Ok, silly question...
 

What's the "M" in "Jalepeño M" for?

I've grown Jalepeños for years and only lately do I see the "M" appendation. I've just ignored it until now, but like the Pirate who asked his captain why there was a steering wheel attached to his crotch:

The Captain said, "AAarrrr, it's driving me nuts!"

I can't find anything to tell me on the web! If it's for "Medium," where is Small and Large? if it's for Middle, where's Light and Heavy? Mediocre? Mundane? Moribund? Maple syrup flavored?

Don't know, but the pirate joke had me snorting!:))

[QUOTE=CapnChkn;336124]What's the "M" in "Jalepeño M" for?

I've grown Jalepeños for years and only lately do I see the "M" appendation. I've just ignored it until now, but like the Pirate who asked his captain why there was a steering wheel attached to his crotch:

The Captain said, "AAarrrr, it's driving me nuts!"

I can't find anything to tell me on the web! If[SIZE=4][COLOR=Red] it's for "Medium," [/COLOR][/SIZE]where is Small and Large? if it's for Middle, where's Light and Heavy? Mediocre? Mundane? Moribund? Maple syrup flavored?[/QUOTE]


[SIZE=4]Worth[/SIZE]

According to Dr Peter Merle (Semillas.de) M is for Mexico.It sounds logical to me.Jalapeno M is the most popular chilli variety grown in [I]Mexico.[/I]

I don't know what it stands for, but they are hotter than some of the other jalapeno varieties.

M for Might be Pretty Good?

It stands for mucho caliente. :lol:

Worth

Jalapeno M stands for Jalapeno medium hot. It is the current standard commercial Jalapeno. There is also an extra hot Jalapeno and a mild Jalapeno and the older and newer cultivars which can vary much more between mild to extra hot.

The Jalapeno M was developed by normal selection of op Heirloom Jalapenos to try and standardize the scoville units, size and flavor. They should rate between 3500-5000

Other cultivars can rate from a low as 1000 or less to as high as 17,000 or more.

Alrighty Then!
 

I can see that almost nobody else knows either. It would make more sense if there was a Jalepeño L, or Jalepeño H! I've grown some Jalepeño's that are so hot they tasted like soap, but these really left me wanting.

I actually like the cripyness of the Jalepeño, The Serranos are too mushy to crunch with a sandwich. Really around the heat I'm thinking, they're better for sauce, for me. But these "M's" don't have the teeth to bite back.

Now I did read about a variety called, "Fooled You Hybrid Jalapeño" that has no heat at all. There's actually [U]some[/U] heat to the "M..."

[QUOTE=CapnChkn;336253]I can see that almost nobody else knows either. It would make more sense if there was a Jalepeño L, or Jalepeño H! [/QUOTE]

I don't know every Variety, but the hot jalapeno should have 5,000-10,000 SHU and the medium hot Jalapeno 3,500-5,000.

Why exactly the Medium Hot Jalapeno got abbreviated to jalapeno-M,

while the Hot Jalapeno doesn't get abbreviated to Jalapeno-H ????

I really don't know.:?!?:

PS. If you like hotter varieties of Jalapenos and don't mind growing a hybrid, try Mitla. Or if you prefer OP heirloom types try to find "hot jalapeno" sometimes called "hot jalapeno chili"

Not to throw a monkey wrench in this discussion, but Jalapeno M has been around for a long time. At least 25 years or more. I grew it before we moved to this farm in 88. It goes back to before all these various no heat Jalapenos.

To the best of my knowledge it stands for some disease resistance. I think for "mosaic" as in tobacco mosaic resistant.

Carol

At least under some conditions, it is reasonably hot. The ones I grew were quite a bit hotter than the jalapenos (generally very mild) that I got in the store. They also were hotter than Jalapeno Concho that I grew.

Don't totally judge by store Jalapenos.

Like tomatoes, chiles are picked rather immature so they have a longer shelf life.

If a Jalapeno doesn't have any black on the skin or corky cracking, it won't be as hot as it is possible for that variety. Stores don't want the cracking as the chiles lose moisture thru them so don't last as long. But true Mexican cooks look for it if they want the heat.

Carol

Just like ours, store peppers go from hot to not hot at all.
Growing conditions and age of plant determine this.

Even small immature peppers can be as hot as a fire cracker.

Worth

Don't know What the M means (the name sounded cool) I bought a pack of seeds a couple of years ago and didn't grow them, might try a plant or 2 this year just for kicks.

OK, this was bugging me so I had to search to find the resource page on varieties.
Here is the pepper page [url]http://cuke.hort.ncsu.edu/cucurbit/wehner/vegcult/pepperal.html[/url]

I was wrong about how long I had grown it. Apparently it's only been around since 1997.

But the M doesn't stand for "medium heat" either as the release notes say "highly pungent" .



Jalapeno M - Vendor: Park Seed Co. Parentage: open pollinated. Characteristics: jalapeño type, green maturing to red, highly pungent, 75 mm long fruit, 550 mm tall plants, 73 days. 1997.


Carol

[URL]http://www.semillas.de/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?shop=&product=Chilisamen%20HM&cart_id=[/URL]
[QUOTE][SIZE=-1]Der Jalapeño M (Mexico) ist eine klassische Sorte,
die etwas größer als die amerikanischen Sorten und etwa 4000 SCU scharf wird.
Typisch für mexikanische Jalapeños und kein Fehler ist die korkige Oberfläche der Schoten bei Vollreife (Capsicum annuum)[/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Unfortunately there doesn't appear to be a definitive answer. I've heard or read that the M stands for Mexico, medium hot, and that Jalapeno M is the most popular jalapeno in Mexico.

Good luck and should anyone find the actual definitive answer please post it here.

Randy

This thread is number 2 on the Google search list now for looking for what it stands for.:))

Worth

Call Park Seed Co. and ask them :)

[QUOTE=Wi-sunflower;336381]

But the M doesn't stand for "medium heat" either as the release notes say "highly pungent" .



Carol[/QUOTE]

"highly pungent" is a joke to pepper lovers. Sure some people may think 5,000 SHU is "highly pungent". But most pepper lovers eat those like pop corn. Nearly no heat at all for a hot pepper lover.

I stand by my post. The M stands for medium. Jalapeno M is a Mexican heirloom variety that was selected in the USA for medium heat...not too hot, not too mild. There was no hybrid cross made. They simply took the normal Mexican heirloom (which varies widely in heat range) and selected for consistency for the commercial market. Then it was given back to the Mexican growers (and offered for sale here in USA and other places too) so that the big processing companies would be assured of a more consistent heat range...3500-5000 Instead of the widely varying range found of 2500-10,000 +/-

Now of course with hybrids a jalapeno can range from 1000-17,000, but that depends on the variety and the hybrid. However that is a bit different than growing your own batch of seeds and having one plant at 2500 and the plant beside it at 8,000! Many of the Mexican growers that were using their own heirloom seeds were doing just that. :?: Jalapeno M was the solution. It is just the normal heirloom Jalapeno but selected for consistent medium heat (for a jalapeno)

So is it a Mexican strain? YES originally, but the M doesn't stand for Mexico.
So is it "highly pungent"? YES compared to a bell pepper or one of the new hybrid xtra mild types, but not compared to other heirloom Jalapenos. It is right in the lower middle range.

PS Last year and most my previous years I grew the normal heirloom "Hot Jalapeno". And like always I had a plant or two produce VERY hot peppers. This year I am growing Jalapeno M for the same reason it was developed. I still want an heirloom non hybrid jalapeno, but will be selling them at market and want them more consistent without the occasional "surprise":shock:.

I'd like to toss in a late vote for "moribund." I think that word needs more circulation.

[SIZE="3"]Mmmmmm....[/SIZE]

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