Jalapenos for drying

Does anyone know a thin-walled Jalapeno with lots of flavor and/or a thin-walled pepper that tastes like a Jalapeno (with lots of flavor)?

[Worth1]

I have dried a ton of jalapeno peppers, what is your humidity during drying season?

Worth

Well, it's pretty dry here and I can dry regular Jalapenos without too much trouble. However, they tend to be pretty hard to break up after they're dry, and I'm looking for something that dries faster.

I'd like to be able to crumble them up into flakes with bare hands like I can with some other hot peppers. Yes, I know that gets capsaicin on my fingers.

Plus, thin-walled peppers look less wrinkly when dry, it seems. (Some of them, anyway.)

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by shule1

Does anyone know a thin-walled Jalapeno with lots of flavor and/or a thin-walled pepper that tastes like a Jalapeno (with lots of flavor)?

If you're looking for a thin-walled Jalapeño - just use Fresno peppers instead. They can have a little more heat or about the same, but they are usually too thin-walled to stuff like you would for a Jalapeño popper. Great flavor too, check them out.

[AlittleSalt]

TAM Jalapenos are a little smaller and have less thick walls. When left on the plant, they crack quite a bit. It is not my favorite jalapeno, but it does make good powder.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by AlittleSalt

TAM Jalapenos are a little smaller and have less thick walls. When left on the plant, they crack quite a bit. It is not my favorite jalapeno, but it does make good powder.

I grow TAMs every year, I think they are very thick-walled. It could very well be the difference in our growing zones ... takes almost all season for me to get ripe peppers here

[AlittleSalt]

Originally Posted by rhines81

I grow TAMs every year, I think they are very thick-walled. It could very well be the difference in our growing zones ... takes almost all season for me to get ripe peppers here

Yes, very different growing zones and results. Here, you can pick them every week from mid-June through mid-November. In August through last picking they are just as hot as a type M jalapeno.

@rhines81 and AlittleSalt

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll have to investigate those more.

I wonder if there are any Jalapeno crosses with Cayenne (or similar) out there.

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by shule1

@rhines81 and AlittleSalt

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll have to investigate those more.

I wonder if there are any Jalapeno crosses with Cayenne (or similar) out there.

If you are looking for something like that ... you might as well use Serranos

I'm looking for something with paper thin walls (like Ring of Fire and Bird's Beak), only with a Jalapeno flavor. Randy Sine's Evil Jalapeno probably has the same wall thickness as Serrano peppers. I've grown that (it's awesome). I've had grocery store Serranos. They were thicker-walled than what I'm looking for, but thinner than most Jalapenos. They taste significantly different, too, but a lot of people think they taste similar (so maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the Serrano variety that matters).

[rhines81]

Originally Posted by shule1

I'm looking for something with paper thin walls (like Ring of Fire and Bird's Beak), only with a Jalapeno flavor. Randy Sine's Evil Jalapeno probably has the same wall thickness as Serrano peppers. I've grown that (it's awesome). I've had grocery store Serranos. They were thicker-walled than what I'm looking for, but thinner than most Jalapenos. They taste significantly different, too, but a lot of people think they taste similar (so maybe it's just me, or maybe it's the Serrano variety that matters).

Serranos are different than Jalapeños and even more different than Cayennes. They offer a heat level that is in-between and definitely adds the perfect taste and spice to a salsa. I grow the Serrano Tampiqueno, but I have always used them fresh and pureed in a blender. Never tried to dry one and use it for powder (but worth a shot), the flavor is fantastic. When you said a cross between jalapeño and cayenne, it was the first pepper that popped into my head, mainly because of the in-between heat level and flavor (not really tasting like either). Turning down the heat again ... the Fresnos are thin-walled and would probably make a great powder, similar to the jalapeño, but with more flavor.

Originally Posted by rhines81

Serranos are different than Jalapeños and even more different than Cayennes. They offer a heat level that is in-between and definitely adds the perfect taste and spice to a salsa. I grow the Serrano Tampiqueno, but I have always used them fresh and pureed in a blender. Never tried to dry one and use it for powder (but worth a shot), the flavor is fantastic. When you said a cross between jalapeño and cayenne, it was the first pepper that popped into my head, mainly because of the in-between heat level and flavor (not really tasting like either). Turning down the heat again ... the Fresnos are thin-walled and would probably make a great powder, similar to the jalapeño, but with more flavor.

That's cool. That's good to know that Serranos are great for salsa. I haven't made a lot of salsa, yet, but I have found that some other peppers can make it taste kind of strange.

[Worth1]

Yes Serranos are good for salsa.
I live in Texas one foot in Mexico.
The two main peppers I see Mexicans buy and eat are Serranos and jalapenos.

Now back to drying the peppers.
Finish them off in the oven on warm door cracked.
Forget about them and they will get as crispy as can be.
If you are in a hurry.
The dried peppers I buy are like leather I dry them in the house package open for weeks on end.
I make one heck of a lot of powder.
I like to keep a fresh pack of dried pablano peppers/anchos in my bedroom for a reading snack.
It is like jerky.
I will also just take a dried pepper and chew it like tobacco and eat it that way.

Yes I am strange.

Worth

Originally Posted by Worth1

Yes Serranos are good for salsa.
I live in Texas one foot in Mexico.
The two main peppers I see Mexicans buy and eat are Serranos and jalapenos.

Now back to drying the peppers.
Finish them off in the oven on warm door cracked.
Forget about them and they will get as crispy as can be.
If you are in a hurry.
The dried peppers I buy are like leather I dry them in the house package open for weeks on end.
I make one heck of a lot of powder.
I like to keep a fresh pack of dried pablano peppers/anchos in my bedroom for a reading snack.
It is like jerky.
I will also just take a dried pepper and chew it like tobacco and eat it that way.

Yes I am strange.

Worth

Eating peppers that are tough like jerky sounds pretty good. I've got a bowl full of dried Jumbo Jalapeno pieces before me. (They're in pieces because I seeded them a while back, but before then they were pretty hard to penetrate.) I tasted a piece earlier today, and it was pretty tasty (and sweet, too; not just one or the other), but one of the mildest chile peppers I've ever eaten. That one would taste pretty good in strips like jerky, I think. It was my latest jalapeno, though (but I guess overall production is what matters, if you're drying them, as long as they do mature).

[Gardeneer]

I have experience , Jalapenos are not suited for drying whole, BECAUSE of thick juicy wall. If you want to do it, get Vine ripe red ones. As suggested , Fresno is a bit thinner walled. You want real thin walled, get Japanica ( spell ?) or Thai Hot. I have grown them both, the first is much milder, as I recall.