I seem to have spent a lot of time in trains and cars and boats and planes the past few weeks, then in bookshops and galleries and festivals. Yesterday I took a bit of a break and spent the day in the kitchen, making pickles and chutneys, drying chillies and powdering them, and making the first batch of hot sauce with the Orange Habaneros.
I’ll show the simple recipe I used later in the week but now we’ve had a pretty good harvest I thought I might share my thoughts on the flavours.
Aji Cristal - the first fruits of this one were ready early August, picked while whitish green. The flavour is sweet, green, flowery and lovely. On the flavour alone I would grow this again, but when combined with the preference for picking them before fully ripe they become a winner in the UK climate. Heat is considered low, but the two peppers I ate were at opposite ends of the Cristal scale. The first one was mild but the second packed a punch. What was most striking for me was the flavour. I’m so used to supermarket peppers that I forgot the range and variety of flavours in capsicums.
Cayennetta - first of the year in mid-August. First bite had that vegetal green pepper flavour. A very mild sting in the mouth came with a tiny bit more sweetness. This has the flavours we associate with hot peppers - the annuum sting and pepperiness. As the yield improved I started drying these and they are perfect for flakes and powders. They retain their bright colour and the flavours improve loads - and the plants have been amazing in terms of yield.
Sugar Rush. Great flavour. Almost like fruit salad with a nice zingy greenness, smooth and creamy. Really aromatic. This is beautiful. Nice heat too. Full, not too overwhelming, lingers a little on the tongue.
Ring of Fire. Another classic flavour, but this is much tastier than the Cayennetta. It tastes quite like a red bell pepper, with a little sweetness, a little bitterness and a sharp heat. For eating raw I wouldn’t enjoy much hotter than this without great flavour. This is my favourite of the annuum types so far. I’ve got some drying as I type so I should get a little jar of flakes. This is a classic for me.
Habanero. I tried a little one first. I didn’t quite have time to process the flavour - I think it was tropical fruit and sharp - before the heat hit. I took a bite, chewed, swallowed, then bang! But that initial flavour was amazing. I loved it. One of the Haberno plants is still covered in green fruit so I hope they’ll ripen and I can make loads of sauces.
Lemon StarrBurst. Tropical fruit and creamy sweet. The smell of this is the best of the lot. The first one I had wasn’t too wild in terms of heat either. Only a few of these are ripening and they’re on the small side so far. There are one or two nice sized fruits on there, so fingers crossed they ripen before the mice get them. With these flavours I wish the yield were sufficient to make some sauces. It has to be the best-tasting and best-smelling pepper I’ve ever had.
In summary, I’m just stunned by the Lemon Starrburst. I’ve mostly grown Annuums in the past and both the Chinense and the Baccatum varieties this year have been complete revelations. The smell of that Starrburst, though, is something else.
The only peppers I’ve not harvested at all yet are the Zebrange and the Rocoto. And this is because of mice. A family of mice have devastated the greenhouse the past few days, and they have left just one green Zebrange on the plant. I’ve set up electric fences, guard dogs and a security detail and hope I’ll be able to edit in the Zebrange a little later. The Rocoto, meanwhile, are the largest and most amazing of pepper plants, covered in lovely purple flowers, but there are no peppers. I honestly don’t know what’s happening with that one and would love advice if anyone has it.
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