghaleon]

When I think floral, I think of Butch T's.

 

[Walchit]

A peppers flavor and smell are made up of terpenes. I have to agree with Bicyclebob that chinense flavor is very hard to describe with comparisons. To me they are floral and gassy (not a very good description)
People get excited about testing for SHU #'s..Boring! I will get pretty damm excited when someone starts testing pods for terpene profiles to see what terpenes are actually making these flavors we have trouble describing. Maybe in the future terpene profiles will be applied to strains. Knowing the terpene profiles you like would make it easier to find other peppers with similar but different profiles.
Testing strains for terpene profile has taken hold in the canna industry over the last 5 years. IMO it should start happening with peppers soon.

Hogleg is gonna have those pepper terps on deck!

 

[Winegums]

I find that tasting notes from the hippy seed company videos are quite accurate to what I taste with my peppers. 
 
Ghosts are very floral, like someone took flowery perfume and sprayed my mouth. I personally can't stand it as it doesn't taste anything like other peppers, my mind doesn't register it as flavour but as a scent. 
 
Chinense have their own thing which I love, Scotch Bonnets, Habaneros, Fatalii, Bahamian Goats, etc all have a wonderful flavour that I crave. Each strain has subtleties that make them unique, for example Fatalii has an initial habanero flavour with another very unique fruity over tone which fills the mouth. 
 
If peppers didn't taste different and unique to me then I don't think I would be growing so many different types.