Try Turbo-1's Habanero Sauce - Hot Stuff!

[dlgoff]

My wife brought home some salsa that proudly claimed the "habanero" status on the label. It isn't as hot as our tomato-based jalapeno salsa. Consumer beware.

Dang turbo. I sure hope this summer is better. Having to resort to the store bought stuff must be hard.

 

[turbo]

Dang turbo. I sure hope this summer is better. Having to resort to the store bought stuff must be hard.

My brother gave my wife that salsa after he tried it and found it was still too hot for him. He has started having stomach trouble with very hot foods - at least I don't have to keep him supplied. I still have jars of green habanero relish, jalapeno relish and tomato-based salsas in the pantry, so I don't have to eat the store-bought stuff. Since I'm the only one eating the habanero relish, it will easily last through the next season.

Still, I hope for a good growing season this year. The last two have been too cool, cloudy and wet.

 

[rhody]

Grrrrrr...

I have to report sadly that for a second year, after acquiring a very good grow light, combined with a heat mat, the best soil, not over-watered, (even used a moisture meter) see http://www.ecoseeds.com/Pepper.growing.tips.html" , that after about 2 weeks my starter ghost pepper plants slowly faded and died. They had no aphids, no fungus. The only thing I can determine is that the air and soil temperature must be 80+ during the day and early evening. Our house is kept cool, 60's during the day so I am blaming that as the cause. Even with a heat mat and grow light, maybe the air temps really matter too.

Anyone trying to grow these things should be aware of this because the seeds are not cheap, and it takes 20 to 30 days just to get them to germinate. If anyone has had luck growing healthy ghost (bhut jolokia) pepper seedlings, please report back.

My next tactic is to construct a 2 foot by 3 foot container and put in a 40 watt bulb about 1/2 way up, cut a few strategic holes in the box and keep a light indirect breeze from a fan on it. I will put in a thermometer, and see if I can somehow manage to keep the temp between 80 - 85 degrees. First, I have to germinate more seeds, not an easy task in itself, which takes 20 to 30 days for them to sprout.

One neighbor who I gave a few seeds to try last year, got a couple small plants, less than 8 inches high, no fruit. So I know it's not just me.

Turbo, Astronuc, anyone following this thread (27 of you have posted here), any advice would be appreciated.

Rhody...

 

[lisab]

Turbo, Astronuc, anyone following this thread (27 of you have posted here), any advice would be appreciated.

Rhody...

My advice: Beg Turbo for peppers.

If it's any consolation, I bought starter peppers last year...nothing, not even a bloom. They died at the end of the summer, the same wimpy size as when I planted them.

 

[turbo]

Turbo, Astronuc, anyone following this thread (27 of you have posted here), any advice would be appreciated.

Do you have access to really sunny warm spaces? If so, you should start your chili peppers and tomatoes in peat pots and set the plants (pots, roots and all) into the ground. You'll need to water the new sets heavily to encourage the break-down of the peat pots. Peat and manure break down slowly, and help your plants get nutrients steadily and constantly. Go organic!

 

[rhody]

My advice: Beg Turbo for peppers.

If it's any consolation, I bought starter peppers last year...nothing, not even a bloom. They died at the end of the summer, the same wimpy size as when I planted them.

Good Advice lisab.

However, in this case I think there is something completely different and unique about these hot pepper plants. I am going to e-mail the guy who sold them to me and ask his advice. Maybe it is something entirely different than what I am thinking. He is the expert and grows them for a living, so he should know. I will report back if there is something I missed.

Rhody...

 

[rhody]

Do you have access to really sunny warm spaces? Go organic!

Hi Turbo, yes I have sunny, but not (warm) spaces, like I said in my post, we leave our house in the 60's while away at work during the day, so if I wait till the temp's do rise to reasonable levels indoors, mid late May, it will be too late to grow these little suckers. I am using all organic's as recommended by the link I posted as well. There is something I am missing, good luck to you if you try growing these things.

Rhody...

 

[rhody]

After contacting the seller of my ghost peppers I am beginning to believe I "geeked" them to death. The seller was sympathetic, is sending me two new plants (for free), and mentioned that he has never had customers have success using "grow lights", he didn't say anything about temperatures in the 60's during the day. I mentioned the heat mats and using purified (boiled water) and he replied he uses tap water and no mats. So instead of constructing a box with a 40 watt light inside, I am going to transplant them in some miracle grow orchid mix, then put them in a sunny south window as is.

I started some regular peppers and flowering plants, with success. Hopefully I will be able to get some hot peppers this season, and am planning to give a few seeds to friend's to see how they grow.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

rhody, the information that I got from an agricultural program at a university in New Mexico has convinced me that I can't grow ghost peppers in Maine. They had trouble getting those peppers to produce. If I have perfect conditions, I can grow flaming-hot habaneros, but even they need heat, lots of sun, and rather dry soil. The soil should also be organic (peat and manure release nitrogen very slowly) because chemical fertilizers release nitrogen too quickly, and can encourage foliage while discouraging flowering/fruiting.

 

[rhody]

they need heat, lots of sun, and rather dry soil. The soil should also be organic (peat and manure release nitrogen very slowly) because chemical fertilizers release nitrogen too quickly, and can encourage foliage while discouraging flowering/fruiting.

turbo,

Yeah that's what I noticed with the last ones, I have organic fertilizer, (maybe I used too much, too soon if that is possible), maybe I kept them too wet too. I am also told that if you don't hand pollinate them, you won't get fruit, (they say to use an artist's brush to do it). I have another friend who grows hot peppers (habenaro's), and he swears by using fish heads, I don't know if that will work or not. I gave him a few of my seeds to try.

Aphid and fungus are one thing to deal with, getting them to grow is another. Maybe that explains why you never see them in the markets around here. If the commercial growers can't grow them, then who can.

BTW, giving infinitesimal samples of my hot sauce to a number of people, I would say there is a "hidden demand" out there about 1 in 5 people can stand the hot stuff and say they would actually buy it, or use the peppers (if they could grow or buy them) which are two thirds as hot. I was amazed to say the least. I have sent a few people a link to this thread on where to buy the seeds and hot sauce.

Rhody...

 

[Evo]

rhody, the information that I got from an agricultural program at a university in New Mexico has convinced me that I can't grow ghost peppers in Maine. They had trouble getting those peppers to produce. If I have perfect conditions, I can grow flaming-hot habaneros, but even they need heat, lots of sun, and rather dry soil. The soil should also be organic (peat and manure release nitrogen very slowly) because chemical fertilizers release nitrogen too quickly, and can encourage foliage while discouraging flowering/fruiting.

turbo, I'd be glad to grow you some and overnight them to you. I've always loved a challenge.

 

[rhody]

I've always loved a challenge.

Evo,

If you succeed, (and I hope you do), promise to share your method with the rest of us.
Pleaseeeee...

Rhody...

 

[Evo]

Evo,

If you succeed, (and I hope you do), promise to share your method with the rest of us.
Pleaseeeee...

Rhody...

If I succeed, do you need some too? It's going to depend on the weather here.

Pepper Joe's sounds like a good source.

http://www.pepperjoe.com/cgi-bin/web_store/web_store.pl?page=seeds.html

Oh dear, don't look at their peter pepper.

 

[rhody]

If I succeed, do you need some too? It's going to depend on the weather here.

Evo,

Thanks for the offer, I will live or die by my own sword on this, not a macho thing or anything, just going to keep trying to find the right mix of things to get it right, good luck though, (I think you will need it unless you live in the deep south).

I just took a quick look at your link for seeds, compared with my supplier, mine (Ted the owner) seems to be more reasonable. http://green2995.stores.yahoo.net/bhjoseandpl.html"

Rhody...

 

[rhody]

OK, I have been able to successfully start regular peppers, and choleus plants.

They are doing just fine, so I know it's not me somehow sabatoging the plants.

The seller from Florida is having cold weather so her hasn't shipped the plants he promised yet. To date my ghost peppers (2nd batch) have not germinated, but I haven't given up hope.

I am going with Turbo's suggestion of fertilizing only with organic (mild acting) fertilizer's.

Just curious, Evo, did you order and start any ghost pepper seeds ?

If so any luck so far...

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

turbo, I'd be glad to grow you some and overnight them to you. I've always loved a challenge.

Thanks, but like Rhody, I'm going to try to find a way around the difficulties. I intend to see what kind of luck I have starting all my own tomatoes, chilies, and sweet peppers from seed in my mini-greenhouse this year. If all goes well, I will start a few ghost chilies next season, transfer them to large pots and leave the containers in the greenhouse to keep the plants as warm and dry as I can. Even with the roof vents (louvered windows) open, I doubt that I'll get any natural pollination in there, so it'll have to be done by hand. My major concern this year will be to get enough produce out of my garden spot to supply my wife and me, AND the neighbor who gave me his garden spot for my garlic. I just checked, and the mulch straw over the garlic is snow-free. We are forecast to get warm rainy weather this weekend, so both of us are a bit concerned that our garlic might sprout too soon and then get hit with very cold weather. Despite the current warm spell, there is still plenty of Maine winter just waiting to happen. His garlic patch is even bigger than mine and it is in a sunnier spot, so the threat of early emergence is greater.

Once things dry up enough, I'm going to help my neighbor build the new addition on his house (adding a second big family-room and bedrooms for his grand-kids). He'll be too busy to garden this year, which is why I'm going to try to keep them in fresh produce this summer.

It all worked out very well. My garden was all torn up by heavy equipment while the new septic drain-field was installed, so he gave me his garden spot to plant my garlic in. I used the open access to my own garden spot to amend the soil, till it, and expand the garden a bit, so I should be able to keep his family well-supplied with produce if the weather cooperates.

 

[Evo]

Just curious, Evo, did you order and start any ghost pepper seeds ?

Can't place peppers out until May. I may order the seedlings if I can find anyone that will eat them.

Dave's has a ghost pepper hot sauce.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PQTYN2/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[rhody]

Can't place peppers out until May. I may order the seedlings if I can find anyone that will eat them.

Dave's has a ghost pepper hot sauce.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PQTYN2/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Evo,

One thing to keep in mind, ghost peppers take 20 - 30 days to germinate, then another 120 - 160 days to produce fruit so keep that in the back of your mind. That's why I try to start mine early.

Here is some info I found on when to start them based on region:

REGIONAL GROWING RECOMMENDATIONS

Region Start in Green House To Garden Recommendation

Hawaii Dec. 1- April 30 Dec. 15- June 15 Full sun, avg water, protected from wind, no salt air

Northeast April 20 June 1 Full sun, avg. water

Mid-Atlantic March 1-April 15 April 15-June 1 Full sun, avg. water

Southeast/Gulf Coast March 1 April 15-30 Full sun, avg. water, require mulching in early summer

Upper Midwest April 1 May 20 Full sun, avg. water. Use floating row covers to prevent crossing

Southwest n/a March 15-May 5 Full/partial sun, avg. water

Central West Coast Feb 1 April 1 Full sun, avg. water

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

Can't place peppers out until May. I may order the seedlings if I can find anyone that will eat them.

Dave's has a ghost pepper hot sauce.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001PQTYN2/?tag=pfamazon01-20

According to the first Amazon review, that sauce contains hot pepper extract (capsaicin) so I'm not too impressed by Dave's entry into the market. I can make sauces hotter than most mortals can stand using only my Savina/Carribean habaneros, as long as the weather cooperates and I get a decent crop. I still have a lot of green habanero chili relish jarred up, but I haven't gotten a decent crop of ripe habaneros for a couple of years due to the cold, wet summers. (Fingers crossed!) I need to make a big batch of the red relish if I can manage to get enough mature, ripe chilies.

 

[turbo]

BTW, I highly recommend Hungarian Wax chilies! They produce prolifically, even in sub-standard conditions that stunt other chilies, and they are quite large and lend themselves to stuffing with meats, sauces, cheeses. They are milder than jalapeno chilies, so that even people who don't like hot stuff will at least try the stuffed peppers. They are also wonderful in stir-fries. I may plant a late planting of snow-peas, so that we've got pods coming in at about the same time as the Hungarians are ripening. Saute the pods and sliced chilies in peanut oil with onions, garlic, some fresh ground ginger, and meat of your choice and serve over a bed of steamed Basmati rice. Heaven!

 

[Evo]

According to the first Amazon review, that sauce contains hot pepper extract (capsaicin) so I'm not too impressed by Dave's entry into the market. I can make sauces hotter than most mortals can stand using only my Savina/Carribean habaneros, as long as the weather cooperates and I get a decent crop. I still have a lot of green habanero chili relish jarred up, but I haven't gotten a decent crop of ripe habaneros for a couple of years due to the cold, wet summers. (Fingers crossed!) I need to make a big batch of the red relish if I can manage to get enough mature, ripe chilies.

Well, then you want this one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AXQA3S/?tag=pfamazon01-20

 

[turbo]

Well, then you want this one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AXQA3S/?tag=pfamazon01-20

17 million scoville units? Ghost peppers range from 800K to a little over a million SU. So once again, Dave has resorted to adding pure capsaisin to boost the heat. I don't want pure pain. I want flavor. When I make habanero relish, I keep the recipe very simple, and balance the sweetness of molasses with the sourness of cider vinegar, so that the flavor of the chilies comes through. I love my habanero relish on hot dogs with Farmers hot beer mustard.

My wife prefers a milder blend (made with Hungarian wax, jalapeno, and habanero chilies and seasoned with dill) - still very flavorful. If you can't taste the chilies for the heat, what's the point? Just buy some pepper spray and squirt that on your food. ;-)

I've tasted some of Dave's concoctions, and I'm pretty sure I could steal most of his customers if I went commercial. He could keep the thrill-seekers. I'd take all the people who want nice balanced flavors and a range of (natural) heat. I'm not at the point where I want to build and tend a huge greenhouse and canning/bottling plant, so he's safe. Still, it's not all about the impressive SU numbers, though that's where he seems to be making his mark.

http://ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm

 

[rhody]

Well, then you want this one.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000AXQA3S/?tag=pfamazon01-20

Evo, Turbo,

According to the chart I posted in post #324, here are the stats for Dave's Insanity, followed by the stuff I bought, followed by the hottest sauce.

500,000 - 750,000 Dave's Insanity Private Reserve, from Dave's Gourmet (estimated)

The stuff I bought:

1,500,000 Da' Bomb The Final Answer, from Original Juan Specialty Food

Bwahhhhh... I can only imagine what this must cost and shudder to think of even trying to taste it, my stuff leaves you hot for 10 - 15 minutes, and that is in tiny tiny doses.

16,000,000 Blair's 16 Million Reserve, from Gardner Resources, Inc.

Rhody...

 

[Astronuc]

Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_india_chili_grenades

. . . .
After conducting tests, the military has decided to use the thumb-sized "bhut jolokia," or "ghost chili," to make tear gas-like hand grenades to immobilize suspects, defense officials said Tuesday.

The bhut jolokia was accepted by Guinness World Records in 2007 as the world's spiciest chili. It is grown and eaten in India's northeast for its taste, as a cure for stomach troubles and a way to fight the crippling summer heat.

It has more than 1,000,000 Scoville units, the scientific measurement of a chili's spiciness. Classic Tabasco sauce ranges from 2,500 to 5,000 Scoville units, while jalapeno peppers measure anywhere from 2,500 to 8,000.
. . . .

Just waiting for someone to classify "capsaicin" as a 'controlled substance'.

We'll get busted for trafficking hot sauces and growing hot peppers.

 

[turbo]

Last Christmas, I gave my neighbor an assortment of pickles, salsas, and chili relishes that I had made. He saved them until last Saturday, and laid them out for the guests at his grand-daughter's 5th birthday party. Parents of all the kids were invited, and Al cooked 'WAY too much BBQ, smoked meats, grilled sausages, etc. He placed very specific warnings on my hot sauces to prevent accidents, and they went over very well. Unless he knew that a guest had a high tolerance for heat, he told them to make up their sausage subs, hot dogs, etc, and put my sauces on the side to add to the sandwiches little-by-little until they knew just what kind of heat they were going to get into.

 

[turbo]

Just waiting for someone to classify "capsaicin" as a 'controlled substance'.

We'll get busted for trafficking hot sauces and growing hot peppers.

I really hope my garden does well enough this year to qualify my pepper as "controlled substances". The habaneros were a disappointment last year.

 

[rhody]

Indian military to weaponize world's hottest chili
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_india_chili_grenades


Just waiting for someone to classify "capsaicin" as a 'controlled substance'.

We'll get busted for trafficking hot sauces and growing hot peppers.

Astronuc,

It's funny you posted this, because one of my friend's sent me the same link today, I got a chuckle and told him a PF member beat him to it.

After a third attempt at starting, or should I say trying to get these ghost pepper seeds started, here is what I know for sure so far.

1. The seeds germinate faster and at a higher percentage when soaked in water for a couple of days first.​

2. Do not use miracle grow Orchid potting mix to start seeds, the soil dries too fast, once dried the seeds will not germinate.​

3. Use a heat mat and an enclosed container with a clear lid and put the plastic seed starter's filled with regular (holds moisture) potting soil, I use miracle grow.​

4. Every day check the soil in the container, spray a little water on the bottom to keep moisture up and a couple sprays on top of each plastic starter cup (keep slightly damp at all times, very important).​

5. Once the plant stalks pop-up, take the top off the plastic box, and off the heat mat at night, turn the grow light off too.​

6. Be patient, they take twenty to thirty days to germinate.​

7. Three of my six seeds started, so I am observing #5 right now, and am hoping the die off fungus does not get them, or God forbid the aphids.​

8. I am going to start a second wave now, just in case they succumb to #7 above.​

9. I have seen videos of people picking these hot peppers in their homes and attempting to eat them, so I know they can be grown fully indoors.​

P.S.

The more people I speak to about these peppers the more I believe that there is a real market for these things, about 1 in 5 say they would buy them if they could get them, and that is after sampling the hot sauce, Da Bomb, the final answer which is 33% hotter than the peppers themselves. I was a bit surprised to say the least.

Rhody...

 

[turbo]

Interesting, Rhody. Maybe after I get my mini-greenhouse (new this year) running, I'll give exotics like this a try. For this season, I'll be ecstatic if I can get a good crop of habaneros. Those bad-boys can be weaponized into some killer sauces with little effort. I can process them with the windows closed, but visitors have had troubles with tearing and coughing and general distress. I'll nibble on them to see how the chilies are coming along. Nobody else has bothered (dared?) to try them.

 

[rhody]

A friend just sent this: http://www.ushotstuff.com/Heat.Scale.htm"

Scroll down and watch the 8 minute video:

I learned something new watching it, brief notes below:

They make/sell Chili candy, how sick is that.

Hot chili's make the body release endorphins, resulting in a chili "high".

Checkout John (near the end of the video) with his evil contacts handing out samples of DefCon Zero (2 million scoville units, a bit hotter than Da Bomb the final answer that I have, the key to the hotness is the sauce is concentrated into an "extract".

Enjoy...

Rhody...

P.S. baby plants are doing well, growing slowly in shady sunlight and moderately dry soil, keeping the seedlings under artificial light and heat mat guarantees their early demise, go figure, keep that in mind when starting your own (FYI Turbo, Evo).

 

[turbo]

Thanks for the link, Rhody. I figured that most of the hottest contenders were made from extracts. My chili relishes are made from whole natural peppers, and are cooked down with garlic, vinegar, spices, etc. They end up being very snarly, anyway, but they preserve the natural flavors of the chilies that could be eliminated by concentrating the cap with heat and distillation.