Re: [CH] peppadew
Peter Moss (pmoss@yoda.alt.za)
Thu, 30 Jan 2003 02:05:51 RSA-2
> Date: Tue, 28 Jan 2003 10:39:46 +0200
> From: Sue Callaghan <scallagh@african-life.co.za>
> As Fred the habaneronut said.. "I'm sure our SA Chilehead on
> the list can tell you more than you ever wanted to know about
> peppadews." Here is some info gleaned from a 1999 issue of the
> Sunday Times:
Thanks Sue I was not sure of the history as there is so much
hype attached. From discovered in (pick an african country) to
years of breeding...
> A winner of a weed Peppadews, the hottest thing in fruit since
> kiwis, are an all- South African discovery.
Translation:
To a person living in this region BELL PEPPERS are HOT. The
peppadew is by CH standards "very mild". I'll kid you not they
take the seeds out of bell peppers.
> JOHAN Steenkamp, a tomato farmer in the Northern Province,
> made the discovery of a lifetime five years ago when he
> noticed a plant he'd never seen before growing prolifically in
> a hot, dry corner of his garden. Instead of pulling it out as
> some strange weed, he studied the plant and eventually, with
> much trepidation, decided to taste it. Hot as Hades, his new
> find set his mouth on fire, but it didn't kill him, or even
> make him sick.
Can't think of a single reason why it would but then that is
typical of the hype.
Anybody ever see this guy offer him a habanero please so he can
understand what hot is and know where the upper end of the
scale is.
> Surely this was a sign of great things to come. Steenkamp
> began patiently experimenting with the bright red fruit,
> skinning, cooking and bottling it. The results were
> disastrous, for not only did the fruit explode during
> cooking, it exploded in the bottle, laying waste to R50 000 in
> hard-earned money.
Oh! well a few minutes with a good search engine or taking time
to join this list and ask got its own reward but would be
typical of a blue bulls fan.
> But, stubborn as a Blue Bull, Steenkamp didn't give up. So He
> contacted the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research,
> which painstakingly scoured for information on the plant.
The blue bulls are the local rugby team.
I'll bet they did not ask Hunziker, Pickersgill, Bosland...USDA
database..
> A DNA analysis proved it was a member of the capsicum family,
> probably indigenous to Central or South America, as are other
> peppers and chillies.
Well that tells it all, and they needed a DNA analysis to do it.
I think I know where the 50,000 bucks went now.
No comment on the spelling
> But this particular one wasn't known -
Species? rubbish. Variety or cross, possible but unlikely
While I have never seen a plant I am willing to bet C. annuum.
or C. annuum X.
> or commercially grown - anywhere else. Finally, Steenkamp hit
> on the perfect process to transform the fiery fruit into a
> delicious and versatile money-spinner. Using a unique method,
> for which he holds the patent,
Hmm interesting, would like to see that patent.
In SA you can patent anything no cross check needed. Make a
claim and pay your money.
But patented process sounds so good.
> the fruit is deseeded to lower the Scoville rating to a
> tolerable level (Scovilles are the unit of measurement used to
> rank the heat of a chilli) and then bottled whole in sweet
> brine.
They actually need a boost and maybe a cross with a red or
orange hab would help. Bottling habs would save lots of time and
effort but nobody would buy them there in the land of hype and
status symbols.
Since chiles ferment in brine there is no secret to sterilising
the fruit first. Pick a method and try it, see which is best.
Brine, sugar, olive oil.
These guys are pulling all the marketing strings.
> Steenkamp christened his 1,5m-high discovery the
> "piquant plant" and its plump, red, processed fruit the
> "peppadew" ("peppa" denoting bite, "dew" freshness). Nature
> isn't stupid, which is why self-seeding plants, especially
> alien species, grow where they'll thrive best. Steenkamp
> noticed that his plants thrived in hot, dry, semi-desert
> conditions with controlled irrigation. He also found them to
> be cost-effective, with a single plant producing around 15kg
> of fruit over a four-month period. And because the fruit
> ripens from ground level upwards, each plant is picked several
> times in the four months.
Now how much hype can you do on tomatoes ;-)
This is a marketing strategy not a new discovery.
Regards
Peter
--
Peter Moss
After one hundred and fifty years and many thousands of firearms
control laws to reduce crime the list of successes should be
long and illustrious. Where is the list?
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