Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

New Hottest Pepper on the PlanetThis undated image provided by New Mexico State University shows the Trinidad Moruga Scorpion, the new hottest pepper on the planet, as identified by NMSU's Chile Pepper Institute. Researchers determined the golf ball-sized pepper has a mean Scoville Heat Unit value of 1.2 million. (AP Photo/Courtesy of Jim Duffy, New Mexico State University)

Trinidad Moruga Scorpion

Check it out, a new world record holder. I have tried the ghost chili ( bhut Jolokia ) and that is extremely blistering hot at just over 1,000,000 scoville units, and some of these pods came in at slightly over 2,000,000 with a mean heat of about 1.2 million. There is more and more people getting into growing and creating new strains of peppers, I don't doubt there will be a hotter pepper than this very soon. There are some tricks you can do to get your peppers hotter and more potent.

1. Exposing your plants to hotter temperatures
2. Regulating feed water to give them just enough during the fruiting period
3. Using worm castings and worm tea for fertilizer on a regular basis



For more information on this Trinidad Moruga Scorpion pepper click below.


http://news.yahoo.com/trinidad-moruga-scorpion-wins-hottest-pepper-title-015457622.html

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Trinidad 7 Pot / Pod

Capsicum chinense


This pepper is extremely hot and has a scoville unit range from about 600,000 - 800,000 or more when the growing conditions are right. This plant can take up to 120 days for harvest. The pepper has a citrus like flavor and is very potent tasting when eaten alone but works great for drying and grinding up into powders for use in hot salsas. The plant should be started early to guarantee harvest into the late summer. Medium to full sun works well with this plant type.

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Fresh Homemade Salsa


Preparation Time 10-15 min

1            28 oz can whole tomatoes (drained)
1/2         brown onion (diced)
2            jalapeno peppers (diced)
2            Fresno peppers (diced)
1/4         cup cilantro chopped
1/2         teaspoon cumin
1            teaspoon white sugar
1/2         teaspoon sea salt
1/2         lime squeezed

1. Dice the jalapeno and fresno peppers (burning the exterior before dicing the peppers is optional). Add the diced peppers and a teaspoon of oil to a small skillet and brown/slightly burn the peppers, then set aside.

Peppers before cooked
Peppers after being cooked
















 2. Add all of the ingredients to the blender including the cooked peppers and blend/pulse to desired consistency, usually about 8-12 pulses for 1 second each.













3. Enjoy



Monday, February 13, 2012

Hungarian Yellow Wax


Another great pepper for people who like medium hot peppers with great flavor. These peppers range from 4-6" long and get about 1" in diameter. They are fast growers and start off with a yellow banana like color, then turn to an orangish color when overly ripe. The peppers grow in clusters and usually point upwards as if they are begging to be picked. I enjoy these peppers during the green stage, but before I cook with them I use a blow torch to burn the skins off as these have a very thick waxy outer skin. These peppers are great for frying whole. Plants do great in full sun.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Bird's eye chili / Thai Chili

This chili is becoming one of my favorites because it's like a serrano on steroids. I have been buying these at a local market for over a year. I usually just need to add a few to a small meal that I am cooking and that seems to do the trick. They have a serrano like flavor and are great for using with mexican dishes. The hotness rating is between 50,000 - 100,000 scoville units which is perfect for people who like it hot.



Thursday, February 9, 2012

Garden Salsa Hybrid


This is a hybrid chili pepper specifically developed for the use in americanized mexican salsas. These peppers get about 6-8" long and are about 1" across. I was intrigued when I saw this plant because  I have never heard of it before last year, so I bought it and boy was I impressed. This is a great tasting pepper and has just the right amount of heat for everyday use in salsas, fried onions, whole, etc. The peppers are about as hot a serrano but with a unique flavor that soon became addicting. If you like medium hot peppers and you see this plant I would grab it. This plant does great in full or partial sun.

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Thai Dragon Pepper


Capsicum annuum

This is one of easiest peppers to grow. They range in hotness from about 50,000 + scoville units and are long and slender with thin skins and usually take about 70-90 days for harvest, sometimes the plants will yield twice before the the end of the growing season. These are one of the best peppers for drying and are great to cook with whole or chopped into pieces. The peppers turn from dark green to bright red when ripe.



Sunday, February 5, 2012

Homemade Naga Jolokia Salsa Recipe

This recipe is simple to make and tastes better than restaurant salsas.

1       28 ounce can whole tomatoes drained
1/2    large brown onion (diced)
1/4    cup of chopped cilantro (loose)
1       tablespoon sugar
1/4    tablespoon sea salt
1/4    tablespoon cumin
1/8    tablespoon naga jolokia powder

Add all of the ingredients to the blender and chop/pulse to desired consistency. This picture below was 7 pulses for 1 second each. This salsa is very spicy so you may want to adjust the naga jolokia powder as necessary.







Super Chile


Capsicum annuum

Short bushy plants with plenty of thin to medium skinned peppers. The scoville units ranges from 40,000 -50,000 but can seem much hotter. The peppers can grow up to 2 1/2" long and range in colors from green to orange to bright red before harvest. Plants are very hardy and can last well into the end months of the year as long as it does not get below the frost level. Great ornamental or patio plants and can be exposed to partial or full sun.

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Tabasco Peppers


Capsicum frutescens

Extremely great producers of peppers. The peppers are very hot ranging between 30,000 - 50,000 scoville units but seem hotter because of the water/juice they retain dispersing the heat immediately. Believe it or not but my plant produced over 500 peppers in one growing season. The plant limbs grow straight up and have spear like peppers that are easy to harvest. The peppers change from light green to orange and then finally red when ripe. The peppers will separate and fall off the stem when overly ripe.


Big Caribbean Habaneros


Capsicum chinense


 These peppers range from 300,000 - 500,000 scoville units. They are heavy producers of peppers and can take up to 120 days to harvest. They can get up to 2" diameter and are very pungent when ripe. These were the size of small tomatoes and extremely hot with a fruity like flavor. This one plant I had produced over 200 peppers. These plants should be started early for guaranteed harvesting in late summer. I dried about a hundred for later use, which are great for grinding into powders to adding to salsas.