Same thing with mustard. Mustard used to be spicy, then "yellow mustard" came out, then yellow mustard became mustard, then actual mustard became "spicy mustard".
Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
111–120 of 336 posts
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#112The reason I took away from this: large agricultural producers of peppers bred towards a "low heat, low variance" standard, away from a "high variance" standard that produced frequent hot jalapenos. Low-heat-low-variance is better for mass food production, because producers can just dose the capsaicin directly, which is something they can't do easily when every pepper is a wildcard. There are second-order effects, li…
Today I learn that Brussel sprouts have changed on us. Odd, as I loved them as a kid, and still love them as an adult. Curious how genetic noticing that flavor shift is. Is it akin to how some folks hate cilantro? And agreed that this all seems fine. The heat of these peppers is directly added to things that people want to have heat. I see some folks say they can taste differences, but I have stopped buying dips that…
> Curious how genetic noticing that flavor shift is. Is it akin to how some folks hate cilantro?
Yes. I'm one of these people, that stuff tastes like weird soap for me - but neither of my parents has that issue (and yes, my father clearly is my father), so the cilantro stuff is likely recessive.
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#113One exception are Mrs. Renfro's pickled jalapeños, a Tex-Mex staple for decades. They're still quite hot. I wonder if they have special grower relationships?
I've always thought the California and Mexico weak peppers I got had more to do with irrigation practices than the varietal. But maybe it's both!
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#114Same thing with mustard. Mustard used to be spicy, then "yellow mustard" came out, then yellow mustard became mustard, then actual mustard became "spicy mustard".
It's called Hot English Mustard
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#115[flagged]
You might try reading the article, you might learn something.
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#116Earlier quoted context omitted.
I think you're misunderstanding what I'm saying. I enjoy plenty of non-spicy foods, and don't need every meal to be spicy, nor to I think that the only flavorful meals are spicy meals. My point is exclusively with chili peppers, as the spice increases so does the flavor. I didn't grow up eating spicy food, and my experience has been that as my spice tolerance has grown overtime I have found access to increasingly won…
That's interesting, I am curious if it's the capsaicin itself you're tasting directly. I know I've had hot sauces that were just heat without any kind of real flavor. It's not that I couldn't taste it. I could, I just didn't want any more of it.
Capsaicin itself is boring. Frankly, I think it tastes rather metallic.
Hot sauces that add it to boost their "spiciness" ratings taste awful as a result. The flavor of it stands out, and not in a good way
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#117The reason I took away from this: large agricultural producers of peppers bred towards a "low heat, low variance" standard, away from a "high variance" standard that produced frequent hot jalapenos. Low-heat-low-variance is better for mass food production, because producers can just dose the capsaicin directly, which is something they can't do easily when every pepper is a wildcard. There are second-order effects, li…
I like my sprouts bitter ...
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#118One exception are Mrs. Renfro's pickled jalapeños, a Tex-Mex staple for decades. They're still quite hot. I wonder if they have special grower relationships? I've always thought the California and Mexico weak peppers I got had more to do with irrigation practices than the varietal. But maybe it's both!
You can make pickled jalapenos as hot as you want them to be, regardless of the heat in the peppers themselves; a pickled jalapeno vendor is exactly the kind of customer that wants low-heat, low-variance jalapenos.
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#119Earlier quoted context omitted.
If you have had Huy Fong Sriracha recently you’ll probably notice that it is less spicy than it used to be. Apparently they were in a multi year lawsuit with their jalapeño pepper supplier based in SoCal that is specifically known for spiciness and they lost and started buying jalapeños elsewhere. Then the pepper farmer started selling his own Sriracha sauce.
That's super weird, right? Because they could just dope the sriracha batches back to whatever level of heat they want. I make fermented hot sauce once a year, and I end up doing that too? And I'm a dummy? Are we sure this isn't just a market shift thing? Like: maybe they lost some heat unintentionally or unknowingly, but then sales went up?
They may not want to. People who live downwind of the plant having been complaining about smells for years. Less pungent may well be the ticket.
Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)
#120One exception are Mrs. Renfro's pickled jalapeños, a Tex-Mex staple for decades. They're still quite hot. I wonder if they have special grower relationships? I've always thought the California and Mexico weak peppers I got had more to do with irrigation practices than the varietal. But maybe it's both!
I used to get jalapeños from a certain “farmers market” that were so hot [0]. By far the hottest jalapeños I’ve ever had. Had to be very careful with them. It does make you wonder where they come from. I wanted to give them to people that mock the heat of jalapeños.
[0] This was an east coast farmers market and wasnt literally farmers selling their produce. I believe a lot of it was trucked up from Mexico.