Heat-less habanero - any ideas?

[heirloomgal]

Moving slightly off topic, does anyone know of a heat less variety of rocoto pepper (C. pubescens)?

All the ones I've tried @Pulsegleaner were hot, hot, hot. I searched @ Atlantic Pepper seeds to see what they had, and found nothing, all hot. One of the first listings under C. pubescens was a variety called 'Ecuadorian Pepper from Hell'.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

All the ones I've tried @Pulsegleaner were hot, hot, hot. I searched @ Atlantic Pepper seeds to see what they had, and found nothing, all hot. One of the first listings under C. pubescens was a variety called 'Ecuadorian Pepper from Hell'.

Actually, from what I have heard "Rocoto" translates to "Wake the Dead" . And Incas used to burn piles of the peppers as a weapon against their enemies (and would hold their children over the piles as a method of discipline).

I just asked since, on the ground that the heatless habanero is a mutation, such a mutation might exist in the rocoto as well.

Certainly, there seem to be a lot more types of pubescens available now than there were a few years ago (when the red yellow orange mix was about all you could get).

 

[Zeedman]

So how would you describe the flavor? Only eaten jalapeños, bananas, & bells. I grew regular once but never tried due to heat-chili’s are as hot as I’ve eaten.

When I was young, I used to love eating some of the thick, sweet orange peels. To me, "Trinidad Perfume" tastes very much like that, but with more crunch. Sometimes there is just a quick hint of heat... kind of like hearing thunder, and waiting for rain which never comes. Not that I'm complaining mind you, that "rain" would be pain.

I agree with @heirloomgal , the scent of the pepper is interesting. Who knows, habaneros might have a similar scent, in the micro-second before your nose bursts into flame.

 

[jbosmith]

I can confirm that a lot of c. chinense have the similar flavor but I think it's more concentrated in trinidad perfume. The scent is also way stronger. It can be overwhelming when you're standing over a pot with an immersion blender.

Similarly, a friend was using some that I grew for not-hot sauce a few years ago, got pregnant, and said it was the strongest reaction she had to any scent. She still can't stand it.

There's another hot pepper called Lemon Drop that also has really interesting smell and flavor. When we were making hot sauce we called them juicy fruit peppers. That one is hot though.

ETA: I believe Lemon Drop is a baccatum. They grow on low, sprawling plants.

 

[Zeedman]

I grew "Lemon Drop" once, about 20 years ago. Lots of pretty peppers, but way too hot for my taste. Honestly, I'm pretty much a pepper wimp myself; don't like anything hotter than a jalapeno. The few hotter peppers I grow (including one baccatum, "Aji Cristal") were for the benefit of all the pepper-heads in my previous job. Other than throwing a dried hot pepper into a jar of home-made pickles, the only one who eats a lot of hot peppers now is the son-in-law.

 

[jbosmith]

I went through a phase where I had a good sized field of C. annums and a 32x72' greenhouse of various habs and super hots. I did it to help the friend with the hot sauce business get started but it was a lot of fun. Now she buys something like 80k lbs of peppers a year which is by far the most of anyone in the state. Her walk in freezer is literally the size if my house. Needless to say she's outgrown me.

I mostly grow Hungarian Hot Wax for my own use. Not very exciting but I grew them once as a kid, it was a huge success, and it stuck with me. I did grow Sarit Gat, a yellow cayenne this year, and am pretty excited about that one. I have a few bags in the freezer that I'm planning to combine with carrots and Valencia tomatoes for what I hope will be a very pretty salsa.

I know i'm off topic but I can talk peppers all day. Here's some on-topic thoughts - Trinidad scorpion and a lot of the Reaper types that came later have a lot of that same Trinidad Perfume smell. Also, I looked back at my old notes and I actually grew more Trinidad Seasoning than Perfume. I think they're similar but some of my observations seem slightly off I was thinking of the wrong pepper.

 

[flowerbug]

i'm so sensitive to smells and tastes that while i do like to try new things and don't mind some heat i one-time tried some habanero based hot sauce and it tasted like rotten fruit and that was it for me for those. ever since i'm like, oh no, i don't want that taste again... the Lemon Drop ones sound pretty interesting but i'd hate to grow something that ends up tasting off kilter to me.

and, then, there's Mom who if she even sees a hot pepper of any kind she won't touch anything made with even a hint of hot pepper in it. i like things with just a little heat, barely there, but it is a way to keep some tolerance and to build it back up if you are planning a foray into a chili eating contest or something. i need a basic level of tolerance because of the Sriracha sauce and some New Mexican Hatch Green Chilis that come my way at times and also some good red pepper chilis that can get made by my SIL.

 

[heirloomgal]

I can confirm that a lot of c. chinense have the similar flavor but I think it's more concentrated in trinidad perfume. The scent is also way stronger. It can be overwhelming when you're standing over a pot with an immersion blender.

Similarly, a friend was using some that I grew for not-hot sauce a few years ago, got pregnant, and said it was the strongest reaction she had to any scent. She still can't stand it.

There's another hot pepper called Lemon Drop that also has really interesting smell and flavor. When we were making hot sauce we called them juicy fruit peppers. That one is hot though.

ETA: I believe Lemon Drop is a baccatum. They grow on low, sprawling plants.

I grow one called 'Equadorian Lemon' but I think it is really the same as 'Lemon Drop', at least they look the same in pictures. I really like it too. Hot though. I grow them sometimes for family and friends as decorative patio plants; with a full load of lemon yellow peppers dangling they are so pretty, just like flowers.

My favourite 'hot' is 'Red Lantern'. I'm not into eating anything so hot I have to make effort to get through it (or coat my tongue with sour cream after), so this one is right in my range of perfection. Raw I couldn't eat it, but sliced onto a pizza it's the most delicious one I've ever tried, more so than even regular bells on a pizza. Cooked, it mellows by about 75%, with a lively multi-layered flavour, it's not a dead heat at all. Some are just plain hot, with zero taste. If there was only one pepper I could grow, it's be that one.

 

[heirloomgal]

I went through a phase where I had a good sized field of C. annums and a 32x72' greenhouse of various habs and super hots. I did it to help the friend with the hot sauce business get started but it was a lot of fun. Now she buys something like 80k lbs of peppers a year which is by far the most of anyone in the state. Her walk in freezer is literally the size if my house. Needless to say she's outgrown me.

I mostly grow Hungarian Hot Wax for my own use. Not very exciting but I grew them once as a kid, it was a huge success, and it stuck with me. I did grow Sarit Gat, a yellow cayenne this year, and am pretty excited about that one. I have a few bags in the freezer that I'm planning to combine with carrots and Valencia tomatoes for what I hope will be a very pretty salsa.

I know i'm off topic but I can talk peppers all day. Here's some on-topic thoughts - Trinidad scorpion and a lot of the Reaper types that came later have a lot of that same Trinidad Perfume smell. Also, I looked back at my old notes and I actually grew more Trinidad Seasoning than Perfume. I think they're similar but some of my observations seem slightly off I was thinking of the wrong pepper.

'Bulgarian Carrot' ?

 

[valley ranch]

This is "Trinidad Perfume", a habanero-like pepper with no heat. Although I may snack on one while in the garden, I originally grew this as a curiosity. I have grown it twice since to save & offer seed, but I never had enough peppers mature before frost to cook/experiment with. Not the case this year, when the plants were loaded & nearly all ripened. So I unexpectedly find myself with a couple gallons of these peppers - any ideas on what to do with them?
View attachment 44694

If they taste good eat them, cook with them I love sweet peppers.