What becomes of the surplus harvest?

[Ghaleon]

I can tell you I have done is the following season grow fewer peppers and the types you will consume and make sauces and powders that you will use and consume. I've gone from growing 100 plants half which were super hots down to 25 plants with only 1 or 2 super hots. I'm counting red savinas this year as super hots. 
 
I grow not for more flavor and mid range heat ( Carribbean Reds, Bonnets) and less with the majority being Baccatums. 

 

I've been wanting to try the Red Savinas. I love superhots and plan to keep several around, but anything that tastes good is welcome.
 
I've been giving away some of my frozen pods to get others into this so the pepper business expands a bit. A lot of people are interested but apparently can't think to look toward the internet.

 

[SavinaRed]

 
I've been wanting to try the Red Savinas. I love superhots and plan to keep several around, but anything that tastes good is welcome.
 
I've been giving away some of my frozen pods to get others into this so the pepper business expands a bit. A lot of people are interested but apparently can't think to look toward the internet.

Savinas are between the heat of Caribbean reds and bhuts but retain the better fruity,citrus flavor of the red habs. I don't like the flavor of ghost peppers at all. I have to dr them up when making a sauce whereas with savinas, CR;s, scotch bonnets etc..... the flavor of the peppers are great on their own and no need to cover the flavor IMHO. Some people like the ghost flavor but I'm not one of them and they are one of the super hots if you like them that are really easy to grow and very productive even in the heat where I live.

 

[Bicycle808]

Im moving out of my apartment and literally found pounds of dehydrated peppers zip locked from past harvests. In short, I have no idea what to do with them.

Mark as best answer...

Last year, I made a lot of sauce and pickles, had a lot of pods smoked over mesquite, made some peach & Bonnet jelly, and i gave toooonz of pods away. Millions. Friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, local restaurants, strangers, and at least one bitter enemy. I know that, by September, ppl were probably ducking me and actively avoiding me, like "oh, shit... Here comes Fat Rob with all those frickin peppers again..."

I'm about to buy a decent dehydrator for doing pods this year. Hoping I can still get a mess of them smoked....

 

[Muckyai]

i gave toooonz of pods away. Millions. Friends, family, neighbors, coworkers, local restaurants, strangers, and at least one bitter enemy. I know that, by September, ppl were probably ducking me and actively avoiding me, like "oh, shit... Here comes Fat Rob with all those frickin peppers again..."

Did the restaurant use them? For the public I mean. What kinda dishes?

 

[CAPCOM]

I eat fresh pods on sandwiches and such until the season comes to an end. then dehydration takes care of the rest. You can never have too much dried product.

 

[Bicycle808]

Did the restaurant use them? For the public I mean. What kinda dishes?

Well, the BBQ spot smoked a lot of pods for me, and I let them have all the yellow bonnets they smoked in return for the smokin services. They make sauce with the bonnets, and his head cook made another hotter sauces out of some of the other ps I gave them.

DudeMang who runs the kitchen at a local bar made some wingsauce out of some Sevens and Nagas I have him. He said the sauce was really good and all, but how customers really demand Reapers and Ghosts, because those are the Chiles they know. As in, if you tell them the sauce is made with Brainstrains, the customers' immediate response is "wuzzmatter, you couldn't but any Reapers?" The down side is, he was spending a lot on fresh Reaper pods mail order, plus you can't get them year round...

I think my strategy would be to just taste the sauce by heat level, and not promote the exact peppers used. Obviously, if someone asks, you ought tell them. But he's already set the precedent on the menu by offering wing sauce levels like Habanero, Host, and Reaper so I guess his regulars had expectations?

My other buddy runs a little cafe. I have him some Bonnets, Habs, and Fataliis. TBH, I don't know what he did with them. I asked him a little after I dropped then off, and he said he didn't use them yet. Personally, when it comes to fresh produce, I want to use it ASAFP, right? I didn't ask him again, and he never brought it up... Awkward. I hope he at least are them himself. Shame to waste them...

I work at a different cafe and I put my phone in veggie chili, made sauces with them, offered them as an ingredient in omelets, and I was putting NuMex Trick or Treats in salads. I also had a stainless born filled with pods that is give away to customers for free on my shift. This year, I gave away all my decent quality culled seedlings to customers at the cafe on a Sunday. That was pretty rad.

The brother at the BBQ is growing his own pods this year. He still makes Bonnet sauce from dried pods he bail orders, but he's stoked to smoke his own plus any overflow I might have. Here's also been making a sauce with Ghosts and he is growing some ghost plants too. Another chilehead is born...

 

[Bicycle808]

Did the restaurant use them? For the public I mean. What kinda dishes?

Well, the BBQ spot smoked a lot of pods for me, and I let them have all the yellow bonnets they smoked in return for the smokin services. They make sauce with the bonnets, and his head cook made another hotter sauces out of some of the other ps I gave them.

DudeMang who runs the kitchen at a local bar made some wingsauce out of some Sevens and Nagas I have him. He said the sauce was really good and all, but how customers really demand Reapers and Ghosts, because those are the Chiles they know. As in, if you tell them the sauce is made with Brainstrains, the customers' immediate response is "wuzzmatter, you couldn't but any Reapers?" The down side is, he was spending a lot on fresh Reaper pods mail order, plus you can't get them year round...

I think my strategy would be to just taste the sauce by heat level, and not promote the exact peppers used. Obviously, if someone asks, you ought tell them. But he's already set the precedent on the menu by offering wing sauce levels like Habanero, Host, and Reaper so I guess his regulars had expectations?

My other buddy runs a little cafe. I have him some Bonnets, Habs, and Fataliis. TBH, I don't know what he did with them. I asked him a little after I dropped then off, and he said he didn't use them yet. Personally, when it comes to fresh produce, I want to use it ASAFP, right? I didn't ask him again, and he never brought it up... Awkward. I hope he at least are them himself. Shame to waste them...

I work at a different cafe and I put my phone in veggie chili, made sauces with them, offered them as an ingredient in omelets, and I was putting NuMex Trick or Treats in salads. I also had a stainless born filled with pods that is give away to customers for free on my shift. This year, I gave away all my decent quality culled seedlings to customers at the cafe on a Sunday. That was pretty rad.

The brother at the BBQ is growing his own pods this year. He still makes Bonnet sauce from dried pods he bail orders, but he's stoked to smoke his own plus any overflow I might have. Here's also been making a sauce with Ghosts and he is growing some ghost plants too. Another chilehead is born...

 

[Muckyai]

That's awesome stuff. You're doing it right!

 

[ShowMeDaSauce]

Great idea. Ive got a buddy with a large high end smoker for his sausages. I think he does 100lbs+ at a time. He can smoke way colder than i can with my cheapo. I may just have a bumper crop of bonnets and other chinense this year.

 

[Winegums]

I didn't have this problem last year but I think I will this year as I have doubled my plants. I'm planning to make sauces and powders after I have frozen my one year supply of pods. 

 

[dragonsfire]

Im moving out of my apartment and literally found pounds of dehydrated peppers zip locked from past harvests. In short, I have no idea what to do with them.

 
While going over my boxes from the move I found dried Onion, Eggplant and Jerk Turkey that at least ten years old, somehow found its way to my storage stuff lol.
Most looks good but one bag looks like some disintegration (bugs) so tossed everything.
 

 

[AJ Drew]

Props if ya get the song reference!

Seriously, though. I'm obviously not talking about the A.J. Drew's among us, but the others with a decent number of plants.

 
Honestly honored.  Ye, we sell about all the peppers.  First frost sale and they fly.  But we also grow general produce, so can sort of answer the question.  Our food bank is almost all dried goods.  Folk really like it when fresh produce comes there way.  They also get some of the milder and sweet peppers but mainly general produce..

 

[scrufy]

Freeze em all, then as I have time dehydrate then off to the coffee grinder. I take some and put in these nice little clear bottles with ceramic tops and give as gifts to friends I know that like it. I also take a small ziplock bag down to a fish restuarant close by. They love it and we eat free.
The rest goes to personal use and occasional bags brought in to work for others.
One girl at work makes chocolate browines and cookies with yellow 7 pot powder that is just amazing.