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Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

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Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#191

Post by thaumasiotes »

ricardobeat wrote: post #93
thrwwycbr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They release enzymes necessary for the spice/acid production. The acid counteracts those enzymes. If you cut open peppers, you can see the black veins which were bit by bugs, those are the ones containing the carbon acid. A better way to protect them against virusses but not against bugs that won't harm them is by combining the top of peppers with the root of potatoes, and by using moss to heal the cuts where you com…

The bites themselves don’t cause the plant to produce more capsaicin. It’s natural selection - plants in areas with lots of insects end up producing more capsaicin as a means of protecting themselves. They are hotter, and insects will not bite them as a result. Happy to be proven wrong if you have sources saying otherwise, but I’m quite certain this is the science behind it.

This is basically the same as arguing that exposure to sunlight won't darken your skin, but it will mean that natural selection gives your descendants darker skin.

There is every reason to expect that a plant's defenses against predation will be more active the more predation it experiences.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#192

Post by stevage »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #190
stevage wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The noun. Mostly I hear variety and cultivar.

You also see "varietal". But all of the words are synonymous with each other, so it's not clear why people strive for exotic terminology.

I'm a bit confused, who do you think is "striving" in this scenario?

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#193

Post by dreamcompiler »

PheonixPharts wrote: post #63
jseliger wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less spicy is actually good. I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. Mark Miller's conversation with Tyler Cowen is good on this subject: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/mark-miller/ . Chiles are actually fruits and, combined judiciously, create a lot of complex flavors. Excess spiciness overwhelms the flavor. And people who want absurdly spicy peppers, can get them: ghost chiles, carolina reaper…

> I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. As someone with a fairly high spice tolerance, I've found a strong correlation between heat and flavor . I think anyone coming from a culture that eats spicy food will agree. I had a batch of habaneros I grew last summer that were both the most spicy habaneros I've had, and by far the most flavorful. I've also had some very tasty ghost peppers (when used in moderatio…

Habaneros taste like pineapple to me. They're absolutely delicious.

...for 30 seconds, and then I

1. Wish I was dead

2. Ask for another

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#194

Post by danparsonson »

magicalhippo wrote: post #130
yashap wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you noticed that you're way more into brussels sprouts now than you were when you were a kid? If you're a GenX-er or a Millenial, that's because today's (delicious) sprouts aren't the same plant as the (gross) sprouts of yore. This is an oft-quoted fact, and it’s true that modern brussels sprouts are less bitter, but that’s far from the whole story. The popular preparation used to be boiling or steaming, and m…

> The popular preparation used to be boiling or steaming, and many people still find that gross with modern varieties. What is wrong with people? They're delicious, and an absolute must along side a reindeer roast with a creamed mushroom sauce, or similar. Steamed of course. Though I did learn the hard way as a kid that they can be rather harsh on the stomach when raw...

Mushroom sauce?? What's wrong with you?! ;-)

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#195

Post by karim79 »

PheonixPharts wrote: post #63
jseliger wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less spicy is actually good. I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. Mark Miller's conversation with Tyler Cowen is good on this subject: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/mark-miller/ . Chiles are actually fruits and, combined judiciously, create a lot of complex flavors. Excess spiciness overwhelms the flavor. And people who want absurdly spicy peppers, can get them: ghost chiles, carolina reaper…

> I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. As someone with a fairly high spice tolerance, I've found a strong correlation between heat and flavor . I think anyone coming from a culture that eats spicy food will agree. I had a batch of habaneros I grew last summer that were both the most spicy habaneros I've had, and by far the most flavorful. I've also had some very tasty ghost peppers (when used in moderatio…

> As someone with a fairly high spice tolerance, I've found a strong correlation between heat and flavor. I think anyone coming from a culture that eats spicy food will agree.

I couldn't agree more. I grow a variety of chili plants on my balcony each year, from the Jalapeno (red and green) all the way to the Morugas and the Bhut Jolokias, with some varieties in between such as Chiltepins and Scotch Bonnet peppers. I think the Habanero is my go-to for most dishes - they're hot enough without being as insanely hot as the ones at the upper end of the scoville scale. That being said, I've enough experience now to know how much of which to put in each dish, and my freezer is full off pods from previous harvests.

I can't cook without chilis, garlic and onions. Nor can I sleep when either of those ingredients are missing. I get cold sweats just imagining that the next pandemic or apocalypse might be around the corner and I'm ill-prepared in terms of the three essential ingredients for surviving comfortably.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#196

Post by demondemidi »

jandrewrogers wrote: post #131
squokko wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your palate has been desensitized and can only taste flavor with heat. Spend 2 months with zero capsaicin and it will reset.

That isn't how it works, flavor sensitivity is orthogonal to heat sensitivity. Being desensitized to heat does not desensitize you to flavor. Because of a correlation between heat and flavor diversity in peppers, people desensitized to the heat can taste the more complex range of flavors available in peppers.

There it is! It only took about a dozen posts to attract a fan of the recent trendiness in ultra hot peppers to state that heat lovers have superior taste.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#197

Post by huytersd »

jseliger wrote: post #24
tptacek wrote: post #11

The 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…

Less spicy is actually good. I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. Mark Miller's conversation with Tyler Cowen is good on this subject: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/mark-miller/ . Chiles are actually fruits and, combined judiciously, create a lot of complex flavors. Excess spiciness overwhelms the flavor. And people who want absurdly spicy peppers, can get them: ghost chiles, carolina reaper…

Flavor is heat (mostly) when it comes to peppers.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#198

Post by huytersd »

ortusdux wrote: post #127
jseliger wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Less spicy is actually good. I prefer more flavorful chiles, with less spice. Mark Miller's conversation with Tyler Cowen is good on this subject: https://conversationswithtyler.com/episodes/mark-miller/ . Chiles are actually fruits and, combined judiciously, create a lot of complex flavors. Excess spiciness overwhelms the flavor. And people who want absurdly spicy peppers, can get them: ghost chiles, carolina reaper…

One of the best unique beers I've ever had was a Jalapeno ale. The yeast had metabolized all the capsaicin, so there was zero spice. The Jalapeno flavor was crisp and clean, and you could taste a depth of flavor that was normally overshadowed by the heat. It made me appreciate peppers more now that I knew what to taste for. I've been meaning to try and recreate it and then work my way through various peppers/chilies.

Wait, does yeast break down capsaicin? That doesn’t make sense to me since I make a lot of extremely spicy fermented, hot sauces, and they don’t lose their heat.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#199

Post by alliao »

around 1999/2000 we made frequent trips to Texas to visit family and I got addicted to then huge packs of jalapeño chips, they were so good I brought whole cartful back to New Zealand. The further I flew (2 stop overs coz I am cheap) the further Texans with cowboy hats in airport lounge would walk across to congratulate me on my hoard. Wonderful stuff. And they were spicy. I hope it wasn't just sprayed with some artificial flavouring. I'd love some modern day recommendations of a good jalapeño chips too, fellow connoisseurs of fine jalapeño chips.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#200

Post by maxerickson »

bastawhiz wrote: post #128
yashap wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Have you noticed that you're way more into brussels sprouts now than you were when you were a kid? If you're a GenX-er or a Millenial, that's because today's (delicious) sprouts aren't the same plant as the (gross) sprouts of yore. This is an oft-quoted fact, and it’s true that modern brussels sprouts are less bitter, but that’s far from the whole story. The popular preparation used to be boiling or steaming, and m…

I don't mind steamed sprouts today, but I remember how utterly repulsed I was by them as a kid. The preparation doesn't make a ton of difference, in my opinion.

Overcooking will increase the bitterness, the preparation makes a ton of difference.

I don't really recall how my mom might have cooked broccoli and such, but I certainly identified things she did cooking that were not ideal as far as outcomes (and I would say she was a reasonably good cook).

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