One of the most fragrant and enticing cooking smells I know is diced onions, celery and bell peppers sauteing. Known as "the holy trinity of Cajun cooking," the threesome is integral to dishes from seafood gumbo to Thanksgiving turkey dressing. Peppers are an ingredient that crosses cultures and continents from South America to China and are essential to everything from mole to curry. Nearly every culture on Earth has developed its own varieties of peppers and traditional dishes that use them.
We love peppers. We use peppers almost every day in everything from stir fry to spaghetti sauce. We even use them in veggie trays for dipping in Ranch dressing. Our spice shelf contains chili powder, crushed red peppers, cayenne pepper and a variety of seasoning blends containing peppers.
Peppers are members of the Solanaceae or nightshade family, from the genus Capsicum. They originated in Mexico and have spread across the world. The fruits of pepper plants come in a rainbow of colors, an array of sizes and range from sweet to hot to completely insane.
Last fall, before I had settled on a new garden spot and worked up a plan for what to plant, I got carried away and ordered a variety of pepper seeds from Tradewinds Fruit, a seed company known for carrying dozens of exotic pepper varieties. I love Peruvian food, in particular Pescado a lo Macho, and I had gotten excited by the idea of growing my own peppers for making Peruvian sauces--primarily Aji varieties. I also bought some good bell pepper varieties.
Once we had our greenhouse assembled and set up, I went about starting seeds.
I read somewhere that beginning pepper growers would have more success with hot peppers over bells. My bell pepper crops of the past could have used some improvement, but were hardly failures. The prospect of producing an abundance of hot peppers was exciting. I set up peat pots of good organic seed-starting soil mix and began planting seeds.
The main hot pepper I was interested in was aji amarillo, the one used in Peruvian yellow sauce. I also planted seeds for aji Brazilian starfish, ancho, NuMex Big Jim and aji dulce. In bell and sweet peppers, I planted Keystone, pimento, sun bright yellow and yolo.
Since this was my first time growing in a free-standing greenhouse and my first time starting my own seeds indoors, I had a few things to learn. One thing I'm sure of, I started my seeds too early. Second, the heater I used was inadequate for keeping the greenhouse temperature very far above freezing on the coldest nights, and finally, the direct sunlight and unusually high late-winter temperatures led to overheating and a drastic temperature swing over the course of a 24 hour day.
My research indicated that hot peppers such as aji amarillo could take as long as four to six weeks to germinate, but all of my peppers sprouted fairly quickly, except the amarillos, which didn't germinate at all.
Some of my tomato varieties did very well, in spite of the uneven temperatures, but my peppers grew slowly, if at all, and became stunted. I transplanted them into the garden anyway, but they showed little growth over the first few weeks. It became apparent that I would have to buy pepper plants for my garden. Dry summer weather set in and even my purchased plants were spotty at producing. August arrived and brought spring-like heavy rains and now my peppers, even some of the ones I had given up on, have begun to blossom and put on fruit. The late season pepper crop looks good.
In May I added shade cloth and exhaust fans to the greenhouse and gained better control of the daytime heating. It wasn't too late to do more planting, so I started more of the pepper, tomato and other seeds I bought back in the winter. This time, germination was very good (except the aji amarillo, which still hasn't germinated) and the plants established and grew quickly. Rather than transplant them to the garden, I've kept them in the greenhouse for an extended growing season. I now have tomatoes, eggplants, various herbs and thirty-three pepper plants (I haven't counted the pepper plants in the garden, but there are well over a dozen). Over time, the popsicle sticks I used for markers have faded out completely, so I no longer know which is which. It will be a nice surprise when they begin to fruit.
Extremely hot peppers are a big fad these days and every year someone comes up with something even hotter. The current winner is over a thousand times hotter than jalapeno. Some of my friends grow habaneros and ghost peppers, but I see no point in growing something I can't even eat. Besides, very hot peppers reach a point of being dangerous, even to grow. I read growing information that includes cautions such as only handling the seeds and their products with gloves and wearing protective goggles and masks. For me, jalapenos are just about the right amount of heat. I do love habanero mango salsa and even habanero hot sauce, but these are cooled down by processing. Habaneros do have a great flavor. I find that cooking jalapenos requires a good ventilation hood above the stove and can still cause breathing discomfort, if I'm not careful, so I'm not even tempted to try making my own hot sauces from really hot peppers.
Twenty years ago my sensitive tongue could not tolerate even a few jalapenos on my nachos, but I have gradually developed a tolerance due to my love of peppers for their flavor. I use Chalula, Sriracha and Louisiana hot sauces frequently and I'm completely addicted to jalapenos and onions as a topping, side dish or snack. It turns out that the experience of a good hot pepper really does create a feeling of euphoria. No wonder they're so popular.
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
We love peppers. We use peppers almost every day in everything from stir fry to spaghetti sauce. We even use them in veggie trays for dipping in Ranch dressing. Our spice shelf contains chili powder, crushed red peppers, cayenne pepper and a variety of seasoning blends containing peppers.
Peppers are members of the Solanaceae or nightshade family, from the genus Capsicum. They originated in Mexico and have spread across the world. The fruits of pepper plants come in a rainbow of colors, an array of sizes and range from sweet to hot to completely insane.
Last fall, before I had settled on a new garden spot and worked up a plan for what to plant, I got carried away and ordered a variety of pepper seeds from Tradewinds Fruit, a seed company known for carrying dozens of exotic pepper varieties. I love Peruvian food, in particular Pescado a lo Macho, and I had gotten excited by the idea of growing my own peppers for making Peruvian sauces--primarily Aji varieties. I also bought some good bell pepper varieties.
Once we had our greenhouse assembled and set up, I went about starting seeds.
I read somewhere that beginning pepper growers would have more success with hot peppers over bells. My bell pepper crops of the past could have used some improvement, but were hardly failures. The prospect of producing an abundance of hot peppers was exciting. I set up peat pots of good organic seed-starting soil mix and began planting seeds.
The main hot pepper I was interested in was aji amarillo, the one used in Peruvian yellow sauce. I also planted seeds for aji Brazilian starfish, ancho, NuMex Big Jim and aji dulce. In bell and sweet peppers, I planted Keystone, pimento, sun bright yellow and yolo.
Since this was my first time growing in a free-standing greenhouse and my first time starting my own seeds indoors, I had a few things to learn. One thing I'm sure of, I started my seeds too early. Second, the heater I used was inadequate for keeping the greenhouse temperature very far above freezing on the coldest nights, and finally, the direct sunlight and unusually high late-winter temperatures led to overheating and a drastic temperature swing over the course of a 24 hour day.
My research indicated that hot peppers such as aji amarillo could take as long as four to six weeks to germinate, but all of my peppers sprouted fairly quickly, except the amarillos, which didn't germinate at all.
Some of my tomato varieties did very well, in spite of the uneven temperatures, but my peppers grew slowly, if at all, and became stunted. I transplanted them into the garden anyway, but they showed little growth over the first few weeks. It became apparent that I would have to buy pepper plants for my garden. Dry summer weather set in and even my purchased plants were spotty at producing. August arrived and brought spring-like heavy rains and now my peppers, even some of the ones I had given up on, have begun to blossom and put on fruit. The late season pepper crop looks good.
In May I added shade cloth and exhaust fans to the greenhouse and gained better control of the daytime heating. It wasn't too late to do more planting, so I started more of the pepper, tomato and other seeds I bought back in the winter. This time, germination was very good (except the aji amarillo, which still hasn't germinated) and the plants established and grew quickly. Rather than transplant them to the garden, I've kept them in the greenhouse for an extended growing season. I now have tomatoes, eggplants, various herbs and thirty-three pepper plants (I haven't counted the pepper plants in the garden, but there are well over a dozen). Over time, the popsicle sticks I used for markers have faded out completely, so I no longer know which is which. It will be a nice surprise when they begin to fruit.
A few of the plants in the greenhouse.
Extremely hot peppers are a big fad these days and every year someone comes up with something even hotter. The current winner is over a thousand times hotter than jalapeno. Some of my friends grow habaneros and ghost peppers, but I see no point in growing something I can't even eat. Besides, very hot peppers reach a point of being dangerous, even to grow. I read growing information that includes cautions such as only handling the seeds and their products with gloves and wearing protective goggles and masks. For me, jalapenos are just about the right amount of heat. I do love habanero mango salsa and even habanero hot sauce, but these are cooled down by processing. Habaneros do have a great flavor. I find that cooking jalapenos requires a good ventilation hood above the stove and can still cause breathing discomfort, if I'm not careful, so I'm not even tempted to try making my own hot sauces from really hot peppers.
Twenty years ago my sensitive tongue could not tolerate even a few jalapenos on my nachos, but I have gradually developed a tolerance due to my love of peppers for their flavor. I use Chalula, Sriracha and Louisiana hot sauces frequently and I'm completely addicted to jalapenos and onions as a topping, side dish or snack. It turns out that the experience of a good hot pepper really does create a feeling of euphoria. No wonder they're so popular.
A jalapeno plant and a pablano plant in the garden.
Sauteed jalapenos and onions. I leave in the seeds for extra heat.
I do get tired of the same old jalapeno flavor, so I really look forward to eating some of the new varieties. The aji starfish is the hottest variety, since the amarillos are out of the picture, but they are only rated about twenty-five percent hotter than jalapeno. I don't know if I will get carried away with the seed varieties again this year, but if I do, I have a whole new criteria for choosing what to grow.
Stephen
All photos are copyright 2017, Stephen P. Scott
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