Hot and "Not Hot" Peppers

Yesterday my husband went to the garden and came home with a beautiful bounty of vegetables.  There were three kinds of squash, hot peppers, mild peppers, lettuce, cucumbers and even some green beans. We were absolutely thrilled.

The recent rains have made all the difference in the world and I am thankful that so far, the garden is doing well.

We are also a family that loves peppers. Some of us love really hot peppers and others love really mild peppers. So far we have had a true abundance of peppers and while I am extremely happy to have all of them. Some of our hot peppers are turning out to be mild. That is a little frustrating to both the people who love mild and hot peppers, for obvious reasons.

These hot peppers are not mild because they are cross pollinating as some people think. These peppers are growing very rapidly and the hot peppers are not having time to mature before we pick them. That is why some of the hot peppers are not hot. Actually this happens every year about this time. If we were more patient, the hot peppers would be hot. Later in the season, all the hot peppers will be steamy but right now we don't really know how hot each "hot" pepper will be.

One way I can tell if the pepper will be hot is by the smell. I can't tell you what "hot" smells like, but I can usually tell the difference by sniffing. I guess whatever makes the pepper hot, maybe the capsaisin, has a distinct odor to me. It's not unpleasant, it just smells hot to me.

Maybe you can tell that I love mild peppers and my husband loves the hot ones. Actually he loves both the hot and mild. Last night's hot peppers were not hot at all. I love the taste of hot peppers when they are mild. It's the burning sensation in my mouth I am opposed to.

By the middle of June, the hot peppers will be hot and I will begin to can them for the winter. I will also make some salsa, if I have plenty of tomatoes.

Now, I am just enjoying all the "not hot" hot peppers. We ate not hot jalapenos in our salad last night along with our early tomatoes, fresh garden cucumbers and some almost ripe cherry tomatoes. Yum.

Later I will not be able to eat the hot peppers but the mild ones (bananas, bells and Italian roasting peppers) will be great in salads or to eat along with a sandwich. I love to eat them like potato chips. Much better for you and they pack quite a crunch.