[CH] Re: cayennes

Brent Thompson (brent@hplbct.hpl.hp.com)
Fri, 22 Oct 1999 13:27:54 -0700 

> Mostly mine are just plain hot, but with sort of bell pepper taste maybe,

I hate bell pepper taste.  Many others do, also.  We've previously
discussed this at length on chile-heads.  Bell peppers and jalapenos both
are full of whatever that flavor component is, which is why many of us do
not like either bell peppers or jalapenos.  I've never before heard mention
of cayennes containing this flavor component, and I've certainly never
tasted it there myself.  If I had, I can guarantee that would be the last
time I ever grew that particular variety of chile.

> and kind of "soapy."  I don't know where that soap-like taste comes from.
> Got that from some ajis before, too.

In my experience, 'soapy' flavor is a sign of heat.  If it's hot enough, a
serrano will taste 'soapy' to me (and to my genetically extremely unrelated
wife).  And, the hotter that serrano chile, the more 'soapy' it tastes.  A
few other types of chiles do this also, including cayennes (it must have
something to do with the capsaicinoid mix).  Other types don't taste soapy
no matter how hot they get; I've never tasted this soapiness in any
chinense, pubescens, or baccatum -- in fact, I've only tasted it in annuum
cultivars.

> I've read somewhere that Mexican chiles are tastiest, all others are merely
> hot, but then there's no accounting for individual taste.

Many of us would argue that the single most delicious chile of all, by far,
is Aji Amarillo -- this is a C. baccatum var. pendulum cultivar from Peru.
The rocoto/locoto from Andean So. America is also pretty tasty.

And certainly no one could argue that many/most C. chinense cultivars are
very strongly flavored and posess a powerful aroma (a taste and aroma
beloved of members of chile-heads list) -- most cultivars of this species
are not Mexican chiles.

So, nothwithstanding the fact that poblano and chilaca are both very
delicious chiles indeed (and the aforementioned cayenne, originally at
least), I think the best that can be said about the premise you'd seen that
'Mexican chiles are tastiest, all others merely hot' is that it is false.

 ---   Brent