Will these likely be hot or mild?

OneDahlia · November 7, 2011

I bought some red "cayenne" peppers from a farmers market last week and we really liked them. They had very mild heat and good flavor (and I'm pretty wimpy with hot peppers, so these were really mild). I saved a bunch of seeds. Went back this week to check on what they are, thinking maybe I heard wrong or maybe the guy working the cash register was just helping out and didn't know the varieties that well. They said those really were regular cayenne peppers. They thought some heavy rain had made them mild ... said the same plants gave hotter peppers earlier this season. They all seemed to have talked about these peppers before -- seemed that they were surprised by the mild heat.

So those seeds I saved ... would the plants grown from them likely be mild like what we ate, or hot like a regular cayenne? I'll plant a big patch of these next spring if I can expect the mild heat, but definitely don't want that many if they're hot.

I'm guessing the genes are what they are and they'll be hotter than what I ate, though I didn't think rain could make THAT much difference in the heat level.

tjg911 · November 7, 2011

Quote:

I'm guessing the genes are what they are and they'll be hotter than what I ate, though I didn't think rain could make THAT much difference in the heat level.

bingo!

i bought what were labeled as long red SLIM cayenne but they apparently were long red THICK cayenne as they were way too long and fat to be the slim. i have grown the slim for 2 seasons and they are fairly hot like 50k SHU but hot is a relative term.

the thick were mild and i was very unhappy but as the season wore on they got hotter so much so that the september and october peppers were hot. now they were NOWHERE near as hot as the slim were but at least they were not mild.

environmental factors can play into the outcome.

tom

OneDahlia · November 7, 2011

These are the thick ones. Well, guess I'll plant some, and leave them for the husband when they're too hot for me.

I just read too that they get less hot when they turn completely red, compared to just as the color is turning. Wonder if that's true? The man said these had been hanging out on the plants ripe for awhile.

tjg911 · November 8, 2011

in my experience, which is just this season with the thick, the thick is maybe 15k SHU vs the 30-50k SHU of the slim and i'd put them at 50k not 30k as they are really pretty hot. the thick are NOT hot but the slim are. i assume the thick are always like what i grew this year, the 2 or 3 years i grew the slim they were always consistently the same heat.

tom

b54red · November 17, 2011

I have been growing cayennes for close to 40 years and they will vary hugely from year to year and according to the climate. A hot dry year will produce much hotter peppers than a wet cool one. For some reason fertilizing with chicken manure also seems to heat them up.

aropupu · November 26, 2011

I've heard some professional pepper growers say that pungency is 60% due to variety traits and 40% due to growing conditions, i.e. you can get very pungent peppers from mild varieties by controlling the growing conditions and the other way around too, although you can't get pungent fruits from sweet peppers or nonpungent ones from the superhots.

By some (anecdotal) evidence "torturing" the plants by for example drought or even measures like screwing a screw to the stem of the plant, will give more pungent fruits.

November 7, 2011	#1
OneDahlia Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: 7a NO. VA. Posts: 202	Will these likely be hot or mild? I bought some red "cayenne" peppers from a farmers market last week and we really liked them. They had very mild heat and good flavor (and I'm pretty wimpy with hot peppers, so these were really mild). I saved a bunch of seeds. Went back this week to check on what they are, thinking maybe I heard wrong or maybe the guy working the cash register was just helping out and didn't know the varieties that well. They said those really were regular cayenne peppers. They thought some heavy rain had made them mild ... said the same plants gave hotter peppers earlier this season. They all seemed to have talked about these peppers before -- seemed that they were surprised by the mild heat. So those seeds I saved ... would the plants grown from them likely be mild like what we ate, or hot like a regular cayenne? I'll plant a big patch of these next spring if I can expect the mild heat, but definitely don't want that many if they're hot. I'm guessing the genes are what they are and they'll be hotter than what I ate, though I didn't think rain could make THAT much difference in the heat level. Last edited by OneDahlia; November 7, 2011 at 07:14 AM.

November 8, 2011	#4
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	in my experience, which is just this season with the thick, the thick is maybe 15k SHU vs the 30-50k SHU of the slim and i'd put them at 50k not 30k as they are really pretty hot. the thick are NOT hot but the slim are. i assume the thick are always like what i grew this year, the 2 or 3 years i grew the slim they were always consistently the same heat. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

November 17, 2011	#5
b54red Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Alabama Posts: 7,068	I have been growing cayennes for close to 40 years and they will vary hugely from year to year and according to the climate. A hot dry year will produce much hotter peppers than a wet cool one. For some reason fertilizing with chicken manure also seems to heat them up.

November 26, 2011	#6
aropupu Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Espoo, Finland Posts: 8	I've heard some professional pepper growers say that pungency is 60% due to variety traits and 40% due to growing conditions, i.e. you can get very pungent peppers from mild varieties by controlling the growing conditions and the other way around too, although you can't get pungent fruits from sweet peppers or nonpungent ones from the superhots. By some (anecdotal) evidence "torturing" the plants by for example drought or even measures like screwing a screw to the stem of the plant, will give more pungent fruits.