Peppers

Chili Peppers

Peppers (also known as Capsicum if you are reading some cookbooks) have been an easy crop for me ever since I starting sticking them in the ground.  Even in soil that has seen tomatoes go brown and curl up, the peppers have managed to thrive.  I have a neighbor just over a back fence with a large garden that grows wonderful tomatoes but can't grow a pepper to save his life.  Even plants that I have shared with him, curl up and produces hard, deformed, miniature models of green peppers.  His wife loves peppers, so when mine start coming in, some of my peppers make it over the fence in exchange for the space loving veggies like zucchinni which he has no trouble growing in his ample garden space.

I have been starting my own peppers for many years from seed.  I give them a six week head start indoors before moving them out to the garden the first week of June.  It is best to wait for the warmer nights before setting plants in the ground.  You can grow or buy your peppers early to make sure you get the varieties you want, just put them indoors or undercover at night.  

This year I chose five peppers to grow.  Four are pictured above.  In addition to the Big Bertha, Big Red, Ancho and chili peppers, I also have jalepeno peppers.  The first two are mild, green peppers and the last three are various levels of hot.  Big Bertha and Big Red are both green to start but will age to a red pepper if left on the plant long enough.  Red peppers tend to be sweeter and are a beautiful addition to your cooking.  It is the extra time on the plant that makes red, yellow, and orange peppers more expensive at the market.  All three start out as some type of green pepper but different varieties need to be planted if you want the different colors.

Ancho chili peppers are mild in their heat intensity.  The seed catalog recommended them for making chili rellenos as they are not overpowering and are large enough to stuff with cheese.  I have used them diced in recipes and they have been a good pepper for adding a little heat to a dish.  The jalepenos are a hotter pepper.  Not the hottest but definitely use care when cutting and seeding these.  If your skin is sensitive or even average, a pair of plastic gloves is in order.   Make sure you do not touch your face or skin with the gloves while handing the peppers.  Contrary to popular belief, it is the white membrane inside the pepper, not the seeds that holds the most of the heat.  The heat comes from a compound called capsicum.  Milk is a good neutralizer for capsicum, both oral and dermal.  The hottest pepper in my garden is the chilies.  I grew these for ornamental reasons but also am interested in making my own chili powder.  I've heard many theories about what affects the heat in peppers from year to year (the hot peppers all have a range that they will fall into), but the most recent study has found that wind exposure will boost up the heat in peppers more so than water amounts or temperature.

Peppers, tomatoes and potatoes are in the same family and should be rotated with other crops to minimize disease in your vegetable plots.  It is recommended that you put these crops in the same soil only once every three years.  Depending on your space, you will have to decide if you can do it and how.

Those last days before the first frost are always a time of anticipation for me and how many peppers can I really bring to maturity at the end.  It is recommended that you remove the smallest peppers near the end of summer and allow the rest to grow to size, the theory being that the effort the plant makes will be going into these last, largest peppers.  I just can't do it!  

About eight years ago I was working in the garden and making supper on the grill when it hit me what to do with those last peppers.  I brought a bucket of water right down to the garden and picked every last, small pepper that was left on the plants, washed them, and put them right on the grill to blister and brown into a wonderfully roasted pepper.  I removed the stems and seeds and cut up the green peppers.  I just removed the stems on the hot peppers before putting all of them in my food dehydrator (in the garage, this was a pretty fragrant batch) until they were completely dried.  The pieces of green pepper went in a jar on the shelf for sprinkling in dishes for that a smokey, peppery flavor.  The jalepenos without their stems, went into my food processor and were ground into a somewhat course powder.  BE CAREFUL HANDLING HOT PEPPER POWDERS!  I have had rave reviews from friends and families about the uses of this powder in cooking anything that begs for some heat with that side light of smokey flavor.  It can be stored right in the cupboard and takes up very little space.  A food dehydrator is great for people who don't have all the freezer or cupboard space.  Go in half and half with a friend if you don't think you will use it enough to justify buying one for yourself.

Of course, eating fresh peppers are one of the best ways to enjoy them.  It always amazed my that my daughter who is a bit more picky in her eating has always enjoyed peppers.  I think taking fresh ingredients out of the garden is one of the best ways to teach kids to try new foods.  It doesn't work for everything, but it sure helps when they know where it comes from.

Big Bertha, Big Red, Ancho, Jalepeno, Chili