Wow, thanks everybody! Luz is an amazing cook. She went to culinary school in Mexico. Definitely an inspiration to grow more of those type chiles!
I still can't believe how similar your thoughts are to mine, in regards to chiles! I have become more obsessed with discovering new flavors and versatility than heat in chiles nowadays as well. I am really struggling on narrowing down my number of varieties, I feel like a hoarder that just can't get rid of this or that because of some kind of persistent sentimentality(sp?) attached to them. I mean in reality the chiles I use on a practical regular basis I could count on one hand, but I end up growing 2-3 dozen varieties? I do have it narrowed down to about a dozen varieties for next season so far, but I can't seem to knock down the number (~17) in pots on the patio (I need space for flowers, herbs, and other veggies too!) They are like pets!
You do have me interested in the Chilhuacle rojo now too. Did they perform well in the heat of the summer? I love Poblanos(ancho and mulato) but they don't seem to perform well here. I highly recommend you try Aji Pinguita de Mono, I can send you some isolated seeds if you want to try them out (isolated pods are just starting to turn red in the greenhouse now).
Jesse, what you said is exactly my experience. I think it was really fun to grow all those different varieties, just for the experience of it, but I'm over it now...Kind of like being a "free agent" in your teens and twenties, just checking out all the different girls that are out there, but later on there's something real gratifying about settling down and getting down to serious business with just one lady. Only then do you really get to fully know and appreciate a person, and all her flavors and complexities. Maybe I shouldn't take that analogy too far, but you get the idea...
I can't really say how well Chilhuacle Rojo did in the worst part of the summer, because my plant-out was really, really late this year. They set a prodigious amount of pods in the fall, and they are definitely slated for a 12-plant row in my 2013 garden. You should certainly try them and see how they do in your garden. I can only say that however many plants of Chilhuacle you have, it's not enough!
On the topic of infernally hot gardens, like mine, where the large-podded, thick-meat types like Poblano and California Wonder, and even NuMex Jalmundo, are very difficult to grow, I've had some success just waiting out the hot weather. Here in NW Louisiana we have a "split" season: The first one is mid-March through mid-June, when most all the NW Louisiana growers get their good production, then the brutally hot months of July-September when there is no production from ANYTHING, then another temperate period of October and November. Most every year I plant out too late to take advantage of the early period—and just end up nurturing huge, leafy, barren bushes through the dog days, until the fruit begins to set in early October. That's when I get probably 90% of my production. So where a grower in a more temperate climate would get 300-500 pods from 5 or 6 plants over a 3-4 month period, I get the same amount from 20 or 30 plants over a one-month period. My numbers are probably off, but you get the idea...
I've got seeds from both Chilhuacle Rojo and Chilhuacle Amarillo if you need some. At least I'm pretty sure the yellow ones that sprouted from Beth's Chilhuacle Rojo seeds are Chilhuacle Amarillo...
Whenever they get ready I would love some seeds of Aji Pinguita de Mono.
The allure of 50 superhot plants has left me. I prefer the types of peppers I can, and will consume on a daily basis. I will still grow 5 or 6 superhots, but just to make some powder. But my main focus has changed for the new year.
I like it Rodney! It will be real interesting to watch our new thinking bear fruit that we can actually use!
My problem is that the type of chiles I prefer changes like the wind. I love making powders with the superhots. And I use an occasional superhot on a pizza, too. But for everyday cooking, I like mainstays like good, hot jals and serranos. Such a nice green crunch to them.
Then I find myself eating a lot of the baccatums like candy (I don't eat much candy in volume
) and realize they're hard to beat for sugar content and still having some pop.
And then I can't lose my cayenne/Thai types because they dry do well, and I like tossing them in and toasting/roasting them dry for East Asian dishes and to mildly spice other foods.
I think we all have problems...
Baccatums are chile candy for sure, Eric, and orders of magnitude better than Skittles. That's my impression of Aji Amarillo especially. I can't seem to shake the dream of bringing a full crop of those horking massive pods to full orange-ness. A guy needs a challenge like that, and those crazy huge trees are so cool....
