Giant Red Habs? What are these?

[chuk hell]

I found these at the grocery store.

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/278/img01173fw.jpg

The produce manager didn't seem to know what they were. All he could tell me was that they were "habaneros...grown in Holland...where they grow them to perfection." I was dubious but bought about 10 at $7.99 a pound.

Here you can see how large they are. That's a regular hab to the left of it.


http://img140.imageshack.us/img140/5772/img01166bc.jpg

Of course you want to know how hot they are....not all that hot. Not as hot as a regulat hab. I'd say about serano hot. Not all that much flavor either....pretty mild and sort of hab like but pretty non-descript. I did manage to make some decent hot sauce out of them with some key lime juice and carrots. It had a really nice appearance....


http://img132.imageshack.us/img132/1992/img01197ny.jpg


...and tastes pretty good too but I'm not sure these chiles contribute that much to the taste.


So... does anyone know what these might be?

[fatalliman]

Hey Chuk,
A variety of suave habanero maybe?

Maybe Remi or Mark the Darlochiliman would be familiar with the imported one.

Anyway, happy sauce making,
Marv

[chuk hell]

Suave Habanero?


Hmm...perhaps.

from:

http://spectre.nmsu.edu/media/radio2.lasso?i=72

"New Mexico State University scientists say they've tamed the heat of the world's hottest chile, the habanero, with new peppers that are born to be mild. The ‘NuMex Suave Red' and ‘NuMex Suave Orange' habanero varieties are ready to be released by N-M-S-U's Chile Pepper Institute. N-M-S-U chile breeder Eric Votava says these new peppers are less spicy than a New Mexican green chile pepper.

"It's kind of a lemony, orangey, citrus overtone, and then you'll have the heat."

Chile peppers are rated in Scoville Heat Units. The ‘Red Savina' habanero, the hottest pepper tested, is a blistering 577-thousand heat units. Votava says ‘Suave Orange' rolls in at a mild 835 heat units and ‘Suave Red' at a smooth 580 units. Votava says habaneros have unique flavors as chile peppers, but most people just couldn't taste them because they're so hot.

"People can now taste these exotic flavors without being afraid of having their mouth set on fire."

The name ‘Suave' comes from the Spanish for mellow or smooth. The researchers received the chile pepper seeds from Houston chile aficionado Bill Adams, who liked their mild taste and sent them to the chile institute at N-M-S-U. For N-M-S-U's College of Agriculture and Home Economics, I'm Anna María Pérez-Wright.
"

http://www.chilepepperinstitute.org/Images/SuaveRedweb.jpg

I can't say I like the idea of mild habaneros. It's hard to find store-bought jalapenos with much heat these days, thanks to the popularity of "Tam" mild jap varietiesa which I suspect have cross-polinated with the crops in mexico.




These did have some decent heat...just not near hab heat...but surely higher than 580 SHUs.

Hmmm....

[Tina Brooks]

It's a Dutch hybrid of a either a Sauve or a Red Caribbean, specifically bred for a lack of heat. We have to be super careful when we import habs from Holland, because we don't want to end up with those!!! They're really popular in Europe amongst chiliheads who like flavour of the hab but can't handle the heat.

They taste great, but they have little heat and if we end up with them, we have to add orange habs to get heat.

They've been cultivating Red Caribbeans for years to get milder and milder peppers. They're quite popular.

T

[Remos]

I live in Holland, and I've never seen those peppers anywere, nor did I hear anything about them being grown here. Funny thing is. The only peppers in stores here are Cayenne, lombak, rawit, Madame Jeanette, and Aji Umba(both red and yellow) and offcoarse bell peppers, but they have a nice sticker on them saying, product of spain. It seems there are a lot of things coming from Holland, but none of these things can be found in stores here. so I don't quite get it to be honest.
Greetings Remi

[Tina Brooks]

I live in Holland, and I've never seen those peppers anywere, nor did I hear anything about them being grown here. Funny thing is. The only peppers in stores here are Cayenne, lombak, rawit, Madame Jeanette, and Aji Umba(both red and yellow) and offcoarse bell peppers, but they have a nice sticker on them saying, product of spain. It seems there are a lot of things coming from Holland, but none of these things can be found in stores here. so I don't quite get it to be honest.
Greetings Remi

Hi Remos,

Whether the supplier in Holland brings them in from somewhere else or not, I've no idea. I just know it says "Product of Holland" on the boxes.

T

[imaguitargod]

mild habaneros...that's just wrong.

[chuk hell]

mild habaneros...that's just wrong.

No kidding!

[Tina Brooks]

I would have thought so too... but remember, they may not be the hottest peppers in the pot, but they're still habaneros... They're not green peppers after all.

T

[staffing]

mild habaneros...that's just wrong.

It's a sad day for the chilehead world. Man. To desecrate the habanero....there ought to be a law against such a travesty.

The Chile Pepper Institute should change their name.

[John S.]

Name change suggestions:

The anti-chili pepper institue
The institute for the abolition of heat
The institute fot the desecration of hot peppers

Maybe they can make their slogan: Taking the "Hot" out of hot pepper, one variety at a time.

Maybe I am being to harsh - they could be trying to do the world a service by eliminating the dreaded ring of fire...

[Tina Brooks]

lol

You guys are all missing the point of the mildified habanero... I'm guessing that is because you can all handle the heat of them. These mildified versions are still hot... just not so hot as usual. They highlight the flavour of the habanero so that wusses can enjoy them as much as we do.

Think about it from a marketing standpoint. Instead of only part of the population eating habaneros... EVERYONE is eating habs... If you were at my desk, you'd LOVE the idea. :D

T

[John S.]

Tina,

I can see your point. But 580 SHU? I've had pimentos with more heat than that. I mean, even Frank's Red Hot puts that to shame.

John S.

[Tina Brooks]

Tina,

I can see your point. But 580 SHU? I've had pimentos with more heat than that. I mean, even Frank's Red Hot puts that to shame.

John S.

Well, ya, ok, I gotta agree, they aren't for us, but how many of our board members have spouses who can't handle habaneros??? They can eat these, and over time, they can eat hotter and hotter habs and the next thing ya know, we're all chowing down on the real thing.

Maybe it's my marketing bug chomping on my ear, but I really like these habs. Give me credit though, these habs aren't going anywhere near my Hurricane Mash anytime soon.

T

[imaguitargod]

Maybe it's my marketing bug chomping on my ear,

No, that looks like a tick.

This is a marketing bug:
http://www.tvacres.com/images/herbie_love_bug.jpg

[Tina Brooks]

lol!

Actually, that's a well-marketed bug.

[staffing]

lol

You guys are all missing the point of the mildified habanero... I'm guessing that is because you can all handle the heat of them. These mildified versions are still hot... just not so hot as usual. They highlight the flavour of the habanero so that wusses can enjoy them as much as we do.

Think about it from a marketing standpoint. Instead of only part of the population eating habaneros... EVERYONE is eating habs... If you were at my desk, you'd LOVE the idea. :D

T
===============================
While I understand your perspective, Tina, one of the links posted stated that these peppers clock in at under 1000 shu. That's milder than a jalapeno. Chuk wasn't impressed with the flavor, either.
I can understand growing milder versions for the masses. They did the same with the jalapeno...store bought ones aren't any where near the heat level of those out of my garden.
It just seems to me that some things should remain sacred....and the habanero heat is one of them. At the very least, they should put warning labels on the mutant strain:

WARNING:

This is not a real habanero. No heat or flavor will be experienced through use of this product. Wimp out at your own risk.

[imaguitargod]

How about this:

WARNING:
To all foolish, puny, girly men who can't take the heat of a pepper. We have now made a product for you so you can pretend like you are a macho man when you try this pepper with you college frat buddies. This is the non-alcoholic beer of pepper, it's pointless and is an abomination of nature. Enjoy.


:twisted:

[staffing]

How about this:

WARNING:
To all foolish, puny, girly men who can't take the heat of a pepper. We have now made a product for you so you can pretend like you are a macho man when you try this pepper with you college frat buddies. This is the non-alcoholic beer of pepper, it's pointless and is an abomination of nature. Enjoy.


:twisted:

=====================================
LOL!!!

Better yet:

WARNING:
This pepper may give the user the impression of being able to handle real heat. Please don't try this with a real habanero.

[Tina Brooks]

Lol!

And now we all know and understand the dangers of GMOs!!

haha

T

[DEFCON Creator]

How about this:

WARNING:
To all foolish, puny, girly men who can't take the heat of a pepper. We have now made a product for you so you can pretend like you are a macho man when you try this pepper with you college frat buddies. This is the non-alcoholic beer of pepper, it's pointless and is an abomination of nature. Enjoy.


:twisted:
And add these foolish, puny, girly men would look better under the heel of my boot.

[ChefEx]

It's hard to exclaim, "hey get off me, these peppers aren't that hot, and where did I leave my O'dools?"....with a crushed larynx. Eat real habs, drink real beer, and wear real big black boots!

[DEFCON Creator]

It's hard to exclaim, "hey get off me, these peppers aren't that hot, and where did I leave my O'dools?"....with a crushed larynx. Eat real habs, drink real beer, and wear real big black boots!

YES! :hell:

[Tina Brooks]

It's hard to exclaim, "hey get off me, these peppers aren't that hot, and where did I leave my O'dools?"....with a crushed larynx. Eat real habs, drink real beer, and wear real big black boots!

Would those be french heels or stilettos???? ;)

[DEFCON Creator]

The same boots I wanted to stomp the bar security with when we got kicked out in Albequerque! They stomp quite well. :twisted:

[Tina Brooks]

The same boots I wanted to stomp the bar security with when we got kicked out in Albequerque! They stomp quite well. :twisted:

Ah, the stilettos. Very nice.

[DEFCON Creator]

Leave Greg's footwear out of this! :twisted:

[Tina Brooks]

Leave Greg's footwear out of this! :twisted:

He's barefoot.

[DEFCON Creator]

Are you stealing his clothes again?

[Tina Brooks]

Are you stealing his clothes again?

Shhh, this is a family forum.

[ChefEx]

Tina, they're just big black boots. I disarm them with my fishnets, shock and awe theory. :twisted:

[Tina Brooks]

lol