what peppers are similar to pasilla bajio

arrgh

arrgh

I started growing a few years ago.  Since I always like hot food, the first year I grew all super hots.  Then I realized that maybe I didn't like them THAT hot :)
 
So the last few years I grew a couple superhots, and experimented with a bunch of  other peppers. Of all I tried I absolutely love the taste and yield of the pasilla bajio.  The only problem is that while the flavor is great they aren't really hot enough.  I like them enough that current plan for next year is around 20 pasilla bajio, and a few superhots.  So for my sauces and chili , etc , I can use mostly pasillas and throw in a supehot for the heat.
 
 
While  I think this plan will work fine for me, I'm always curious as to what else  is out there. Are there  any peppers with similar taste and yield, but more heat.  Nothing  higher than habanero though.
 
 
Thanks
 
 
 
 
 
 
I highly recommend Aji Panca. Although rather different from passila, I think you'll find that earthy raisiny flavor in them.
 
Although classified as a chinense, they taste nothing like a chinense at all, IMO.
 
Definitely hotter than pasilla but I wouldn't call them hot. Maybe about jalapeno hot?
 
Edit:
 
I haven't tasted or grown them but you might wanna look into the Ethiopian Brown pepper too.
 
 
 
aji panca is 1000 to 1500 shu,  passilla is 1000 to 2500. So the same or a bit higher than the ajji panca.   Still it sounds like an interesting pepper.
 
The ethiopian brown berbere(which I think you are meaning)  Is 30,000 to 50,000 shu. So  closer to the heat level I want, maybe a bit high, but ok.  However most of the reviews say it taste like chocalate, not raisons. So probably not to similar to passillo.   But again an interesting pepper :)
 
I put the ethiopian in the cart at pepperlovers, and asked for her to notify when she gets the ajji panca. I will decide then If trying them, or going with the ones I know I like.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Anyone else have any I should be looking at?

 
 
arrgh said:
 
aji panca is 1000 to 1500 shu,  passilla is 1000 to 2500. So the same or a bit higher than the ajji panca.   Still it sounds like an interesting pepper.
 
The ethiopian brown berbere(which I think you are meaning)  Is 30,000 to 50,000 shu. So  closer to the heat level I want, maybe a bit high, but ok.  However most of the reviews say it taste like chocalate, not raisons. So probably not to similar to passillo.   But again an interesting pepper :)
 
I put the ethiopian in the cart at pepperlovers, and asked for her to notify when she gets the ajji panca. I will decide then If trying them, or going with the ones I know I like.
 
Thanks for the suggestions!
 
Anyone else have any I should be looking at?
 
 
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The aji Panca I tasted was hotter than whats advertised. But yea, it's not very hot.
 
Just mix other peppers with pasilla bajio. Jamaican hot chocolate comes to mind to add smoky depth and the heat you need. Would not overpower pasilla bajio flavor.
 
I´m a huge fan of Pasilla chiles; despite an almost total lack of heat, that raisin-ish flavour is vital to a lot of recipes.  I´ve been rockin' Pasillas since before I ever really got into chiles, but I´ve never tried a fresh Chilaca.  Guess that´s another one I ought to try growing next year....
 
I really like Aji Pancas too, but my experience with them is that they´re no hotter than Pasillas and they have a crazily earthy flavor to them.  I´ve read that the only way to go with Aji Pancas is dried, but I´m a stubborn prick, so I grew an Aji Panca plant this year, in hopes of sampling fresh pods.  So far, my Aji Panca plant has a few big pods hanging on it, but they´re as of yet still green.
 
In an attempt to answer the original question, the best advice I can give is to try Puyas?  They´re far smaller than Chilaca/Pasilla pods, reddish as opposed to dark brown/black, ad I think the flavor is a bit more on the ¨licorice"side than the ¨raisin¨ side, so maybe i´m waaaay off base. The name ¨Pasilla¨ is derived from ¨pasa¨ the Spanish word for raisin.... i think that´s the most important characteristic of Pasillas.  I haven´t grown them (yet), so i cannot comment on yield.  I can say that they weigh in at 8000SHU...
 
Jamaican hot chocolate  sounds good in place of my planned superhots.   Puyas  sound like the perfect heat level for me.   Pepperlover doesn't have either though.  So if I go with them, i will have to find a new source.
 
I will research and think about what I'm going to plant. I have plenty of time.  Only problem is I will change my mind a dozen times in next few months :)
 
 
 
 
So, let me see if i can score ya some Puya seeds... 
 
I´m growing JHCs; they´re killer-tasting pods and the first brown chinense  that i enjoy (admittedly, i haven sampled many...) but I´m not entirely sure they have much in common with Pasillas, as far as the flavor profile goes.  They taste pretty Hab-ish, but with a bit of that brown flavor.  I´m guessing that The Hot Pepper was suggesting those to amp up the heat without overpowering the Pasillas'unique taste?   I can save some seeds for ya from one of my fresh JHC pods, but my garden is jam-packed so they might be crossed.
 
Bicycle808 said:
So, let me see if i can score ya some Puya seeds... 
 
I´m growing JHCs; they´re killer-tasting pods and the first brown chinense  that i enjoy (admittedly, i haven sampled many...) but I´m not entirely sure they have much in common with Pasillas, as far as the flavor profile goes.  They taste pretty Hab-ish, but with a bit of that brown flavor.  I´m guessing that The Hot Pepper was suggesting those to amp up the heat without overpowering the Pasillas'unique taste?   I can save some seeds for ya from one of my fresh JHC pods, but my garden is jam-packed so they might be crossed.
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I appreciate the offer of seeds. But I would feel like a mooch to accept them.  If they were a rare seed I would probably say send  them, but a quick google search showed a bunch of places with them for a couple bucks.
 
That's how I read the hot peppers comment too.  I was thinking of just planting some more super hots(or using some of the tons of superhot powder I still have from my first season) to bump the heat of passilas.  But after his comment I decided habanero level heat would probably be better, since I don't have to be quite as careful with amounts.
 
As for your garden being jam-packed.  I have about a 100 sq ft garden with 25 plants. So I can identify with you there :)   I don't save seeds for that reason.
 
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