flavor Taste profile collection?

[Al-from-Chile]

Hi there,

Would it be of interest to have a taste profile of dunno the 50 most popular types of peppers?

I am not talking about spiciness - I am talking about qualitative aspects...

Sorry to be unable to help @ this stage due to lack of experience.

Al

 

[Peptacular]

Not a bad idea. I'd be interested, although including piquancy would be cool too, I think.

 

[smokemaster]

Base type peppers for my rubs and spice mixes:

Cascabel,Jalapeno,Chilaca(Chile Negro),Ancho,De Arbol,New Mex.,California,Guajillo,Red Chile Flakes,Pequin,Tepin,Paprika types and several heirloom types from everywhere.
Depends on the flavor I want.

I use Habaneros,7 pots Bhuts,etc to balance the heat and blend the taste profile I'm looking for.
Depends what I want or who I'm cooking for at the time.

It also depends on what other,non pepper spices I use for that particular rub or mix of powder.

Mex. Oregano,Mace,cinnomon,chocolate,Rubbed Sage,Thyme,Garlic powder,Lemon Powder,Italian spice mix etc should be included as far as what you use any pepper blend for.
What am I putting it on also means a lot.

I only use Smoked Pubescence by itself for the most part.

I smoke dry a Lot of the peppers I use in general though I don't smoke dry small stuff in general (frutescens,tepins,Pequins or whatever).
The small stuff gets mixed with smoked stuff so it works out the same in general.

Limiting yourself to single peppers dried and ground really is a waste in my opinion.

Most blends are way better than most any one pepper by itself.

Complex flavors are needed for different uses.
Can't get the blends that I think will be best by just using a couple peppers ground up or whatever in most any dish.

Ya,some only use,for example,a specific super hot or ? to put on a pizza or whatever.
I don't think that is why you started this post.

I'm talking about making something from scratch,not just heating something up or doctoring up a sauce or dish.

Your question boils down to probably what is popular as far as what is popular to the masses in general.

50 varieties is way too few varieties if you get into what is popular in different ethnic dishes etc.

This site having a very large international membership would make this post go on forever.

A good thing I think,get ideas that might go past the norm that people think are status quo.

IF this post gets past the common internet crap-super hots and instead into the flavors/blends of spices others use or are used to and are looking for in different ethnic dishes it could get REALLY good.

Caribbean dishes are different than Mexican ones,African ones are different flavors etc.

Fish,Beef ,vegetable dishes or whatever use different peppers to get what is needed for specific dishes.

Would be cool if people posted their pepper of choice,dry or fresh,with different type dishes(not recipes-generalities.Put recipes where they belong on this site).
Just ideas about different peppers in the way they are used by whoever in their favorite way.

Cool question/post if it stays to being peoples favorite blends rather than"I like Supers , Scotch Bonnets or ? only".

No recipes,just what different peppers you think work best together for whatever you use them for.

 

[Gotrox]

Taste profile???
Really depends on your tastes.
Some go good with fish, some with pizza, some only shine dried, some shine smoked, some go good with coctails, some with chocolate (as in mole') Some bitter, some sweet, etc ad infinatum.
If you really want to find out, just grow a selection and figure out which you like with what.
I like them hot, but though I no longer prefer them, start with the common jalapeno, then:
Some various
Wilds (brazil is a good one)
Habeneros
7 pots/pods
Bhuts
a couple recorld holders like
Butch T
Reaper
Brain (contender)
Viper
Etc.

Mild to wild, adjust as your taste sees fit.

Of course, I am sure I left out at least one of someones favorite of the uncountable variations of peppers.

You can cheat by looking at everyones grow list and finding types common to many growers, but that's cheating.

A taste profile is much harder with peppers than with wine, as everyone tastes them a bit differently, and unlike wine, many are best with something, not alone by themselves.
And it is common to get different flavors on different pods of the same plant.
I have yet to taste some of the strange undertones you find on wine reviews, and even hundreds of years of efforts in that area confound the common palate.
Woodsey peat bog aroma with the flavour of gently smoked cranberries in the spring???
WTF???
Possible I guess, if kept simple like:
Hot
Damned hot
OMG!!!
Sweet
sour
bitter
citrus
"green" (if you have eaten a jalapeno, you know the flavor)
gym shorts (bhut) alternately, "sweaty sock"
Smoky
and other simple but vivid discriptors.

IMHO, of course.

 

[Peptacular]

Yeah, I agree. The simple, vivid descriptions are the way to go. Just to give people a general idea of what they can expect from a pepper without needing a dictionary on hand.

 

[poypoyking]

Yeah, I agree. The simple, vivid descriptions are the way to go. Just to give people a general idea of what they can expect from a pepper without needing a dictionary on hand.

Even that would help to avoid growing peppers that someone would'nt enjoy. It is such a disappointment when you get this big lucsious pepper plant loaded with hundreds of pods and then you don't like the flavor of them.

 

[pepperproblem]

I grow a fair amount of peppers. I think maybe 200 plus types this year.I trade and buy peppers from THP members and variious other places. Ethnic marckets, etc. I have found that while many peppers keep a certain flavor profile, there are taste/aroma differences in where they are grown. I have had peppers that I would never even think of growing, only to have another from a different grower that changed my opinion. Not huge differences, but a bit more bitterness/less sweet can turn the tables. Ferts/soii/weather all influence the end result.You will notice more by smelling than tasting. Like tomatoes, the darker the color, the more intense the flavor (and heat). Take the different colors of Bhuts. Yellow pretty fruity lower heat, Peach more aroma and maybe a tad more heat, Red stronger aromatics and heat, Chocolate more intense heat and aromas. Trinidad peppers tend to be really fruity. I have to balance them out with other pepper types unless it is fruit based. Start with simularities within species and go from there.

 

[swellcat]

. . . while many peppers keep a certain flavor profile, there are taste/aroma differences in where they are grown.

That's what wine folks refer to as terrior, the flavors the local dirt and climate bring to the equation.

Trying to describe smells and tastes need not be an exercise in silliness, as Gotrox showed with some fine descriptors. Consulting aroma wheels might be helpful, too.

Can we generalize much at the species level? Is there a characteristic baccatum or frutescens flavor profile?

 

[pepperproblem]

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