August 28, 2007
Feel the burn!
Blog reader Henry and I have been having a hot little side conversation about chile peppers, and I think it's time to invite the rest of you to chime in.
Cooking can be a complex task even with a detailed recipe to follow. But let's say your recipe calls for a jalapeno, which varies in score on the Scoville Heat Units Scale from 4,000 to 50,000 units. That could be the difference between a pleasant tingle and a real scorcher!
I recently tried two different recipes that called for jalapenos. Granted, I didn't really follow any recipe to the T or anything. Why would I do something so smart?
In the first, a green curry with scallops, I chose a red jalapeno about the length of my ring finger. Now I know that jalapenos aren't the chile pepper you would usually use in green curry, but I wanted some heat and that's what I had. I used the entire pepper and we almost had to call the fire department to spray down our heads.
The second recipe was for pico de gallo. I used a whole green jalapeno about twice the size of the red one I used before. Knowing that larger chiles are typically milder, I figured this one would be just right. Well, it wasn't spicy at all.
This, I guess, calls for some research. How does a chef know exactly what kind of chile to choose for his latest dish? And once he knows what kind of chile, which of the pile in front of him is he going to buy?
Here's what Henry had to say:
If you want real heat, get serranos. They look like a small jalapeno but pack some real heat. The taste is really "peppery". The small Thai peppers are really good as well. Don't use the seeds.
For a real treat, buy fresh habaneros, cut them up and freeze them. Then use them in dishes you will cook for a long time like chili. Cooking them eliminates the "mouth burn". You get the flavor but the heat is postponed. You'll break a sweat but you won't lose your sense of taste from the burn. This works for all hot peppers as best I can tell.
In a couple of weeks, I'm going to have the answers to those questions and more in my Front Burner column. But until then, I'd be interested to hear more about your adventures with chile peppers. When have you succeeded and when have you lit your lips on fire?
Where is the line, in your opinion, between a pleasantly spicy dish and extreme misery and pain?
Comments
[August 28, 2007 1:51 PM]
HenryWhich chile to buy?
It's that easy anymore. Chile's tend to be grown on large farms where they are allowed to cross-pollinate. The heat can vary quite a bit. Most stores carry a similar assortment
One is a long dark green pepper that is medium in heat. It looks like a long dark green banana pepper. It can be a bit bitter somewhat like a bell pepper. It's good for cooking. Jalapenos can really vary. I never know what I will get. You can grow mild Japs but I doubt you can buy them.
Banana peppers have gotten hotter over the years. Some are wicked hot. I use them to make hot pepper vinegar to put on greens and tomatoes. Serranos are really hot but have great taste. They are great for cooking. I like to cut them very thin and mix them with fresh tomatoes, spring onions and cucumbers smothered in hot pepper vinegar. Habaneros have a really odd flavor and a deathly bite. A little goes a long way. I have fried them with meat and been pleasantly surprised. But you have to cook them quite a while. Stay away from the pan when you do.
With any hot pepper, don't use the seeds and resist the white stuff inside. It's all heat and no flavor. If you cut them, you will not get the hot stuff off your hands. Don't pretend you can. Just be careful.
For a good mild pepper, use a Cubanelle. It's like a pale wax pepper and they tend to have less bitterness that store bought green peppers.
I used to grow a lot of peppers when I lived in a warmer clime. A pepper fresh from the garden cannot be compared to a store pepper. They will grow anywhere.
[August 28, 2007 4:14 PM]
NonaI like to use chili peppers in a variety of dishes, but may I offer a warning: wash your hands thoroughly after handling chili peppers, and use gloves for the really hot ones like habeneros. I sliced up a jalapeno once, added it to my dish, got busy doing something else and forgot to scrub my hands. Ten minutes later, after vigorously rubbing my eyes, I was in so much pain I was praying for the sweet relief that death would bring. It burned for a good 15 minutes before I could flush my eyes sufficiently. Just a little safety tip from my kitchen to yours.
[August 28, 2007 5:05 PM]
LindseyImagine if those had been habaneros, Nona!
[August 28, 2007 6:44 PM]
DennisI'm growing jalapeno and cayenne peppers this year. I have been pickling the jalapenos in a mixture of vinegar, water, and kosher salt. And storing them in the fridge. The cayennes are starting to turn red and I'd like to dry them and crush them to use as a pizza topping. Anyone out there have a good method for drying these? How long, inside or outside, temp, etc. Guess I should have figured this out before, but here I am w/ red peppers and no real idea of what to do. Thanks in advance for any help!
[August 29, 2007 8:31 AM]
HenryI cut up some habs once and washed my hands throughly. You lick them to see if you have cleaned them enough. I was driving into town and rubbed my eye with my throughly washed and licked fingers.
Bad idea.
Blind in one eye for the rest of the trip. That really hurts.
With serranos, I use a sharp thin knife to core out the insides. The farmers market usually has the small thai peppers that are so good. Cayenne peppers are also good for cooking and eating. Removing the seeds is rather hard. It involves a lot of handling. You can open them lengthwise and then scrape out the seeds with your knife.
This is an example of the milder heat peppers you sometimes find called the Spanish Spice. Excellent and you can sometimes find them in the supermarket
http://www.burpee.com/product/vegetables/pepper%2C+hot/hot+pepper+spanish+spice+hybrid+-+1+packet%2830seeds%29.do
[August 29, 2007 12:58 PM]
NonaIf those had been habaneros, I may have gouged out my own eyes!
But did I mention the dish, to which I added the offending jalapenos, was absoulutely delicious? There's a bright side to everything.
[August 29, 2007 1:40 PM]
LindseyDennis, according to the Chile Pepper Institute at New Mexico State University, thin-walled peppers are best dried in the form of ristras (threaded onto string and hung in or laid out in the sun). Thick-walled peppers like the jalapeno are often smoked because they contain more liquid. I'll bet the ones you've got could be dried in a ristra.
[August 30, 2007 11:40 AM]
JohnSA friend and I (we're both hot pepper snobs) make habanero jelly every year. It's tasty as all get out, and amazingly versatile - I use it as a base for sauces, glazes, and dips in addition to being "just" a spread.
She came up with the recipe by modifying a jalapeno jelly recipe she found in the newspaper years and years ago. It's a bit labor intensive, but the end result is TEH YUM!!1!
JS
[August 30, 2007 2:08 PM]
LindseyJohn, I love jalapeno jelly. So good on crackers with cream cheese. Although it occurs to me that I haven't heard a lot of alternate uses for it. So you glaze meats with it? I'll bet it can really liven up a pork loin or some grilled shrimp. What else do you do with it?
[August 30, 2007 5:07 PM]
JohnSQuick 'n easy dippin' sauce: thin it with a bit of balsamic vinegar, whisk with a fork, and heat in the microwave
Sweet/spicy grilling glaze: combine with honey, ground red pepper, fresh ginger, cilantro, and a dash of soy sauce
It's wonderful slathered directly on pork before grilling, also.
JS