Same pepper in different locale is different?

QuadShotz

QuadShotz

Banned
I hava dumb question..why would identical looking jalapenos from the same vendor change hugely?

I get bags of jalas from a local store, and the suppplier is based in OR.

Just nice, generic peppers I like for cooking at like $4.99/lb is killer imo.

This time, they had them for ONE DOLLAR A POUND, and had a new sticker saying they were from Mexico. Same company in OR though.

But, even though I can't tell the difference in these from her regular stocks, these are like twice as hot as any Jalapeno I've bought in stores here...if I didnt' know better I'd say they were Serranos, except they taste/look like Jalapenos.

Yes, I know about crosses/mislabeling, etc.

Question is, why would the Mexican commercially grown Jalas have a reason to be that much different from the ones she normally had that I assume were from California?

Pix:

S6303516.jpg


tag front
S6303511.jpg


tag back w/ new sticker
S6303513.jpg



These are pretty big and robust chiles...8-9 to a pound and very healthy. I've always gotten high-quality chiles from this vendor, but these are way hotter than the Serranos I bought last time. The only difference is the location..and the price...

Just wondering. :)

-QS
 
What makes you think it's the same pepper? They're many diff strains of penos.

Besides, didn't you know the Mexicans stress their peps with bad water. j/k :D
 
Well, I've been buying those from the same store from the same supplier for awhile, and they've always been quite consistant.

The only difference now is the "Product of Mexico" bit which is new. I suppose a Mexican Jalapeno could easily be a different strain, but they otherwise look identical to what i've been getting for months.
 
I'm guessing that the distributer, United Salad CO in Portland has a variety of suppliers in different locales that they use depending on seasonal/availability/pricing/etc factors. I'm also guessing that each of the suppliers has a variety of farmers that they use. I'm also guessing that each of the farmers has a variety of seed suppliers that they use depending on seed availability/pricng/etc. This is all speculation, but if you add up all of these factors, you're sure to have a lot of variety throughout the year, whether you realize the difference or not.
 
Yeah, I'm sure that's correct...it's just amazing what the difference can be. After all, for a buck a pound, I'm not too worried. ;)
 
Since they can vary from plant to plant and even pepper to pepper on the same plant, I find it more unusual that you would get consistant results in the first place. Unless of course they were really, really lame - which should be pretty easy to do. If I get mine from Wal*Mart thye're almost always close to heatless, but the ones from the Mexican market are medium heat. The ones I have bred and grow myself are Hot.

$1.00 to $1.99 /lb is standard around here depending on time of year.
 
REAL Jalapeños are pretty hot. a lot of those mild ones you see out there are some sort of hybrids. same goes for Serranos.
Plus stressing a chile could make a world of a difference. I've had stressed "Evil Sudanese" chiles a lot hotter than my spoiled Bhut Jolokias. you *really* don't want to try my stressed Scorpions. I personally can't eat them... way too hot.
 
Likely different peppers from different suppliers.
Most North American jalapenos are bred for lower heat levels and no corking where the Mexican jalapenos are usually hot and are worth more if they have corking
 
Also, I think Mexico got a bad rap a few years ago (last year?) with the salmonella tainted Jalapenos. Not even sure if that was ever proven, But likely it depressed the price of Mexican Jalapenos. That being said, even before that scare, we used to have big, hot, imported Jalapenos here in Shoppers Food Warehouse for 99 cents/lb. Last time I went in there a few months ago with the intention of buying some, they were $1.99/lb. Those ones that you bought look excellent though, for one buck you can't beat it. I know the Europeans have to be jealous of that price. :)
 
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