Can you actually taste them?
 

A lady I work with brought in some hot peppers she labeled "Italian Roasters" this summer. I took one home and cut off a tiny piece or two to taste. Suckers were hot enough I could not taste the flavor. No doubt there are much hotter peppers out there but if I can't taste the flavor then what's the point? Except for using in salsa, chili or other dishes to give it some heat, I can't imagine people actually enjoy eating hot peppers (by themselves). It was probably too hot even for something like rellenos.

So I'm curious, is this just my taste buds? Can you hot pepper people really taste these hot things??? Wow. At least I met my recommened daily intake of water that day. Needless to say I did NOT taste anymore of that hot pepper. Guess I'll have to stick to sweet peppers & jalapenos, even though I'm not fond of the taste of jalapenos.

Jeff

Pouring molten lava on your tongue doesn't sound like a culinary delicacy? Go figure! :)

Jeff-I think it depends on what you are used to.

I know a woman from New York that can eat a handful of the very hottest peppers and not even blink. I am used to eating hot peppers-we live on the border, but I wasn't always able to appreciate the flavor. When I moved here from Virginia in 1971, a small bite of a hot pepper was enough to really bother me. However, after all these years, and eating hot peppers, I can do so without much problem. And as you are able to stand the heat, you begin to appreciate the flavor. There are some chile I still have problems with the flavor because they are so hot, like some of the ultra-hot chiles I have grown.

So I think if you continue to try and eat hot chile, you will be able to appreciate the flavors. Some of the best in this area are the New Mexico green chile. There is one variety that is so hot, not even my wife can eat them. But some of the others are quite mild and very flavorful.

On my first trip to Southeast Asia a bunch of years ago, I sat down in a "make shift" restaurant and was about to dive into a dish of fried rice. The dish came with a small fingerbowl type saucer that held some green and red pea-sized "berries" in a clear liquid. They called it something that loosely translated to "sweet sauce". Now, when "my buddies" said that to get full appreciation of the "Asian Quisine", I should take one of each of the "berries" in each fork-full - Like the gullible village idiot, I did.

As I bit down and crunched both of the berries, I experienced instant realization of making a huge mistake. My mouth was screaming that the "stuff" it contained had to leave the premises immediately and my stomach was yelling "Dear God, not down here!!!! Please don't swallow !!!!" My etiquette said I couldn't spit it out (the cook might be offended and shoot me). As the numbness set it and the tears dripped off my chin, I finally swallowed and then the real pain set in. My "buddies" were on the floor laughing.

I couldn't taste anything for several days. Everything food smelled like it was burnt. Even a good stiff drink lost its flavor. Trips to the latrine were also an adventure.

Even today, I call those little red and green things "volcano pills". I like a little heat from time to time, but I find that medium hot Picante Sauce is pushing my limit.

True Story from 1968

Ted

I like the buzz I get after eating hot peppers.
All of that pain causes the body to produce endorphins.:love:
Naturally like all drugs the more you do it the hotter the pepper has to be.:(

I started when I was about 3 years old, my mom got me addicted and now I cant quit.:?:evil:

Worth

LOL
 

Worth are we your suppliers? Go to a hot pepper anonymous meeting immediately. But you would probably bring some seeds and hot salsa so they can start growing their own, getting them hooked again.
Kat

Thanks for the entertaining replies everyone. I'm amazed people can actually taste the flavor under the heat - or maybe the variety I had doesn't have much flavor. Michael, I doubt my taste buds would last long enough to get to the point of being able to taste those things. Although if I start now I might be able to taste them when I"m around 80 years old! I'm 43 now. I bought some Jamaican Hot Chocolate seeds a couple of years ago that I've been wanting to grow out. They will be hot ones, but I do want to try them just to see if I can taste the flavor, or at least use for salsa. That's if they germinate. I could not get the few seeds I tried to germinate last winter.

The good news is I was wise enough to take my contacs out of my eyes before slicing the Italian Roaster. :)

Jeff

ouch!
 

Very smart idea to take out the contacts first. Had a friend that did not and then she paid the price for several days. OUCH!
Kat
PS I am a wuss when it comes to hot stuff.I have to put honey in mild sauce :panic:

Kat,

I've read many posts here and on GW from people who made the mistake of not taking out their contacs first before handling hot peppers. And I was glad I removed them because even my lips were burning from them. Imagine my eyeballs getting lit up with fiery pepper juice. :( No thanks!

Jeff

Yes, that's another description. How can you describe every pain receptor in your mouth firing simultaneously as "flavor"?

You guys are a bunch of sissies.:P
Get with it man and take the plunge.
Last night I had some hamburger helper with Habanera cheese and 5 jalapeños with the hot carrots to boot (with seeds):love:
Worth

Some peppers change with cooking....I have grown several peppers that were burning hot raw and yet after roasting or frying became much milder and more flavorful....
If they are called Italian roasters , char a few on the grill then toss them in a pan with some onions, summer squash and potatoes...You might be surprised........

Jeanne

Jeanne-Interesting observation-with us, its just the opposite. When we cook with the chile we grow, that brings out the heat even more.

Michael I have seen that occur too...I have also observed a few of the New Mexico style chilis fire up with cooking...I think some of the Italian frying peppers ,at least acquire some sugar content from roasting/frying and that seems to bring out a different flavor...I need to check my notes, but the peppers I recall mellowing with cooking were Eastern European...Georgia Flame and Chervena Chuska come to mind....Fresno is tamer cooked with ,than in salsa too.

Jeanne

Jeanne,

Funny thing, as I had wondered at the time if it would lose some of it's heat if I 'roasted' it. If I had cheese on hand I probably would have given 'rellenos' a try with it, although it would have been a waste of cheese if the pepper was still too hot for me.

Thanks for the idea, Jeff

If you need something a bit "hotter", this one will chew you up and spit you out. It's like eating pure lava. Hottest thing I've ever had in my life. Can I taste the flavor? Absolutely not, but it sure clears one's nostrils. lol.

Chris

[IMG]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/cmpman1974/2008%20Pepper%20Pod%20Pics/P1070070.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a283/cmpman1974/2008%20Pepper%20Pod%20Pics/P1070073.jpg[/IMG]

What a weird looking fruit that Trinidada Douglah is!

Where does TD hit on the Scoville Scale? I found out a few years ago that the little red and green berries were in the 50,000 to 100,000 category and were one of the three hottest in the world. My mind can't imagine anything hotter. :no: /puke :shock: :?:

Of course, that was then. I guess people have figured out ways to crossbreed plants and come up with something more torturously painful.:panic: :cry: :evil:

According to the New Mexico state university the bhut jolokia averages 1,001,304 scoville units. Do a google search for it. It's a good read.

[QUOTE]Some peppers change with cooking....[/QUOTE]

I could see hotter or less hot happening. Hotter: cooking breaks down the cell walls, releasing more capsaicin. Less hot: cooking (high heat) degrades the capsaicin itself. Interesting bit of trivia: the capsaicin molecule is related, structurally, to the active ingredient in poisin ivy, urushiol. I wonder if poison ivy tastes hot to the tongue? Any volunteers?/puke

Trinidad Douglah!?

That looks evil!!!!

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
[LEFT] I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."


[/LEFT]
[LEFT]LOL[/LEFT]

[LEFT]
[/LEFT]
[LEFT]~Woodchuck :surprised:
[/LEFT]

Years ago I had the neighbor pepper thief come by and steal some of my peppers.
( All in good fun as I had plenty to go around.):)
He told me the next day they ruined supper.:))

Seems he put about 1/2 pint of Tabascos in with a # 10 skillet of food and cooked them. :shock:
Didn't kill the heat a bit.

Worth

This is very strange forum software, my electric went off and in the chaos I ended up with a duplicate post.
Is there a painless way to delete posts?


~Woodchuck

There is no official SHU rating as it's very, very rare and just discovered this year from a friend residing in Trinidad. Subjectively, I'd give it well over 1,000,000 SHU. It is definitely hotter IMO than the Bhut Jolokia. It's got more placental tissue and just outright painful.

Chris

[quote=ContainerTed;111987]Where does TD hit on the Scoville Scale? I found out a few years ago that the little red and green berries were in the 50,000 to 100,000 category and were one of the three hottest in the world. My mind can't imagine anything hotter. :no: /puke :shock: :?:

Of course, that was then. I guess people have figured out ways to crossbreed plants and come up with something more torturously painful.:panic: :cry: :evil:[/quote]

I agree with Woodchuck, evil looking. Should be called devil's t*rd or t*rd from hell.

[I]Can you hot pepper people really taste these hot things???[/I]
Yep sure can. Well, for the most part. :) When they start getting over 100k-150k on the Scolville scale it can be tough. But, for peppers below that level of heat yep sure can. For example, I know that I can tell the difference between a Ring of Fire, Tabasco, and Bulgarian Carrot blind folded.

As worth eluded to you get used to the heat and the more you eat the more heat it takes.

A lot of the heat comes from the membrane and seeds. If you just eat the flesh it isn't as hot and you get more of an idea of the taste of the pepper itself. However, doing that would result in the Pepper Pack calling you sissy pants. :)

Speaking of the Pepper Peck, we use and recommend milk as the cooling agent. When we have our pepper tasting events we drink milk in between the various peppers or we'd have to wait like 20 minutes. We are tasting based on heat and taste so we have to be able to appreciate the subtleties which is tough to do when your mouth is on fire. :)

Good luck,
Randy

What Worth1 said is all too true! My wife and I love Thai food and get it ordered HOT...occasionally THAI HOT. We cry and hurt all the way through some of the dishes (mint beef salad especially), but the endorphins or something like them kick in and we just can't stop!!! It's a bit masochistic I suppose, but something that hurts that good can't be all bad! :panic:

I grew Bhut Jolokia for the first time last growing season. They live up to their reputation!!! One bhut will heat up an entire pot of chile. I'd like to try a few of the Trinidad Douglah seeds. By-the-way, the picture of the douglah pepper looks like a brown version of my bhuts! Another Jeff : )

Consider making some small batches of hot pepper jelly to learn the essences of different peppers - wear gloves & be judicious in how much seed/white membrane to include - when starting out, less is more!
Friends & neighbors have their druthers on which they prefer - jalapeno (red or green - both mellow almost too fast so I recommend leaving all membrane & 3/4 seeds), serrano (same as jalapeno), cayenne (makes awesome jelly! Leave about 1/3 - 1/2 of the seeds) & orange habanero (I am chintzy with these seeds as they seem to have staying power). Our fav from last summer is peach/habanero/cayenne jam - threw in the cayennes to provide a visual warning that the orange habs did not & we prefer the combo to either separately.
This summer adding choc hab, bulgarian carrot, that yellow pepper from Africa & good old fish peppers to the usuals.