Hot/sweet same plant???
 

Ever here of getting both hot and sweet peppers off the same plant? The variety was Ferbl if I'm spelling it right. Seeds came from Slovenia.Thanks for any input.

Yes, all depends on the stress level of the plant when that fruit is forming. I've gotten surprised a few times with seasoning peppers that have gotten hotter than I was expecting. I usually trace it back to my being out of town on business and the kids not watering my peppers...

If I carefuly remove seeds and membrane from Scentesi Pincos paprika is only midly spicy. If I leave 'em on, its got a lot more zing.

I've heard that that is the case with the Spanish Padron pepper, generally sweet but every so often you get a spicy one, pepper routlette.

My habaneros get very sweet and mild in the winter, especially when we get a lot of rain. They also get tiny. I actually love the flavor. I've been trying to find a seasoning pepper with a similar, flowery, sweet flavor but it seems most places have been out of seeds when I've checked.
I had no luck starting my aji dulces this year. Will try harder, under lights, heat mat and earlier this winter, now that I know some tricks for starting that class of seeds.

maybe i misunderstood the question but he asked "sweet and hot on the same plant" not "less hot and hot on the same plant". i understood it to be the former, we know the latter happens with hot pepper plants.

i would think no but is it possible to have a variety of pepper that produces both sweet and hot? i can't see how because if the plant is producing capsicum then all the peppers would have it.

tom

[QUOTE=tjg911;235918]maybe i misunderstood the question but he asked "sweet and hot on the same plant" not "less hot and hot on the same plant". i understood it to be the former, we know the latter happens with hot pepper plants.

i would think no but is it possible to have a variety of pepper that produces both sweet and hot? i can't see how because if the plant is producing capsicum then all the peppers would have it.

tom[/QUOTE]

Capsaicin is produced in part as a defense mechanism, more is produced when a plant is stress or threatened. A sweet pepper with barely a touch of heat may turn into one that is hot by most peoples standards.

The seasoning peppers I mentioned are chinese species from the same family as habaneros, but they have been selected over many generations to have very little heat, an Aji Dulce #2 for example might as well be a bell pepper to me with regards to it's heat level.

However, if the plant is stressed by being attacked by aphids or a prolonged lack of water, it may come as a shock if you offer one to someone expecting a mild pepper. It may go from a capsaicin concentration of 20 PPM to 100 PPM under severe stress, but that's enough to shock someone expecting a sweet pepper.

Having experienced this many times, now I typically take a slice out of one and taste it myself before having someone try them for the first time. No need to have them think I'm a sadistic practical joker without cause... :twisted:

I have a couple of high sugar (very sweet) eating/salad peppers that also have quite a bit of heat. The heat can be variable, especially when you get away from the placental tissue.

My NuMex Big Jim green chiles have quite a bit of variability in the heat levels from fruit to fruit. Most of my chile cheesburgers are mild but every once in a while one will light me up.

Ah, I bet that explains what happened to me. I made one batch of salsa with a Jalapeno M which was nice. Next batch, I almost killed my company (oops). Wouldn't have thought a jalapeno could get that hot.

[QUOTE=TZ-OH6;235953]

My NuMex Big Jim green chiles have quite a bit of variability in the heat levels from fruit to fruit.[/QUOTE]

When I started reading this thread, I immediately thought of a NuMex Big Jim I grew last year. One pepper would have plenty of zing. The next one would be nothing more than a sweet green pepper. That was the plant I had more variance on then any other hot pepper I grew.

Mark, that's interesting to know about stress levels affecting pepper heat. I've always grown a few purchased pepper plants each year but never pay much attention. Next year I 'd like to actually TRY and grow them instead of ignoring them !

They are a fun hobby. I like them because I have to start the chinense and baccatum varieties in January or Febuary, so I get to garden inside in the middle of winter.

Somewhere on here someone posted a link to an Australian article about how they grew the world record Trinidad Scorpion varity. Runoff from a worm farm filled with dead bugs used to water the plants was what the plant scientist in the article believed caused the extreme heat in the tested peppers. His theory was that since the plants manufacture the capsaicin as a defense mechanism, being watered with the insect bits tricked the plants into thinking they were constantly under attack.

It's also rather common for (chilli) peppers to make a few "practice" fruits in the beginning of season, that have none or very mild pungency, even though the rest of the fruits might be hot as hell. The stress level of the plant has an effect on the overall pungency, too.

I have some "Sweet Heat Peppers" from Burgess started for this growing season. They are supposed to be 65% higher in Vitamin C than other peppers. They say that they are 329 scovilles when green and 235 when red. 10" plants with 3.5"x 1.5" peppers. I am anxious to see how they do in Oklahoma. Anyone grown these before? I would love info.