Tonight we'll have a show and tell on the surprise superstars of my 2014 garden: heirloom peppers! I'll also show you how to make your own fermented hot pepper sauce. Don't touch anything below the orange fumes without gloves!
Stavros pepper seedling, April 2014
The first four varieties are Red Peter, Lemon Habanero, White Habanero, and Stavros. The fifth came from a sampler pack of sweet peppers, so I'll call it Mystery. I am saving seeds from all, so please kosmail me if you'd like some. The dirt on my seed-starting process is here.
We'll start with Red Peter. They're named for ... well, I'll let you figure it out.
Most citations I've found list these peppers as
very rare. Don't let their generous size fool you -- these guys are HOT! They're officially rated 10K to 23K on the
Scoville heat scale, the same class as serranos. I've grown both and beg to differ. Half of one of these, seeded and chopped, will put your salsa in orbit ... if you can even bear taking a knife to them.
Predictably, peter peppers are productive. This seedling, planted in a 20 gallon container, has been pumping out peppers all summer.
Red Peter pepper plant
One evening's harvest, 8/15/14:
Red Peters are hot, but they're not my hottest. That honor goes to the habaneros at 100K-350K Scovilles. This year I grew lemon and white varieties. The plants are vigorous but the peppers aren't shaped like the traditional orange habaneros I've grown in past years. They're tiny, teardrop-shaped, and of course blazing hot.
The plants are compact and bushy. This is the lemon.
Close up:
Next is
Stavros, a Greek heirloom with ribbed fruit.
Stavros pepper plant
A classic
peperoncini, they are often pickled. They're supposedly sweet with a touch of heat (1.5K-4.5K Scovilles). Again, I think mine are spicier. They turn red when fully ripe and can also be dried.
Stavros
Finally, the Mystery Pepper. This came from a grab bag of heirloom seeds from 2012. I planted a few for kicks and grins and this one took off. It's a large (4-5") banana, all sweet and no heat, with fruit that turns yellow with an orange blush when ripe.
Mysteriously good!
The plant is still bearing fruit, which we devour as fast as it ripens!
What to do with all these hot peppers? Make hot sauce, of course! Two excellent references on fermented sauce are
here and
here. This is my method:
Fermented lemon habaneros and red peters
You need only two ingredients: hot peppers and brine. Quantities are flexible -- you can make a batch with as little as 3/4 cup of chopped peppers, or as many as you can fit into a gallon crock. To make the brine, dissolve one heaping tablespoon of sea salt per quart of water. Kosher salt is OK but do NOT used iodized.
Always wear protective gloves when handling hot peppers and NEVER touch your face. Wash peppers, remove stems, and cut into chunky slices (I cut the peters in quarters and the habaneros in half). Pack into a clean container, no more than 2/3 full. Pour brine over peppers to cover by 1/2".
The peppers need to be completely submerged in brine to ferment. This is why I don't chop them too fine; it keeps little pieces from rising to the top and getting moldy. I used phickle.com's Ghetto Jar Method to weight my peppers and it worked beautifully. Basically, you place a smaller glass or jar into the fermenting container, cover with a cloth, and secure with a rubber band. It's easy, cheap, and my peppers didn't get any mold at all.
Cover and wait ...
Place the covered container in a cool dark place for 2-3 weeks, checking every day or two. It should bubble if you wiggle the weight jar a little. If you see white mold forming on the top, gently remove it. These Red Peter Peppers have been fermenting for 16 days. To make hot sauce, drain the brine into a measuring cup, noting the amount you have.
The fermented pepper slices are delicious as is and will keep in the fridge for several weeks. I saved a few of these for salsa.
Place the peppers and brine in a blender or food processor. Add half as much vinegar as you have brine (I had 2/3 cup so I used 1/3 cup vinegar.) I used apple cider vinegar, but you can use any kind you like. Rice vinegar adds a nice flavor.
For chunky sauce, pulse to desired consistency. To make it smooth and liquid, blend on high for 2-3 minutes. Whatever you do, don't remove the lid and stick your face in the sauce -- let it sit for a minute. Your lungs will thank you!
Here's the result: about a cup of habanero sauce and almost two cups of Red Peter Sauce. The hab sauce is deadly hot with a note of citrus. The red sauce is wonderful -- it's hot but not fiery and has a rich, almost tomato-ey flavor.
A few notes: many hot sauce recipes call for garlic in the ferment. What I had wasn't completely fresh so I left it out. Some recipes also call for removing the seeds from the peppers and/or running them through a food mill after fermenting. I did neither. The sauces still turned out fabulous.
In closing, a recipe better suited to instant pepper gratification:
Quick Hot Pepper Spread
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup finely chopped sweet pepper
1/2 jalapeno or other hot pepper, seeded and finely chopped (or to taste)
1/2 cup raspberry preserves
Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, whisking frequently. Reduce heat and simmer 12-15 minutes, whisking occasionally. Don't overcook; it will thicken as it cools. Remove from heat and set aside for 5-10 minutes. Whisk again and turn into a heat-safe bowl. Cover and refrigerate until cool. Serve as is or combine with cream cheese in equal parts for a tasty spread.
Questions and comments are welcome! What's for dinner at your place tonight?
Edit 9-14-14, 12:27 EDT
On my 956th proofread, I noticed the recipe above called for 1/2 habanero or other hot pepper. Of course I meant jalapeno. Please don't put half a habanero in anything unless you're an experienced pepperhead! The recipe has been corrected.
I truly appreciate the rec list and kind words! This is the first year I've had a real garden since my house fire in 2010, and it's been a labor of love. Thanks for letting me share the bounty, and for all the great conversation below.