Some Like it Hot, A Love Affair with Hot Peppers

I have had a life long love affair with spicy food. Not just spicy, but but the kind of spicy that could peel paint. I have to have an impartial taste tester (read Still Waters my husband) to verify that what I prepared for a dinner party isn't going to set someone on fire... Since what I think is mild, would be agony to those who are uninitiated.

For many years, about the only "hot" pepper you could find in the grocery store were very sad, slightly shriveled jalapeno peppers. So I had to grow my own peppers to get the burn I wanted in my spicy dishes. Although it has been too long ago to remember, my passion for fiery peppers may be the reason that I began to garden in the first place... But in 2019 it is possible to find a variety of hot peppers in higher end grocery stores and there are a number of ethnic markets who cater to cultures where spicy food is a way of life, so don't despair if you can't grow your own peppers to meet your needs. If to look around you will probably find a local source of fresh hot peppers!

In my garden I have two 3 ft. by 25 ft. beds of peppers. One bed is filled with a variety of sweet bell peppers in an array of beautiful colors ranging from yellow to deep purple, along with some banana peppers, paprika peppers and pepperoncini. The other bed is filled with  "Hurts So Good Peppers" that I cautiously pick while wearing nitrile gloves. In this bed I have a spectrum of hot peppers, jalapenos, serrano, Thai bird chiles, cayenne, habanero, and ghost peppers. Next year I will add Carolina Reapers to the line up, since I waited too late to order and I couldn't get my hands on seed this past spring.

I think this Ghost Pepper just looks spicy...

So how do I use all these hot peppers? Well, there are many ways to prepare these bad boys for use in cooking. Fresh peppers don't have a long shelf life, so I chop and freeze them for a just picked taste to add to raw salsas and other dishes where fresh is best. I make a cooked Habanero Mango Salsa when mangoes are in season and the India market has a good price on them. This salsa is good for knocking the chill off when the weather goes cold. It is delicious with chips, but also adds delightful personality to a humble bowl of black beans and rice.

I have to make this salsa in bulk. It is a household favorite
and we burn through a lot of it

Some of the peppers lend themselves well to drying, but to keep my dehydrator from infusing pepper oils on my dried apples and other dehydrated foods, I never put hot peppers in my dehydrator: instead I use my Stack!t , if the Stack!t is full of drying herbs, I lay them out on screens in the shade to air dry when weather is fine. I often string cayenne peppers on threads with a needle on one end, that hangs in the kitchen where I can add them to the string as I bring them in from the garden day by day.

I keep a thread and tapestry needle hanging in the kitchen
to string on excess cayenne peppers to dry.

I waited too long to order my Carolina Reaper seeds this year,
but not to worry, my son generously shared some of his stash of his with me!

 I smoke many of the peppers and freeze them on trays then put them in doubled freezer bags. These can be taken out one at a time to use in cooking. I also combine these with other peppers that have spent 3 months fermenting, to make a "curl your hair" hot sauce. This sauce is sublime with high notes of orange peel and the deep rich flavors of hickory, mesquite  and cacao. I also ferment the Thai bird chiles whole to use in Thai food or to add some heat to my raw, fermented, mixed vegetable Chow Chow.

I smoke habanero peppers and freeze them on a tray
to keep them separate, then package in small freezer bags.

Some peppers have a great taste, but can over power the flavor of a dish with their heat. To have the greatest control over their contribution to a dish, I tincture these peppers in grain alcohol for a month or so. When they have infused their essence into the alcohol, I strain and bottle the tincture. I wear a mask, safety goggles and heavy chemical grade rubber gloves for this process, since even vapors can burn soft tissues and you definitely don't want to accidentally get any on your skin! I bottle this tincture in amber bottle (recycled beer bottle work great!) and cap it with a crimp style bottle capper. This tincture will last forever. For use in the kitchen, I have a 2 oz. amber dropper bottle that I keep with my spices so that I can add a drop or 2 to a pot of chili, Indian food or other dish that calls for some real heat and authentic ethnic flavor.

I tincture Habanero, Ghost and Carolina Reaper Peppers in
190 proof grain alcohol to  use drop by drop in cooking.

Extreme care should be used when decanting this tincture.
 It could injure eyes and soft tissue, and you would experience
 an uncomfortable burning sensation for hours if you get it on the skin.
 Use safety glasses, heavy gloves and a face mask when
pouring the tincture off into bottles. But don't let that put you off...
the results are worth the caution you need to take!

The use of hot peppers has benefits beyond taste and an endorphen induced sense of well being, they can be used medicinally as well. The capsaicin, a constituent of all hot peppers, has many medicinal purposes. Most commonly, the cayenne pepper is used for skin applications, since it is less likely to be irritating to the skin. Cayenne capsaicin is used topically to treat Psoriasis and to reduce the pain of are muscles, R. arthritis, O.arthritis and Fibromyalgia. Capsaicin can reduce the incidence of cluster headaches, and help ease the pain during an episode. Scientific studies show undeniable evidence that capsaicin is effective in the treatment of cancerous tumors and aids in the apoptosis of cancerous cells, which would prevent cancer from occurring in the first place. It also causes an increase in metabolism which is helpful in weight loss efforts.

My passion for spicy food and my desire to use the peppers for medicinal purposes has led me to find many ways to preserve and use hot peppers. I hope that this post will inspire you to give hot peppers a chance or to try some new ways to use them!

 I love comments and would be happy to hear from you, so please feel free to leave a comment!

*As a note of caution, spicy peppers are able to burn soft tissues, eyes and skin; they should be treated with respect. They can also  can cause uncomfortable digestive distress for the uninitiated. Please don't try to prove how much fire you can take by ingesting a pepper or produce made with them, you could live to regret it.