it really depends on the pepper. for one quart I'd use about 5 habaneros. that's my perfect level of heat where I could take big scoops with every bite. but that's just me.

Judo, I'm not sure where you are from.. but have you ever tried some salsa from Mrs. Renfro's Mango Habanero salsa? That stuff s great if you can get it where you are located.

I'd try out the fatali, couple pods and taste it, decent heat and awesome flavor!

You know, one of the best tasting peppers I've came across this year, are my golden cayennes. I absolutely fell in love with the taste especially once they ripen. And they have a nice kick to boot!

I throw about 1 or 1 1/2 super hots in for 6 qt pan but they are dried and then turned to powder so it can be mixed in better to make the heat even also i let it simmer for longer then most recipes call for but it all depends on who will be eating it and what other ingredients will be added .

Well, honestly, I am a bit confused about " SALSA".
Salsa, as I understand it, is Spanish word for SAUCE. Just like CURRY is an Indian word for SAUCE.

But my confusion is that there is a salsa made with diced tomato, peppers and cilantro(chives /onions?). It is used with Nacho. I like that a lot and I make it very often.

Then there is a SALSA that is made with blending various kinds of hot peppers(re, green, orange ) with tomato and/or Tomatillo. ALSO my favorite on things like tacos. (Drooling .lol)

The first one actually is a chopped/diced salad and the latter is really a SAUCE.

So when you guys are talking about SALSA here, which kind is it ?

Seysonn: the first one you mentioned is commonly known as salsa fresca aka pico de gallo. There are many, many salsas.

Mexican food is all about salsas and moles. Both words mean sauce. And with every salsa and/or mole, the ingredients can vary immensely.

For all intents and purposes though, in the U.S., unless somebody calls it a MANGO salsa or salsa verde or blah blah salsa, I interpret it as the most common in the States... like you mentioned--- tomatoes, chiles, some aromatics(garlic,onion) and/or herbs/spices.

At the taco shops here in San Diego, there will be salsa bars with 3-6 different salsa/sauces ranging from salsa fresca to a couple red sauces(mild and warm) a green tomatillo(salsa verde, which is totally different than the Mediterranean salsa verde made with parsley), and maybe a chipotle sauce.

Kevin

This post was edited by woohooman on Tue, Aug 6, 13 at 1:59

AB2008, I agree completely! The first time I tried a Golden Cayenne I fell in love, they are wonderful peppers, I definitely put them above the regular red and purple cayennes.

Kevin, I love pico de gallo, Salsa is ok, I just prefer chunks. I'd like to find some good salsa verde and mole recipes. I tried one verde where it said to roast the tomatillos first (never done that before) and the next day the stuff had gelled... blech. I tossed it. In the past I just made it like regular salsa, but then I'm not sure how long it will last in the fridge. I have yet to find a mole sauce that didn't include about 30 different ingredients, I want something simple. I'm lazy. ;-)

Pam

isn't one 7-pod supposed to be enough for 7 batches of salsa? hehehe

i don't know if I could tell you how many peppers I generally use. I think it took about a year before I finally calibrated my taste/eye coordination to keep everything i made from being super spicy (disclaimer: my wife might disagree on this point). i generally get myself in trouble when i go by count.

I think it ultimately depends on what is in your 'salsa', and how you prep it: cooked quick vs. cooked slow vs. raw, garlic/onion to pepper ratio, etc..

For what its worth, these are my general guidelines for the cooking types:
-raw: least amount of super spicy, but super finely chopped. my thinking is that if the peppers are eaten fresh, there is more of chance of people biting directly into them and non-pepper heads getting a blast of mouth numbing heat. (first time, it was my boss that it happened to, and he cried about it for a week)
-quick cook: moderate amount, mainly because i don't think they release much of their oils cooking them quickly.. ends up being kindof close to the raw method for me.
-long cook: lots of them, i feel like i lose a lot of heat when making curries and long slow cooked sauces.. not 100% sure if its because the oils release and break down while cooking (evaporating?), or because they soak into my cookware.. or if its the other stuff its cooking in: lots of garlic/onions and spices.. but i wouldn't say i use less garlic/onions in my raw mixes.

i've been told that the different acids can affect the heat loss as well, but i haven't really experimented much on that side of things.. something tells me that a douglah is still going to hurt regardless of whether its been soaking in vinegar vs. lime juice.

hope this helps -E