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flavor Which pepper do you find is the smokiest in taste...

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I have a chiltepĂ­n from Northern Mexico (Sonora or Sinaloa, I forgot) with a delightful smoky flavour if I allow it to dry on the plant.
Also, I recently sun-dried some fresh cobanero and really enjoyed its smoky taste. Fresh cobanero also has a smoky taste, but it has to compete with the crunchiness of the pepper and does not come fully into its own.
 
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To date I would say Mareko Fana (powder), also known as Ethiopian Brown/Berbere.
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This past season I picked a small Pequin-like pod and put it on my computer chassis to dry out, but promptly forgot which of a couple varieties is was :( A month later when I thought of it again it had dried perfectly and had an amazing smoky flavor, really top notch, so I'm on a mission this season to figure out which variety it was and make some dried flakes.
 
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The Hot Pepper said:
I have not fresh. Let me tag @NJChilehead!
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@zoe_the_pepper gal Jamaican Hot Chocolates are really good! They're probably my favorite chocolate-colored chinense. Here's a copy/paste of a brief write up Iabout the JHC that I put on this thread: https://thehotpepper.com/threads/review-of-peppers-grown-in-2024.78319/

"Jamaican Hot Chocolate (C. chinense): this one was from seed that I've been saving and growing over many years, but I believe that my original seed was from Tomatogrowers.com. I've grown well over 100 different types of peppers over the years, including a few other different types of chocolate and brown chinenses, and Jamaican Hot Chocolate is a staple in my garden. It's enormously productive, seems relatively disease-resistant, and produces beautiful, tasty hot berries with nice heat (est. >400-500K SHU). The taste of chocolate/brown chinenses is typically earthy-smoky-savory, but these have a hint of something else in the JHC that balances it out and makes it a nice overall flavor. Essential for adding depth of flavor to Caribbean preparations, as well as complementing the citrusy-ness of the yellow chinenses and the savory-fruitiness of the red chinenses in sauces, pickled preparations, etc. I made a Caribbean blend jelly with these and it came out REALLY good."

Earthy, smoky, fruity and HOT! I definitely recommend it. It's also very vigorous and productive. Let me know if you have any other questions about it!
 
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NJChilehead said:
@zoe_the_pepper gal Jamaican Hot Chocolates are really good! They're probably my favorite chocolate-colored chinense. Here's a copy/paste of a brief write up Iabout the JHC that I put on this thread: https://thehotpepper.com/threads/review-of-peppers-grown-in-2024.78319/

"Jamaican Hot Chocolate (C. chinense): this one was from seed that I've been saving and growing over many years, but I believe that my original seed was from Tomatogrowers.com. I've grown well over 100 different types of peppers over the years, including a few other different types of chocolate and brown chinenses, and Jamaican Hot Chocolate is a staple in my garden. It's enormously productive, seems relatively disease-resistant, and produces beautiful, tasty hot berries with nice heat (est. >400-500K SHU). The taste of chocolate/brown chinenses is typically earthy-smoky-savory, but these have a hint of something else in the JHC that balances it out and makes it a nice overall flavor. Essential for adding depth of flavor to Caribbean preparations, as well as complementing the citrusy-ness of the yellow chinenses and the savory-fruitiness of the red chinenses in sauces, pickled preparations, etc. I made a Caribbean blend jelly with these and it came out REALLY good."

Earthy, smoky, fruity and HOT! I definitely recommend it. It's also very vigorous and productive. Let me know if you have any other questions about it!
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Thank you so much this helps a lot ! Just two quick things first how would you compare it to a chocolate habanero from a big box store taste wise and also just do you have any specific care tips for them
 
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zoe_the_pepper gal said:
Thank you so much this helps a lot ! Just two quick things first how would you compare it to a chocolate habanero from a big box store taste wise and also just do you have any specific care tips for them
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Hi Zoe, no specific tips for them, beyond what you would do for any of the C. chinenses. I.e. if you successfully grow habaneros, you'll be fine with these. Staking and support are pretty necessary for them, they grow pretty tall and are loaded with fruit.

Regarding the big box chocolate habs, I've never actually had one from a big box store (it's pretty cool that you can find them there in your area). I've tried the standard chocolate habaneros before, as well as a few other chocolate chinenses, and my favorites have always been Congo Black Habanero (which traces its lineage to Trinidad) and Jamaican Hot Chocolate. The standard brown/chocolate chinenses have a lightly smoky flavor but I find them to be grassy and earthy. They're good but I like Congo Blacks and JHC more. The Congo Black strain that I grew was more smoky and sweet with a fruity undertone and less grassiness. It also had thicker walls than the chocolate habanero. The JHC was more of a balance between smoky and fruity, also with less grassiness. It's a really nice pepper and is quite versatile-I think you'll like it!
 
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FWIW I got 3 Turkish varieties to try out several years ago. All three were reported as having some level of smokiness. The single year I grew them, two varieties, way over half the pods succumbed to some fungus I guess. Pods got black and some holes. One variety was more resistant than the other two. Sorry, that's all I remember. From a culinary POV, I wouldn't hesitate to use liquid smoke for the smokiness. That was my takeaway too.
 
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JohnT said:
Maras Biber, Allepo, and another
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I confirm. I have Aleppo and Urfa biber powders. Aleppo is from Syria, they usually salt & oil it (olive oil). Urfa is a Turkish city and biber = pepper. Never tried Maras biber, but I see Maras it's another turkish city.
Aleppo tastes like sundried tomatoes, urfa biber like raisins. You can find smoky undertones in both ones
 
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SatanicFlatIron said:
I confirm. I have Aleppo and Urfa biber powders. Aleppo is from Syria, they usually salt & oil it (olive oil). Urfa is a Turkish city and biber = pepper. Never tried Maras biber, but I see Maras it's another turkish city.
Aleppo tastes like sundried tomatoes, urfa biber like raisins. You can find smoky undertones in both ones
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Is this a good one to try?

 
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Marturo said:
Is this a good one to try?
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I can't tell because mine was purchased at a spice shop.

TBH I wouldn't recommend buying Urfa biber because it is very sweet to pair with foods. Those flakes always stay in the back of the spices drawer 🤣
I prefer the smoky notes of an aji panca or a cascabel, or the added smokiness of a chipotle or pimenton de la Vera.

Since we are part of a community of growers, I would recommend growing Aleppo chili pepper that has a deep red pepper flavor to try making your own powder, which usually gives good results 🙂
 
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NJChilehead said:
Hi Zoe, no specific tips for them, beyond what you would do for any of the C. chinenses. I.e. if you successfully grow habaneros, you'll be fine with these. Staking and support are pretty necessary for them, they grow pretty tall and are loaded with fruit.

Regarding the big box chocolate habs, I've never actually had one from a big box store (it's pretty cool that you can find them there in your area). I've tried the standard chocolate habaneros before, as well as a few other chocolate chinenses, and my favorites have always been Congo Black Habanero (which traces its lineage to Trinidad) and Jamaican Hot Chocolate. The standard brown/chocolate chinenses have a lightly smoky flavor but I find them to be grassy and earthy. They're good but I like Congo Blacks and JHC more. The Congo Black strain that I grew was more smoky and sweet with a fruity undertone and less grassiness. It also had thicker walls than the chocolate habanero. The JHC was more of a balance between smoky and fruity, also with less grassiness. It's a really nice pepper and is quite versatile-I think you'll like it!
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Thank you for all the info that makes I’m excited to try them this pod season I haven’t heard of the black Congo strain I’ll definitely have to think about it for next season and yes surprisingly here in Texas are main grocery store HEB has a good selection of peppers scattered between stores you might have to go to a few different stores but so far I have been able to find yellow scotch bonnets and a mix pack of Habs that usually have one chocolate in them and tried a ghost for the first time when I found them this week didn’t eat that much but it wasn’t as hot as I thought it would be still the hottest pepper I’ve tased but guess I’ve done it the right way and built with things at the scotch bonnet and habanero heat levels that it wasn’t anything I couldn’t hand actually loved the flavor
 
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