Red Hot Chili Peppers
Thanks to the mastermind Mike Riccobono (also creator of this great page) the horticulture club has started to grow various (hot) chile peppers!
In order of heat:
- Habanero
- This chile belongs to the Capsicum Chinense family of peppers, of South American origin. In Mexico it is planted exclusively in the Yucatan Peninsula, where it was probably introduced from Cuba, which might explain its popular name "Habanero". The Habanero is one of the world's hottest chile. Its heat level is 10. For the uninitiated even a tiny piece of Habanero would cause intense and prolonged oral suffering. Underneath the heat is a delicate plum-tomato apple-like flavour. The riper red ones have a sweetness that gives them a mouthwatering appeal. Grown in Mexico and the Caribbean. It has an irregular spheroid shape, with a small point, and is around 5 cm long by 3.25-4.5 cm wide. It is available in green, yellow, scarlet and deep red. It has a number of close relatives such as Scotch Bonnet and Rocoto. It is used mainly raw because it loses subtlety, but not heat, when cooked. Seed catalogues list from 75 to 125 days to harvest. This is in addition to 50 to 80 days of indoor growth and up to 30 days for germination. Slow to germinate, must be grown in warm, moist conditions. The Habanero when ripe or dried and powdered has a unique apricot scent. 300,000+ SHU
- Tepin
- Tepin Most experts believe the Tepin, also called Chiltepin, is the original wild chile - the plant from which all others have evolved. It is a tiny round berry slightly larger than a peppercorn. It is very decorative and bright scarlet in colour and, despite its high heat level, it is attractive to wild birds, who helped to distribute it across the prehistoric Americas. Other name include Chile Mosquito, Chile de Pajaro, Chile Silvestre or Tecpintle. One ounce of this dried pepper with seeds removed will produce a detectable hotness in 50,000 ounces (over 300 gallons) of salsa! Heat level is 8.
- Thai Dragon
- A very hot and heavy-bearing Indian hybrid, with peppers measuring 1 inch by 3 inches. Green maturing to red.
- Tabasco
- The Tabasco chile originated from a state of that name in south-east Mexico, where the land is mostly flat and marshy, and it is hot and humid with extensive jungles. The Tabasco no longer grows there, but will be found in New Iberia, Louisiana, the home of the famous sauce company of the same name where it has grown since at least 1850. Tabasco chiles are also grown by the sauce makers in Venezuela, Guatemala and elsewhere. The Tabasco grows pointing upwards, is bright red when picked, 4 cm long by 1 cm wide, and has a heat level of 9. 30,000 to 50,000 Scoville units. (Capsicum frutescens var tabasco). Tabasco plants grow into compact bushes 1 to 4 feet high, bearing around 100 pointed 1 1/2 inch pods. 50,000 SHU
- Cayenne
- 70 days. Undoubtedly the most widely used chile in Indian and Indo-Chinese cookery, the Cayenne derived its name from the Tupi Indians of the Cayenne district of French Guiana, from whence the Portuguese transported it to Asia around 1500AD. It no longer grows in French Guiana. The Cayenne chile is long and thin with a sharp point, and there are numerous varieties ranging in size from 20 cm long by 2 cm wide, down to miniature size (see Thai Miniature) as little as 1.25 cm long by 3 mm wide. The varieties used prolifically in Indian cookery are generally between 10 cm and 5 cm in length. More of a tree-like than bush plant, growing to three feet high and two feet wide. Heat level is 7. 30,000 to 50,000 SHU. (Capsicum annuum).
- Tejaswini
- A very hot and heavy-bearing Indian hybrid, with peppers measuring 1 inch by 3 inches. Green maturing to red.
- Aldredge Heirloom
- Hot. 2-3 inches long. From Louisiana, USA.
- Aji Limon
- 4.5cm long by 2cm wide. Pale yellow-green to lemon yellow when ripe. Thin walls. Elongated and flattened pod tapering to a point. An Andean Aji type. Large bush plant. Heat level is 7. Originally found in the Peruvian lowlands. Easily oven-dried at 190degC.(Capsicum baccatum var. pendulum).
- Costeno Amarillo
- Light, lemony and green in colour. Used in yellow moles. From Oaxaca and Guerrero regions of Mexico. Shiny amber colour, tapering to a point. Grows to 3 inches long. Very thin flesh. Subtle heat. (Capsicum annuum).
Kernel of knowledge - the Korean word for pepper doubles up as the word for penis
Info taken from here
