thoroughburro 2022

Many thanks to those who indulged in my long winnowing process. I had assumed space would be my limiting factor, but it was calculating how much soil would cost that convinced me to narrow my focus yet again. After some heartbreaking cuts, the plan is now locked in! I just put the first seeds in for an H2O2 soak in advance of sowing tomorrow. Let’s go!

Jigsaw, seen here edited in from June 2022, became iconic of the grow

Notes

• Numbers refer to desired number of containers per variety
• Two individuals per container, to increase diversity
• 5 gallon containers, unless noted

Sowing Schedule

Sat Jan 8

2 Capsicum flexuosum, wild

Sat Feb 5

4 NuMex Trick-or-Treat
4 Ají Dulce Rojo
4 Ají Dulce Margariteño Yellow
4 Hot Paper Lantern
4 Scotch Bonnet TFM
4 Bonda Ma Jacques
4 Bahamian Goat
4 Jamaican Hot Chocolate

2 Rocoto Mini Olive

2 Ají Amarillo, 10 gallon

Sat Feb 19

4 Ají Fantasy Orange, unstable
2 Ají Norteno
2 Ají Amarillo Baby
4 Ají Pineapple

Sat Mar 5

2 Romanian Rainbow
2 NuMex Heritage Big Jim
4 Jalapeño Zapotec

2 Chiltepin Hermosillo Dwarf, 2 gallon, wild
2 Jigsaw, 2 gallon, ornamental
2 Bolivian Rainbow, 2 gallon, ornamental
2 NuMex Centennial, 2 gallon, ornamental

 

[francisp]

That are great looking plants.

 

[PaulG]

Beautiful Smooky pods, @thoroughburro!

 

[thoroughburro]

I have many more to try over future seasons, of course, but I’d be hard pressed to say any of the chinense or baccatum milds I’ve grown this year are as hugely flavorful as a decent bell pepper, for fresh or pickled use. I expected that of the chinense, about which few people seem super excited, but not the baccatum. Ají Fantasy Orange and CAP 455 are the best of what I’m growing, but even they are… ethereal, tantalizing more than satisfying. They’re great in salad and pickled and will both be grown next year, but at the same time as I up my mild annuum game. I think bell peppers are underrated.

That said, the chinense milds have been as perfect as hoped for the purpose of developing mild sauces. I like that the recipe for the mild version can be the exact same as for the full-heat version, just with the pepper variety swapped. For this purpose, Ají Dulce Margariteño Yellow is my mild scotch bonnet and NuMex Trick-or-Treat is my mild habanero. ADM in particular is worth a grow… it just might look and taste more bonnety than a bonnet, and at just a few thousand SHU.

A slight issue: I’m really enjoying a sauce made with Bahamian Goat, lately, but I don’t have or know of a mild which might taste like it. The island of Margarita, Venezuela is said to grow all possible colors of their Ají Dulce Margariteño, and I’m sure they do; they are intensely proud of the pepper. Maybe then the hypothetical Ají Dulce Margariteño Orange would serve well as a mild Bahamian Goat. It would take someone with local connections to open up those genetics, so maybe I’ll try a BG x ADM cross someday as another route…

 

[ahayastani]

A slight issue: I’m really enjoying a sauce made with Bahamian Goat, lately, but I don’t have or know of a mild which might taste like it. The island of Margarita, Venezuela is said to grow all possible colors of their Ají Dulce Margariteño, and I’m sure they do; they are intensely proud of the pepper. Maybe then the hypothetical Ají Dulce Margariteño Orange would serve well as a mild Bahamian Goat. It would take someone with local connections to open up those genetics, so maybe I’ll try a BG x ADM cross someday as another route…

Judging from the number of migrants that pass here, there may soon be no more Venezuelans left in Venezuela...

Some time ago, I was looking for seed sources of Venezuelan landraces. I didn't find much I wanted to bet my pesos on though. There is (was?) a Doctor Aji on FB, Venezuelan based in Kanuckistan, but I found his prices a bit on the high side (from my perspective). I can't vouch for him, but might be interesting to check him out if you're in for a Venezuelan ride.

 

[thoroughburro]

Habanero Oxkutzcabense: it was disappointment at first taste, unfortunately. Where did the mangoes go? Or any fruitiness at all, really? This had a more vegetal, asparagus flavor. Not very pleasant, and I won’t keep this batch. I’m almost certain that wouldn’t be a result of the roast, but I’ll definitely try it again when more ripen. As anticipated, this was the hottest of the three, but not an unpleasant heat profile.

I did make another batch of Habanero Oxkutzcabense sauce, erring light on the roast this time, and have been evaluating it over the last few days.

The tropical, floral, mangoey aroma and flavor is indeed now present at the lower roast level. However, it may be a case of “be careful what you wish for,” because the sauce simply doesn’t go well on any meal, so far. In any case, it tastes nothing like the earthy, musky orange habanero sauce I’m looking for… I clearly made the mistake of reaching for a particularly exotic habanero when the flavor I’m looking for is bog standard!

I think Habanero Oxkutzcabense would excel as a fresh-use habanero for those with high heat tolerance. It would make an amazing secret ingredient in the right salsa fresca. It’s also been vigorous and extremely productive, even rivalling Bahamian Goat. It’s a really good pepper, just not for this sauce.

 

[thoroughburro]

Ají Pineapple has joined the harvest party! Here are it, Ají Fantasy Orange, and Blended Lemon:

These all taste really good. Ají Fantasy Orange, in particular, is sublime: sharp, but candy-sweet tangerine flavor for days. It’s a must grow.

Ají Pineapple has another dimension of flavor on top of what Blended Lemon has. I could call it pineapple, sure, but whatever it is it’s definitely a delicious addition to the Blended Lemon flavor profile of crispy, refreshing, but nondescript citric tartness.

Blended Lemon is around 1-2 kSHU, so Ají Pineapple is significantly hotter, but no more than Jalapeño Zapotec, for example. It’s still useful in mixed company, so Blended Lemon may not really be needed.

I’ll grow Ají Pineapple and Ají Fantasy Orange again, for sure.

 

[ahayastani]

Aji Lemon/Pineapple have been major PITAs here. They didn't suffer too much from the hot weather in Kentucky? Or have nights remained cool?

 

[thoroughburro]

They were later than I expected by two or three weeks, but other than that no major issues… almost everything had some degree of flower drop during the worst of the heat, but I didn’t notice it doing worse than others in particular.

Nights were briefly 80 F (26 C), but have more generally been in the mid 70s F (low 20s C), trending down now.

 

[Bou]

I should mention: it showed zero signs of suffering or slowing down even during the worst of the heatwave. Worth making a note of, these days…

I observed the same thing both times I grew this one (also from Justin); nothing seems to slow it down once it begins to bloom. The plant itself really shines and is easily among the most beautiful C. Chinense varieties one can grow. The foliage is simply stunning and I think NSR would make a very nice looking bonchi too. Unfortunately I wasn't very happy with their flavor profile as mine tasted quite bland IMO (I used them to make a fermented mash made from mixed peppers).

 

[thoroughburro]

Unfortunately I wasn't very happy with their flavor profile as mine tasted quite bland IMO (I used them to make a fermented mash made from mixed peppers).

Yeah, they definitely aren’t a flavor explosion. What flavor is there is pleasant enough, though, hitting the usual generic “red pepper” notes without off flavors. From a culinary perspective, they could fit a generalist role sort of like cayenne does.

I’m on the fence about them for next year. The growing characteristics couldn’t be better, but I don’t have a very specific use for them which always feels like a drag when I’m harvesting tons of pods in the sun!

 

[Bou]

Yeah, they definitely aren’t a flavor explosion. What flavor is there is pleasant enough, though, hitting the usual generic “red pepper” notes without off flavors. From a culinary perspective, they could fit a generalist role sort of like cayenne does.

I’m on the fence about them for next year. The growing characteristics couldn’t be better, but I don’t have a very specific use for them which always feels like a drag when I’m harvesting tons of pods in the sun!

I didn't grow NSR this year for the same reason, plus the pods are rather small so a bit of a pain to deseed!

 

[thoroughburro]

Last year, I observed the small, seasonal pods-by-post market which takes place here on the forum each harvest. It’s a great way to try varieties you’re interested in without necessarily devoting a whole season to growing your own.

I’m growing NuMex Trick-or-Treat for my heatless orange habanero, this year, but it was a tough choice between it and Habanada. Turns out, I can try both this year thanks to a SFRB from @HellfireFarm.

My NuMex Trick-or-Treat on the left, Hellfire Farm’s Habanada on the right (less than half what was sent is shown here):

There is, of course, a huge difference in pod shape and size. Trick-or-Treat, as suggested by the name, was bred specifically to be as close as possible to an orange habanero in both appearance and flavor, missing only the heat. Habanada was the result of a long running pet project and didn’t adhere to the same constraints.

I bring that up first, because these peppers both succeed very well at tasting like a heatless orange habanero, and a particularly flavorful one at that. They are tart, a bit sweet, and bursting with deeply satisfying, classic orange habanero flavor. They both provide the right flavor in a sauce. They’re both heatless, or very nearly.

So, that pod size difference winds up being important. Each Habanada pod is hefty, and it’s all flesh baby… very few seeds, very little placenta. Even the smaller pods make up for it by being super easy: no seeds or placenta to speak of. All in all, I can process a pound of Habanada at least twice as fast as Trick-or-Treat, probably closer to three times. Feels good.

I think I’ll grow Habanada instead of Trick-or-Treat next year. And now I have seeds, from a presumably large number of individuals as well, given HellfireFarm’s setup. I can only recommend making similar use of our little market.

 

[HellfireFarm]

@thoroughburro Thanks for the write-up, I was going to ask you to follow up on your taste test!

Just to add a bit of my own experience, this year I also tried the "Where's The Heat" heatless habanero variety. Their flavor wasn't quite as bright, but the bigger problem for me was that they were all over the place heat-wise. The first one I tried was cayenne-level. They're just not consistent.

Be cautious about those seeds, though. Odds are each pod is from a different plant, but keep in mind I grow all my varieties together. The Nadas are right next to Dragons and Yellow Reapers and within 50' of Reapers and Ghosts. I can't promise they bred true.

Although that might result in some interesting new hybrids, so be sure to let us know!

 

[thoroughburro]

I’m sorry for the lack of updates!

I didn’t keep up with harvesting from Scotch Bonnet TFM for a few weeks… this basket represents only the nicest half of what was on my four 3-gallon containers.

 

[thoroughburro]

The harvest continues, but the season is winding down in terms of discoveries and conclusions. I’m looking forward to writing a separate post condensing what I’ve learned generally along with a few sentences on every variety I grew.

Here are two which taught me that I don’t have the patience to process most small podded varieties. In the future, I’ll only grow those with deciduous fruit (for ease of harvest) and which I can use whole (for ease of processing).

Datil, pods about 1.5 in (3.8 cm):

The fresh flavor is good but straightforward. It didn’t impress me enough to bother processing enough pods for sauce. Very fiddly.

CGN 22184, pods about 1 in (2.5 cm):

These are more interesting, and if they were deciduous I would grow them every year. The flavor is excellent: fruity with fresh peach overtones, a bit of sweetness, and an upper medium burn, maybe about 10 kSHU.

 

[ahayastani]

Here are two which taught me that I don’t have the patience to process most small podded varieties. In the future, I’ll only grow those with deciduous fruit (for ease of harvest) and which I can use whole (for ease of processing).

Same here. I mostly choose large podded varieties for use in pickled peppers. I especially like annuum varieties because the seeds are easily removed, an added advantage if you need to manually process large quantities. I often reserve the smaller pods for raw snacking or salsa.