[CH] harvest/processing report
Parkhurst, Scott Contractor (SCOTT.PARKHURST@LEAVENWORTH.ARMY.MIL)
Mon, 15 Jul 2002 14:41:24 -0000
Started the harvest/processing for this season. The
first Kalosca Paprikas are in the dehydrator giving the
house a wonderful chile aroma. Looks like the 6 plants
will be giving me plenty of potently peppery powder.
The first Guajillo was a hot little bugger! This is
my first time growing them and I am wondering why I waited
so long to try them out. It will be a repeat in the gardens
of the future.
The Aji Amarillo are bearing heavily, but the first ripe
pod had no heat whatsoever. Great color (like the last crop),
great flavor (like the last crop) but absolutely/positively
no heat (like the last crop). Looks like I'll have lots of
mild, golden yellow powder in the future.
I ground up the last of the dehydrated-then-frozen Ancho
chiles from two years back's harvest. They kept beautifully
that way. Also made some Cayenne Pao powder from last year's
crop, a mixture of Cayenne and Kung Pao pods that were too
mixed up to separate. I really kept the little Salton grinder
whirling.
Last, but not least, I finally tried the chile mash that
has been aging for the last 16 months. It's yellow Scotch
Bonnets (from Jim Campbell's open fields of 2 years back),
vinegar and salt. Man-Oh-Man, it came out way hotter than I
expected. When I picked them I ate a whole one, raw, right in
the fields, and it had very little heat. Maybe I got the only
mild one in the place, cuz the rest of these babies were
packing a whallop. The heat hits hard right away, then as it
fades just a bit and lingers the pepper flavor comes through
loud and clear. I'm drying some of the squeezed out mash to
grind into a powder. I'll see if it's worth doing for the rest
of the gallon of sauce.
Scott... Orange Clean didn't help the Hunan Hand... KCK