You are a pepper lover! I like to let the green bells turn red. They can become so sweet they are like eating apples.

Best wishes for a great crop. I chop and freeze them too.

Oh wow. Went to the local nursery in town for potting soil and found they had new plants in. All sorts of peppers. I bought a Sweet Banana yellow plant. Hurray!

I have Big Jims, Poblanos, Jalapenos, and Tabasco growing! Still waiting for them to bloom and fruit!

I am growing Big Jim for the first time, what should I expect? Do they live up to the hype?

I've never grown Big Jims before, this is my first year, but I'm from Arizona and I can tell you, I ADORE Big Jim's! Big Jim's are the mythical "Hatch Green Chile"! They make *the best* Green Chili Sauce...ever. So, so, so good. I just hope I get a few good sized ones so I can make green chili sauce. It's hard to find Big Jims in MD. There is not a smell in the world that is better than roasting Big Jims. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!

Poblanos, when eaten fresh are green and are great for making green chili sauce as well, must mostly stuffed as chili rellenos. I usualy substitute a poblano or two in for a Big Jim in my green chili sauce because they had a different level of flavor. If you let them get red, you dry them...and then that's how you make Mole sauce.

Big Jims, Mammoth Jalapenos, Serranos, Chiles de Arboles, Japones, Poblanos, Red Bells, Yolo Wonders, Guajillos, Bhut Jolokias, Naga Moriches, 7 Pots, and some Naga-Crosses for me.

As you can tell, I'm somewhat of an amateur chilehead, ;)

uaskigyrl: Anaheims are heavy producers. If you have a few plants going, you'll have plenty of green chile. You'll want to cage them though -- very disappointing when you walk out and find a branch broken from the weight of several large fruit. I cage all my peppers except my superhots(last 4 listed).

Happy capsaicin season!

Kevin

I am now drooling, and the temps here are dropping into the 40s tonight. Ahhhh! I had heard about them, glad to hear they are exactly what I want in a pepper, but I want it NOW! LOL.

I have serranos, jalapenos, aji pineapples, fish, and de arbols. What is a green chili sauce and what is is used for? I cannot for fear of immediate, violent illness eat any bell pepper, but the hots seem fine so I am learning to use them more. Peppers grow well here. I like them pickled, dried and powdered, and as hot sauce, but don't use them as much fresh because I don't have many ideas.

Harvey, I refused to set out my peppers last week in the heat because I saw those crazy 40s lurking in the long term forecast here too. One more night and back to normal, I think. Cheers!

Sunnibel: Mexican food is served with salsas, right? Well, in New Mexico, in particular, they're all about the GREEN chile salsas while here in Southern California, we tend to like the RED.

Both have reasons why they may be that color:

Red -- dried chiles and such ... or fresh green and/or dried with tomatoes and such.
Green -- fresh green chiles and such... or fresh green with tomatillos and such

"such" is meant to denote herbs, spices, and aromatics.

So, what would you use a green chile sauce or chili on? Just about anything that you would use a red salsa on.

Also, much like the poblano, anaheims are great for roasting and stuffing.

Btw, I abhor GREEN bell peppers also. COLORED, on the other hand, are nice and sweet, fresh or cooked.

Try this one out just once -- take a couple red bells and roast and skin, blend them up in some of normal everyday pasta sauce. I'm betting you'll change your mind about bells.

Other uses for FRESH -- stirfrys, chop a few jalapenos or serranos up in same pasta sauce above, roast some up for salsas, dice some very fine for guacamole, slice or chop them up, saute for a min or two for a burger or pizza topping or mix into a mayo for a sandwich. Soups with a kick.

The possibilities are endless.

Kevin

Oh My Goodness. Green Chili Sauce. Prepare to have your mind BLOWN!

This is my recipe that I make. I usually make a *huge* pot of it and then freeze it by the pints. The recipe posted below is for one batch. One batch will make enchiladas or a green chili chicken/pork. I use this to make green chili chicken enchiladas. Also, my favorite way to use it up is throw an pork butt or whole chicken in the crock pot with whole green chilis and a jar of the sauce. At the end of the day, shred the meat, serve with rice and beans and you have a pretty authentic Mexican Green Chili Pork/Chicken meal!

6 Anaheim chiles (Big Jims, Poblanos, etc, make sure they are fresh green)
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Preparation

Preheat broiler.

Place chiles on a foil-lined baking sheet; broil 14 minutes or until blackened and charred, turning after 7 minutes. Place in a heavy-duty zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Cut a lengthwise slit in each chile. Remove and discard seeds and tops. Chop chiles to measure 3/4 cup.

Heat canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; sauté for 1 minute. Stir in flour; cook 1 minute. Add chiles, coriander, salt, and broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Place half of chile mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Return pureed chile mixture to pan; stir well. Remove from heat; cool completely.

If you let the peppers get red, you dry them and then can make Mole sauce. I use a recipe from Tyler Florence as my base. Anchos are dried Red Poblanos. Chipotles are dried Red Jalapenos. The Anaheims are dried Red Anaheims (Big Jims). I don't always do 2:2:2. I use whatever I have on hand! lol But, I follow just about every thing else. This is one of the best Mole sauces I have ever come across. I don't use the rest of the recipe. Again, I just make a huge pot of this stuff and then freeze it in pints. then when I want Chicken/Pork Mole, I just throw chicken/pork butt in the crock, cover with a jar of mole, when it's done cooking, shred the meat and there you have it!

Here is a link that might be useful: Mole Poblano

Sorry, another post. Just had an idea. That Green Chili Sauce Recipe. I'm sure you could substitute out *fresh* red chile's (let the big jims, poblanos get red but don't dry them) and it would make a good red chile sauce for red chile enchiladas or red chile beef! Can't wait to try!

Got my Sweet Banana yellow pepper planted. Hope it grows fast.

Oh, sounds good! Kevin, I really can't eat any of the bells. When I said violent reaction, I meant immediate throwing up. Even a single little diced piece will cause hours of stomache upset. I like the idea of jalapeno mayo, and I will have to try adding some to pasta sauce. My favorite thing with peppers lately is to add a generous amount of my powdered jalapenos and some lightly sauteed onions to rice. Simple, but very tasty.

I have 2 new-to-me varieties of bell peppers this year - Tango and Karma. One is red and one is orange. But my poor old brain - I can't remember which is which! Anybody out there have any experience with either one of these? Just wondering what to expect in the way of production/taste.
newyorkrita, I also have a yellow banana pepper - did you know if you leave them on the plant long enough they will also turn red? I love to let some get ripe, then harvest some while they are still yellow, some that have started to turn so they are orange and then get the really ripe red ones. Makes for a beautiful and quite tasty stir-fry. Ah, geesh, is summer EVER going to get here? I want some now!!!
Edie

My first time with yellow banana peppers. But I think they stay yellow.

I was wrong. They do turn red. I Googled my pepper which is SWEET BANANA SUPREME. I just thought the yellow ones stayed yellow.

I think mine all grew about three inches today, finally some heat, well at least sunny and warm. I knew I should have waited, but alas patince is NOT one of my virtues. :( ;)

And I ordered a GOOD AS GOLD banana pepper from Burpee. It turns orange.

The goal is stuffed peppers, peppers for pickling, and peppers for salads:

Sweet Chinese Giant (Red) - 3
Orange Bell - 1
Malagueta - 1 --> bought by accident, super hot. Might try to dry.
Corna Di Toro - 1
Greek Pepperoncini - 1
Italian Pepperoncini - 1
Sweet Banana - 6
Jalapeno - 1

Oh, my gosh, you guys are so awesome! I am so anxious for my peppers now. My gardening has kept me so busy, yet I can't keep up with the weeds and watering. I was getting discouraged. After reading this-I can just taste the sweet crunchy goodness. I Can't Wait ;) I printed the Green Chili Sauce recipe (I hope you don't mind uaskigyrl) to use when my pablanos finally produce. I love chicken enchiladas. As the summer goes along, I am going to search gardenweb for more pepper usage ideas. Thank you all for renewing my enthusiasm.

Lynn

Not a problem! That's why I posted it!

I'm so excited for the heat and warm weather, maybe now my peppers and tomatoes will finally start to grow!

LK, great selection!

LK, great selection!

i have a selection of varying colors of sweet peppers, jalapenos, cayenne and yellow cayenne, hot bananas, and peter peppers just for amusement so far. Do a lot of salsa and such. Am very interested in getting some other peppers next year but am constantly having to account for the shortness of our season.

I'm doing:

2 Serrano
12 Yummy Peppers (those red, yellow, orange minis you see in the stores)
2 King of the North Bell
1 Wisconsin Lakes Bell

Ha ha, I just spent forever trying to find this thread in the wrong forum! The peppers are finally coming in in a big flush (plus I'm home again) so I finally tried making the green chile sauce recommended above. It's really good! I may not have made it quite as specified, my peppers are more jalepeno sized and didn't see until much later that that they would equal 3/4 cup chopped, but I still had a good ratio of onion to chile. My husband said it wasn't quite like any other chile sauce he had had, it became sort of creamy textured. That might be because I had to sub some cornstarch for the flour.

Anyway, we've eaten it on three meals in a row- some on some shredded chicken, some on grilled steak, and some on scrambled kale eggs. It was really great with all three dishes! Thanks for sharing!

Looking for recommendations for a sweet red pepper, or other color sweet pepper. I see many here are mainly growing hot peppers. Is that right?

Anyone care to report on how their different varieties performed last year? Productive? Taste?

Aw, Thanks Sunnibel7!

This year I am going to grow an Italian Sweet Bell Pepper that looks more like a long red Big Jim than a bell shape.

pepper, Aconcagua
pepper, Ancient Sweets
pepper, banana
pepper, Cal Wonder
pepper, chocolate
pepper, Cubanelle
pepper, Frank's
pepper, Gold Cal
pepper, Iko Iko
pepper, lipstick
pepper, Marconi red
pepper, Marconi yellow
pepper, mini belle
pepper, Odessa Market
pepper, orange bell
pepper, purple bell
pepper, red bell
pepper, ta tong

These are the sweet peppers I grow. I really like Odessa Market. It gets more deep orange than red but is super early, productive, tasty and thick. Frank's was a very early pepper last year. They are red before anything and the peppers grow up. Sort of half way between bell and long, kind of like Lipstick in shape. Lipstick is a good pepper, if size doesn't matter. Ancient Sweets (seed taken from the peppers at Sam's Club) are very delicious and very red and long.
Aconcagua turns orange and they are hands down the best tasting sweet pepper. For basic bell shape I prefer Cal Wonder. It seems to do better than King of the North. Marconis are late but a nice pepper as well as Quadrato. Nice and big but later.

Here is my hot list.
hot pepper, African Surprise
hot pepper, Aji Amarillo
hot pepper, Ancho
hot pepper, Bhut Jolokia
hot pepper, Black Hungarian
hot pepper, cayenne
hot pepper, habanero
hot pepper, Hungarian Wax
hot pepper, Jalapeno
hot pepper, Jumbo Jalapeno
hot pepper, Laotian
hot pepper, lemon drop
hot pepper, Numex
hot pepper, serrano
hot pepper, Shishito
hot pepper, Siling Haba
hot pepper, Thai

HMMMM

people always get energized and excited when get their seeds/seedlings and plant them. But never (hardly) want to talk about the results. That is the impression I get from this thread anyway. I am not claiming that I am an exception. I am going to plant over a dozen peppers but don'y expect me to come back and tell you how (badly)I failed . hehe

Well, I killed my jalapeno plant last year. Basically a newbie mistake & put it into shock. Before that, I was getting some great jalapenos.

My Tabasco & Poblano plants were gorgeous & growing & producing like champs.

My big Jim was a slow grower & then exploded with pellets but too late cuz I had to pick them early when they were small cuz winter was around the corner.

I'm trying to over winter my big jim, poblano, & Tabasco this year. Well see if they grow back!

ThatâÂÂs a LOT of peppers, Little Minnie! lol
I appreciate your notes on what youâÂÂve grown that you liked. Just in time for me to put my seed order in this week. I had Odessa Market on my list and had taken it off to make room for another, but itâÂÂs going back on.

IâÂÂm ordering from FEDCO and they didnâÂÂt have a number of the others. So far, IâÂÂm ordering, Carmen, Jimmy NardelloâÂÂs, Gilboa, and now Odessa Market. I donâÂÂt have the room for a lot more, maybe 10 plants.

I had a pretty good experience with my peppers last year. âÂÂGypsyâ grew well and produced more than the others. I had âÂÂRed BeautyâÂÂ, âÂÂOrange Blazeâ and âÂÂGolden California WonderâÂÂ. âÂÂRed Beautyâ and âÂÂOrange Blazeâ did well, but I would not say spectacular.

I wish we could use hot peppers, but theyâÂÂre not a frequent addition to meals here. Guacamole and Chili are about it. And we keep those mild.