Varieties of Chillies and Liquid Fire

This post "Varieties of Chillies" was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog Tyras Trädgård/ Tyra's Garden

Varieties of Chillies - Capsicum chinense

It’s time to plan what varieties of chillies to sow for growing season 2012. First out on my list what to sow are some really hot stuff - Three Habaneros and a (in taste sweeter) cousin from Trinidad a ‘Scotch Bonnet’. All these are from one of the five Capsicum cultivars - Capsicum chinense. Misleading name chinense “from China” when it is a matter of fact that they all (Capsica) originates from the New World.

 Unripe the Habaneros as well as the Scotch Bonnet are all green but as they mature they change colours. Common colours are yellow, orange and red. But I also grow a brown. Typically a ripe habanero is about 2–6 centimeters (0.8–2.4 in) long. I grow most of my chillies in the greenhouse but still you seldom get bigger than 5 cm. I guess they wish for a more humid and hot heather like the climate of the Caribbean or Mexico.  

Habanero chili peppers are rated 100,000–350,000 on the Scoville scale and the Scotch Bonnet is about the same, in other words VERY HOT!

1. Red Hot 'Scotch Bonnet'

2, Yellow 'Habanero'

3. Orange 'Congo', it turns more red later on.

4. Chocolate coloured Habanero

Tyra's Liquid Fire - Chili sauce

- Perfect to give your Bloody Mary an extra killer taste.

 Or do as I do - spice up your morning tomato juice! 

Take about a dozen of deseeded and chopped ‘Habanero’ or ‘Scotch Bonnet’ chili peppers from your garden and then you need:

1/2 cup (1.2 dl ) yellow mustard seeds

1/2 cup (1.2 dl ) molasses

1/2 cup (120g) light brown sugar

1 cup white vinegar

2 tablespoons salt

2 tablespoons paprika

1 tablespoon  of grated horseradish

1 tablespoon ground black pepper, cumin, coriander

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated ginger or ground ginger

 1 regular can of sliced peaches or apricots in heavy syrup*

* You can use dried fruit and add some extra light brown sugar

to give the sauce the sweetness you desire. (Soak fruit before use)

Put all ingredients above into a mixer - mix until smooth. Keep refrigerated.

 The sauce taste best if you let it mature.  

Hold on to your hat! This is HOT STUFF.

Warning!

 Handle with care

 - Do use gloves, knife and fork and glasses when handling these extremely hot darlings.

Two Sweet Bell Peppers

This post 'Two Sweet Bell Peppers' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog The Greenhouse...

September is the harvest month for all my chilies, the hot, as well as all the sweet bell peppers. These two head attractions I have in today’s post are a bit different from all the other peppers I have. One is an heirloom from Hungary and that is the ‘Ferenc Tender’ and the other is a rather new sort, it is just forty+something, introduced by the University of New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station in 1965, it is called Sweet Chocolate. (aka Choco)

What differs them from the rest of my peppers in my potager is the colouring. ‘Ferenc Tender’ is pale yellow at first and then it turns red when it matures and that is rather unusual, not that it gets red but the pale yellow. The ‘Sweet Chocolate’ has, as the name indicates, a chocolaty brown skin. Inside this bell the flesh is almost pinkish, brick-red.  

Side-dishes with mixed chilies -sweet and hot

We had a small “Bell-Pepper-Tasting” last weekend and that was fun. Four people, four peppers with four different colours. The peppers were Shepards Rams Horn, Sweet Chocolate, Ferenc Tender and Chervena Chushka. We all preferred Chervena Chushka, it was the sweetest of them all!  It was a bit unfair towards the other contestants because they were not really mature yet.    

Happy Gardening Folks! / TYRA

New Post in Tyras Trädgård/Tyra's Garden - September in my Potager

Rocoto Chili Pepper - The Flower

This post 'Rocoto Chili Pepper - The Flower' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe at the blog The Greenhouse

I grow a lot of chilies and this flower of the Rocoto pepper is one of prettiest chili flower that I know of. Therefor I want to show you it now when it is "In floribus", isn't pretty? Most of the chili flowers are plain white but this one has this beautiful deep purple colour.

This is how the fruit of the Rocoto looks like later on...but I have to wait until September or so before I can harvest the lovely Rocoto pepper. I use the Rocoto to make Red Hot Chili Sauce with.

You find more about my Rocoto and recipe for the sauce here in the "Kitchen Garden"  KÖKSTRÄDGÅRDEN

Capsicum pubescens 'Rocoto Manzano'

June in my Potager Garden

This post 'June in my Potager Garden' was originally uploaded by Tyra in the blog The Greenhouse



June in my Potager Garden

At this time of the year the potager is in full bloom. All the different colourful Pansies, Poppies and Allium to mention a few. The harvest has started too, mostly green leaves, herbs and radishes. But very soon I can dig up the first potatoes and pick strawberries and cherries, looking forward to that.

I made a pleasant discovery among the plants in my potager and that is that the unripe seed-capules of the garden cress are delicious and they are pretty too. When you bite into the seed its soft and moist inside and a very peppery strong in the taste. I read somewhere what garden cress is also called 'poor mans pepper' and now I understand why.

Mini carrots...no I've just thinned out the carrots.

But they actually ended up in a wok later that day.

 

Potager Pie

A pie with the first greens from the garden, mostly a bunch of weeds actually.  Nettles, gound-elder Aegopodium podagraria, Sweet Cicely Myrrhis odorata and some young shoots from hops Humulus lupulus

In the greenhouse thrives the tomatoes and the peppers but also my Geraniums. I just love this reliable and durable flower, that blooms so grand year after year. No fuss at all!

 

In a few days we celebrate Midsummer here in Scandenavia and I wish you all a Happy Holiday

Glad midsommar!

Don't be a stranger my friend - Do write me a line or two.

TYRA



Dawn on the Veranda

This post 'Dawn on the Veranda' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallse´nius Lindhe in the blog

 The Greenhouse...in Tyra's Garden  + ABC  Wednesday Challenge

Dawn

This morning I woke up extremely early and I felt like I already had enough of sleep, I didn’t want to stay in bed any longer. I literally jump out of bed and went downstairs to the kitchen and made myself a nice cup of coffee a then I went outside to the greenhouse to enjoy the dawn. It was very cold and still dark outhere and I lit some candles to lighten and warm up the greenhouse a bit. Well back into the house I went to the veranda I took some picture that I now would like to share with you. I just love the morning light, the morning air and the quiet and solitude one can be so delighted by during these early hours of the morning.



 My 'guardian garden angel' hanging above the seedlings

Aubergine and Basil seedlings

Against the light one can see the pretty 'hairy' stem on a tomato plant. 

Later today I'm gonna sow some greens... heirlooms of course, mostely 'Asian Greens'

Mustard,- Southern Giant Curled
Baker Creeks Arugula
Garden Cress
Chicory - Grumolo Rossa di Verona
Chinese Pak Choy from Baker Creeks Seeds
Jiu Tou Niao Mustard
and a baby Bok Choy Ching Chang

also a flavourful Chef's favourite (it says on the packet) Wrinkled Crinkled Cress

ABC Wednesday Challenge K
is for Kitchen Garden or Köksträdgården in Swedish
Welcome in!

Nasturtium - Indian Cress

This post 'Nasturtium - Indian Cress' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog

 The Greenhouse in Tyra'sGarden

Tropaeolum majus

Edible flowers,

 edible leaves...

  even the fresh seeds are edible!

 This is a perfect little flower for the 'Jardin Potager'. It is a great companion plant, goes well together with beans, broccoli, cabbage, chinese cabbage, collard and fruit trees. It attracts predatory insect wherefore it is a great trap crop. With three big pros the Nasturtiums are a must in my kitchen garden.

1. Edible

2. Pretty colourful flowers

3. Traps the bad guys

The photos for this collage are from the internet, Wikipedia Grand Capucine, Fröer.nu and Doradi's garden pages

Tomatoes for the Growing Season 2011

This post 'Tomatoes for the Growing Season 2011' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog The Greenhouse...

Finally!

The starting signal has gone and I’m off! Started with the tomato, chilli pepper, aubergine and artichoke seeds. They do take such a long time and I use to start about now each year.

Many of the tomato varieties I have sown before, but I have a few new ones. Summer Cider – an orange beef tomato, a Brandywine type of tomato. I got the seeds from a friend, thank you Yvonne I’m really looking forward to see how it turn out. Ailsa Craig*Lycopersicon esculentum is another for me new cultivar, a medium sized, juicy and flavoursome, early ripening, heavy crop tomato with impressive vigour. This is what it says on the seed sachet. Red Alert another 'new' tomato – a bush tomato with heavy crop, early ripening and delicious taste. Seeds from Thomson & Morgan. Most of my seeds are heirlooms and if it is possible I always have Eco seeds as my first choice. GMO is a big NONO!

 

Here are four of my favourites.

All Heirlooms

 'Czech's excellent yellow', 'Henderson's Ponderosa', 'Green Zebra' and last 'Plum lemon'

However the best last season was 'Black Cherry' and 'Stupice'. Black Cherry won in the 'best taste' category and Stupice for best yield. 

*Ailsa Craig named after the island in (Scotland) or the town Aisla Craig in Ontario, Canada 

What do you think? - I bet it is the rock.

 

All I'm saying, is give PEAS a chance...

This post 'All I'm saying, is give PEAS a chance...' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog The greenhouse in Tyras Garden.

Give Peas a Chance

This is the pea seeds for my potager for the growing season 2011. This year I get my heirloom pea seeds from Seed Savers Exchange in US

 and from some local seed suppliers Lord Nelson, Weibulls and Runåbergs fröer.

1. ‘Blue Podded Shelling Pea’ Pisum sativum a.k.a Blauwschokkers, Purple pods and beautiful pink/purple flowers.
2. 'Carouby de Mausanne’ Pisum sativum
3. ‘Gigante Svizzero Pisum sativum a tall growing pea, you can absolutely eat the whole pods.
4. ‘Maiperle' Pisum sativum, this as an old delicatessen in my family. We enjoy eating the whole pods like this. Boil them very soft and dip them into some melted butter (in an eggcup) and put them into you mouth and then pull out the end tip which is not eaten.
5. ‘Green Arrow Pea’, Pisum sativum  an English variety, medium-size vines 24-28”, 60-70cm tall. The peas are small dark green peas. Very heavy, reliable yield.
6. ‘Noorman’ Pisum sativum. 'Noorman' provides a large amount of sweet and early peas. Easy-to-pick variety that gives high yield of small cultivated area. The pods are eaten whole, fresh or lightly cooked. Thrives in rich in organic and well drained soil. ‘Noorman’ is a 100 cm tall plant that needs to be supported.

Nutrition value

-Peas are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, B vitamins and lutein. Dry weight is about one-quarter protein and one-quarter sugar. [14] Pea seed peptide fractions have less ability to scavenge free radicals than glutathione, but greater ability to chelate metals and inhibit linoleic acid oxidation. wikipedia

This is how I grow my PEAS

I soak the dry seeds overnight before sowing, The peas are not very fussy with the soil as long as it isn’t too much clay or sand in it, if so add some good compost or topsoil. But as everything else in my potager it thrives in rich organic well drained soil. I pick a sunny but not a hot spot for my peas. They like to grow in rather cool place. I plant my peas about 3 cm deep and 6" (15 cm) apart.

Thank you for stopping by - Don't be a stranger! Do write somthing.

Chilies - Capsicum for the growing season 2011

This post 'Chilies - Capsicum for the growing season 2011' was originally uploaded by Tyra Hallsénius Lindhe in the blog The greenhouse...

Some like it HOT...I certainly do, this is my hot stuff for this summer.

Chilies and peppers

 for the growing season 2011

I have got  a question about When do I start with my chili seeds?

Well...the answer to this question will depend upon whether I plan to grow my plants indoors or outside. I generally grow my chilies indoors using artificial lighting and then when the sun is getting stronger and the greenhouse is warm I transfer them all out into the greenhouse. When using artificial light I can start seeds when I like. But usually I start on Valentine’s Day. In December and January I dream and plan of all my hot stuff and order seeds and in February it is time to sow. It is a bit early but chilies do take time to mature, most varieties takes more than 6 months to grow fully and set fruit. I harvest chilies well into the month of October or perhaps I should more accurate say until the frost gets them. 

Now to my list of Chilies:

Rocotillo

Very compact growing Capsicum chinense variety with strongly wrinkeled pods that have a good aromatic taste while heat is only low to medium

Rocoto (PERU)

Other names for this chili is Locoto, Manzano, Canario (yellow variety), and the Caballo Peron.

This Rocoto is an intresting dark red almost purple coloured chili, it is a Capsicum pubescens from Peru. CAP 217, the flower of the Rocoto is purple.

Rocoto (COSTA RICA)

Costa Rica Red very productive Capsicum pubescens variety from Costa Rica. Medium large, very hot

Guadalupe Black

This is extremely hot, dark brown coloured Scotch Bonnet from Guadalupe. Capsicum chinense.

Shepard’s Ramshorn

Very sweet and lovely Italian pepper, Bullshorn-variety. Capsicum annuum.

Serrano

Classical variety from Mexiko, not very hot let’s say it has medium heat. The plant itself is very rubustplants sind very robust and can get quite big. The Serrano plant often gives a high yield, Capsicum annuum.

Sweet Chocolate

This is really sweet, dark brown on the outside and reddish inside, very pretty. This is a Capsicum annuum and it has no heat.

Santaka

This is an Asian Capsicum annuum variety with the chilies growing upright. The Santaka is a red hot chili pepper.

Congo

Chili Heat Level 10+. In Trinidad, Habanero chilies are called "Congo chili," and this one is an extra-large red Habanero type. At 2 inches long and wide, its peppers are significantly bigger and more ribbed than the typical red Habanero. They are also intensely hot and extremely productive. (Capsicum Chinense) Congo is a red and hot pepper from Trinidad, It is a Habanero type variety from the Caribbean Islands. Very good flavour.

Rocoto Turbo

Capsicum pubescens variety from Azuay, Ecuador. The size of this Rocoto is mediumlarge, very hot and it has black seeds and thick meaty yellow pods , the Turbo is very high yield chili.

Scotch Bonnet

Trinidad, you can get very high yields from this superhot, beautiful dark red coloured chili. Great aroma, The Scotch Bonnet is a Capsicum chinense

Jamaican Hot Chocolate

This is a bit bigger than ordinary Habaneros, brown in colour and very hot, this is a Capsicum chinense. The flower is pale creamy white.

Pepper Ancho Gigante

I love this chili! It has an almost black fruit, the Mexicans calls it Poblano when it is green and Ancho when it turns red and dry. It is not too hot so Poblano is suitable for stuffing. 90 days from transplanting.

Heat rating: 2

Pepper Sheepnose Pimento

An Ohio heirloom 3inches deep and 4inches in diameter which will keep well in a fridge for 3/4 weeks. Dwarf 24inches plant and very thick flesh. Highly recommended. 70-80 days from transplanting.

Heat rating: 0

Pepper Bullnose Red

The original Bell Pepper grown by Thomas Jefferson and dating back to the 1800s. Good for cooking and delicious when eaten raw in green salads. Heat rating: 0. I have my suspicion that Sheepnose and Bullnose are the same. I have grown the Sheepnose twice before so I know how it grows, looks and taste, I guess I will find out later if they really are the same. 

Chervena Chushka "The Bulgarian Beauty"

This is one of my favourite sweet chili pepper, it is a Bulgarian heirloom. Up to 6 inches long beautifully red chili perfect for roasting or just as a snack. 85 days from transplanting. Heat rating: 0

Habanero

This Habanero is from Burkina Faso, hot as hell :-)

 Caribbean favourite, reputedly 30 times hotter than the Jalapeño chilies. This Habanero has a lantern-like fruit. It has green thin flesh and ripens into deep red. 90-95 days from transplanting. Capsicum chinence. Heat rating: 5

Royal Black

What a Beauty!

Photo from Bjarnes fro

One of the darkest chilies, the fruits are almost black more red when they are mature. A spicy ‘Peking type’ Capsicum annuum.

Hot Portugal Pepper

This chili pepper has been around since 1935. Sturdy upright plants with heavy yields of smooth glossy scarlet red fruit of 6 inches or longer. Hot as Hell! This Portuguese is ready in about 70 sunny days from transplanting. Heat rating: 5

Long Cayenne “Joe’s”

A great heirloom from the Sestito Family of Calabria, Italy. Really long chili pepper about 8-12inches, thin fleshed and sharply tapering. It takes 60 days from transplanting to get ready, sixty sunny day that is. Heat rating: 3

Joe’s Round Hot Chili

Italian Heirloom from Sestina family of Calabria. This chili is round and small like a cherry. Heat rating: 3

Miniature Chocolate Bell

I call it "Mr Mexico" Short stocky plants with 2 inches fruit. This pretty chili is excellent in salads or cored and stuffed. Before the turn of the century they were stuffed with grated cabbage and then pickled. All fruit start off green before turning into a red-chocolaty colour. It takes about 3 months…90 days from transplanting . Heat rating: 0

Chili Pepper ‘Bangkok market’

A chili I found in Thailand, beautiful, ornamental and culinary chili pepper with 2 1/2inches long finger shaped fruit. 85 sunny days from transplanting and then it is ready.

~ ~ ~

A few words about

Species of chili peppers (Domesticated):

Capsicum annuum,

 which includes many common varieties such as Bell peppers, Cayenne, Jalapeños, Serrano, Poblano (Ancho), Hungarian Wax and the Chiltepin (Mother of  all Chilies). Poblano is a chili I always grow, it is my numero uno!

Annuum meaning 'annual' is actually an incorrect designation given that Chiles are perennials under suitable growing conditions.

Capsicum frutescens

 which includes the Chiles de Árbol, Malagueta, Tabasco (One of the most widely grown varieties in the world) and the Asian Thai chili peppers ( The original name is "Prik Kee Noo").

Capsicum chinense

 which includes the hottest peppers such as the Naga, Habanero, Datil and Scotch Bonnet.

Capsicum pubescens

 which includes Rocoto chili peppers from South America. Rocoto chili is a favourite of mine I just love the pretty colou and the hot, thin 'flesh'.

Capsicum baccatum

 which includes the South American Aji peppers

The small pictures above are from Semillas and PoD. This year I bought most of my seeds from Semillas.de.

 I also got seeds from Plants of Distiction. and Rare Seeds (Hierloom) Baker Creek

Read more about chilies here at the very interesting site

 The Chiliman

 Be careful you will enter a very hot world!



You might like this one too, I find it very interesting! SGT Pepper CHILLI CO.