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Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

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Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#211

Post by bb88 »

dheera wrote: post #204
bb88 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also remove the membrane on the flesh too. Capsaicin dissolves in alcohol, so I tend to wipe everything down with 70% IPA minimum with a paper towel before sending it into the dish washer.

Isopropyl alcohol is a really bad idea for food. I'd suggest a drinkable alcohol instead, like a vodka or something.

Yeah, I'm not that worried after it goes into the dishwasher.

The real issue is to get as much as the capsaicin off the cutting board, knife, hands, etc, before it goes into the dish washer.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#212

Post by bb88 »

dekhn wrote: post #161
bb88 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I also remove the membrane on the flesh too. Capsaicin dissolves in alcohol, so I tend to wipe everything down with 70% IPA minimum with a paper towel before sending it into the dish washer.

Actual conversation I had last week with my daughter: "Dad, did you cook something spicy in the skillet" (I have a cast iron skillet and normally am the only person who uses it) "Yes, I made a sauce from chilis that was much too spicy, and used the skillet to cook the sauce down". "Well, can you let me know next time, because I just made very spicy bacon!" I normally only wipe down my cast iron skillet rather than cl…

Oil supposedly also dissolves capsaicin.

Maybe put a half a cup to a cup of evoo and warm up the oil, swirling it around next time? Then you can let it cool down and maybe use this to solidify the oil?

https://www.amazon.com/FryAway-DF413/dp/B09CRN1MM1

That would also mean you wouldn't need to season your pan again.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#213

Post by CobaltFire »

tbyehl wrote: post #180
koyote wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As someone who grows their own jalapenos: My plants produce extremely mild peppers... So either the seeds I got were already bred to be mild or maybe there's something else going on there :) My habaneros are spicy as ever though, so it can't be exclusively be environmental.

Probably being too nice to them. IME, a lot of (solar) heat and neglectful watering makes 'em mean.

Growing up we grew 5 jalapeno plants and treated them all different to see what the outcome was.

The one we hardly watered had the best tasting, hottest peppers. The second best plant (the one we abused almost as much) made twice as many though.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#214

Post by tptacek »

ohthatsnotright wrote: post #123
aegypti wrote: post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Each of these chiles have very different flavors friend. Serranos and jalapeños are much closer than habaneros but still cleanly separated by bitterness, brightness and acridity. Eg a grandmother’s salsa ranchera with jalapeño only is a much sweeter affair than when supplemented with serranos, and equally much less fruity than when pequins are used.

I think this is the biggest point a lot of people who aren't used to consistently spicy/hot food miss. Yes, the peppers will be hot but the flavors will be wildly different between them and that's the more interesting/important thing. The right pepper can really make a dish amazing, but just adding heat won't.

I don't know that jalapenos and serranos are different enough to say this about. Serranos are more vegetal, I guess? But jalapenos are pretty variable, especially depending on ripeness, and I would claim right now (without being able to back it up) that serranos fit into the spectrum of possible jalapenos (like: there is a jalapeno somewhere that tastes just like the median serrano), minus the capsaicin.

Which is what people are saying they want from a non-industrial jalapeno.

The boy has a rotavap in the basement, I just need to convince him to let me run up some peppers in it to do the comparison. :)

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#215

Post by dheera »

bb88 wrote: post #212
dekhn wrote: post #161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Actual conversation I had last week with my daughter: "Dad, did you cook something spicy in the skillet" (I have a cast iron skillet and normally am the only person who uses it) "Yes, I made a sauce from chilis that was much too spicy, and used the skillet to cook the sauce down". "Well, can you let me know next time, because I just made very spicy bacon!" I normally only wipe down my cast iron skillet rather than cl…

Oil supposedly also dissolves capsaicin. Maybe put a half a cup to a cup of evoo and warm up the oil, swirling it around next time? Then you can let it cool down and maybe use this to solidify the oil? https://www.amazon.com/FryAway-DF413/dp/B09CRN1MM1 That would also mean you wouldn't need to season your pan again.

Don't season your pan with EVOO, its smoke point is too low.

Avocado oil works well for seasoning.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#217

Post by dheera »

bb88 wrote: post #211
dheera wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Isopropyl alcohol is a really bad idea for food. I'd suggest a drinkable alcohol instead, like a vodka or something.

Yeah, I'm not that worried after it goes into the dishwasher. The real issue is to get as much as the capsaicin off the cutting board, knife, hands, etc, before it goes into the dish washer.

Oh, I see, I misread and thought you were using it to reduce the heat before cooking with it.

Though now I have an idea -- dunk habaneros in vodka for 30 mins before cooking with it.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#218

Post by fy20 »

You might be interested in this YouTube video which discusses the issues of 'big seed' in regards to tomatoes. I'd imagine the same applies to any commercially grown crops (another comment mentioned that there is basically only one commercial variety of bananas), which would explain why jalapenos are less spicy than they used to be.

https://youtu.be/ngjAqzam0fU

TL;DW;

- Almost all commercially grown crops are from hybrids, which means two varieties bred to produce a new variety with the selected characteristics of both.

- The characteristics that are chosen are those which are most commercially viable: long shelf life, visually appealing, size uniformity - these are often at the detrement of other characteristics such as flavor, nutrients or in this case heat

- Hybrid plants usually do not 'remain true', meaning their offspring will not have the same characteristics. This means farmers need to buy new seed each year to maintain the same characteristics. This results in hybrid seeds being very valuable - some are worth 10x more per kg than gold.

- Hybrids seeds are produced by pollinating plants by hand. This is a time consuming process, and usually done in low income countries. That means labour laws are often ignored, and child labour is a big problem.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#219

Post by jandrewrogers »

demondemidi wrote: post #196
jandrewrogers wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I never stated any such thing nor am I a fan of ultra-hot peppers, but you sure seem insecure about it. What I did state is not controversial. Self-selecting expertise in the qualities of food applies to a great many things we eat. It doesn't have anything to do with "superior taste".

Anyone can learn to eat peppers, most people choose not to. Could swap out peppers for a very long list of other foods and it would still make sense.

Re: Why jalapeño peppers are less spicy (2023)

#220

Post by luckman212 »

gweinberg wrote: post #181
magicalhippo wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 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...

What's "wrong with people" is they don't like eating poison. You can train yourself to like anything, but the bitter alkaloids that give brussel sprouts and such their nasty bitter taste are indeed a toxin. There isn't enough to be dangerous in modern varieties, but there was in their wild ancestors.

There's a saying, The bitter the better

Many bitter foods are highly nutritious.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/bitter-foods

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