[CH] cayenne
Doug Goldenberg (dgoldenberg@sprintmail.com)
Sat, 23 Oct 1999 21:46:04 -0700
>
> In my experience, 'soapy' flavor is a sign of heat.
Yes - I was thinking on those lines too. Seems to be part of the heat, the
capsaicin. Like cap extract tasting like rubber bands. Maybe they
make the extract from C. annuum. I did notice soapy taste in C. baccatum
called aji verde from Bolivia, which is also very hot.
> 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
> ), 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.
>
Not thinking of other species like habaneros, I was thinking of Amal Naj's
writings in his book. He said that chiles used in India, are mostly used
for the heat, and are just plain hot, while Mexican chiles have a whole
complex of flavors. Thought that had to do with there being lots of other
spices already present in Asia, so mainly they picked up on using chile for
the heat. Or at least that was the opinion of some, and open to endless
argument. But, yeah, ajis and habs and rocotos have lots of flavor.
Really, though, it seems your common basic Asian chile, like cayenne, is
hot, and tasty even, but doesn't have the robust, complex flavors like the
classic Mexican chiles. Now don't get defensive - I'm not suggesting all
cayennes be rounded up in camps and exterminated or whatever. Not really a
major disagreement, more of a minor misunderstanding.