[CH] Terroir in Chiles?
Betsy Lasarow Tozzi (tozzi@alaska.net)
Fri, 31 Jan 2003 10:49:07 -0800
Mary-Anne wrote:
> > I have also heard the Chocolate Habs are bitter.
> > Crossed them off my to grow list accordingly.
Scott Parkhurst <KCK> replied:
> You might try a chocolate hab before you decide
> one way or the other. I've never heard that choco
> habs were bitter. More to the point, I've never
> tasted a bitter choco hab. I've grown them myself
> since I never find them at the store/farmer's mkt.
> Maybe it's the soil in Wyandotte County... Is there
> such a concept of "terroire" for chiles?
Hey Scott,
I'd say there absolutely is a terroir role in growing habs, peppers,
tomatoes and the like. When I was training as a Master Gardener, several
years ago, I was taught that terroir can make a huge difference in the
flavor of virtually any fruit. Although taken from a vineyard website, the
concept of terroir below does apply well to other land-grown edibles.
Here's their snippet explaining the term "terroir":
"The French term encapsulates the factors which play a role in
differentiating one vineyard site from another, including climate, soil,
clonal selection, etc."
from: http://www.bellwine.com/pages/terroir.htm
Since I'm not sure what a bitter pepper would taste like (okay, throw 'em at
me, I can take it), I have to sort of try and transpose the taste of bitter
other things (lettuce, cucumbers, etc.) onto that blistering heat and just
don't do a very effective job of it. So, for those who have had bitter
peppers, please help me: Does it have an alum- or tannin-like aftertaste?
Betsy
mostly lurking, but occasionally posting