Further investigation shows I can get the stuff shipped - $25 for a box of chili, and $75 to get it shipped.

Well, now that we've solved that problem for you David, you might check back on the "odd-shaped fruit" thread: There are questions regarding petunia cuttings for you.

Someone answering his own chili roasting question . . . One never knows how these threads will evolve. I mean first it's odd-shaped fruit and NOW petunias. How did that happen? Oh yeah, that was me . . .

digitS'

Steve, if I go to New Mexico, I can buy a box for less than $10 bucks, and get it roasted for about $5. Thats how the Santa Fe Trail was created, the guys were following the smell of roasted chili.

So what kinds of peppers are we talking about here, David, or is that difficult to determine.

Our 1st picking of jalapeño occurred this week. Super Chilies are something some folks just raise for lookin" but the fact that they ripen in August has real appeal for me. The Thai hot are in that group also but just mentioning them . . . gracious!! And, once again I'm growing Garden Salsa. Probably a little tame for some but I think they are just about the most productive peppers I grow. Strangely (to me, at least), that's why I don't grow them every year - - after drying a few strings (whaddya call 'em in your neck of the woods, ristas?), DW doesn't know what to do with so many over the course of several years! Oh, and then there are the Anaheims. Maybe those Anaheims would be good roasted? They never get beyond green for us.

digitS'

It's a shame they're hoarding - it looks like a really good pepper year to me.

Tame is what I grow. Yes, I'm a wimp. I only planted 4 pepper plants this year. Gypsies are as mild and sweet as Bells. but do better for me than bells. I've already had ripe ones. They are so pretty!
{{gwi:1219267}}

My Anaheims are green right now, but they always get red if I leave them on. They are the "hottest" I've got this year. What a wimp. We don't roast them - just eat them raw.

...But there are lots of roasted hatch chilis we bought in the freezer from last year. Those belong to the spouse.

Anaheims are great for roasting - for the New Mexico stuff, they have a fanatically dedicated University down there that spends a whole lot of time on breeding chili's. NuMex Big Jim, Sandia, etcetra. I can, some years, grow chili here, but its iffy. And then a question of quantity - we make a fermented chili sauce like tobassco, that my brother will drive out from Chicago for.

New Mexico, this time of year, is so much fun - it goes beyond a 'cultural thing' to a religion. Chili festivals in every town, lots of guys standing around 'sampling' with fresh corn tortillas, and so on.

An idea of what it's like:

Here is a link that might be useful: just an idea

Wooo Hoooo! That site I linked to has far more reasonable shipping - Previously, I had googled up "Hatch Chili" which plays off the brand name, kinda like Prada, Versace, Hermes, but with chili peppers.

So, some time next week, I'll build a mesquite fire in the smoker, and spend a pleasant afternoon sipping beverages and roasting chili.

I'm not a great hot pepper person either, Cnetter, just want a little heat and flavor, now and then. Not a great bell "ringer" either. Gypsies were nice but didn't get much production and I think we ate all of 'em green (mistake?).

Discovered Giant Marconi several seasons ago. I'd grown a few of the Italian peppers thru the years but wasn't especially delighted. GM isn't my most productive sweet pepper that's for sure - actually grow the straight Marconi so as to have more Italians. And, it is just about as homely as it can be but GM is probably the sweetest and most flavorful I could hope for! It will ripen for me, too, but we are enjoying 'em green right now.

Looking at one of those mailorder chili sites, it seems like the Anaheims would fit right in with the roasting business, Cnetter. Gosh, I have ZERO experience with this sort of thing. Why the heck did my father, who grew up in NM, continue to head north throughout my childhood. Married the daughter of a Canadian so that makes me what, eh? Going to have some malt vinegar on the fries, eh? Do you need a serviette with that?

d'S'

I'm the daughter of a Canadian - almost was born in Canada myself. Heh, serviette. Haven't heard that in a while.
Parents came from England to Canada to the States. And would never ever eat anything hotter than a Bell pepper.

Spouse just told me he's roasted some of my Anaheims in the past and they turned out good.

Gypsies are way way better red than green. At least let them get yellow.

I'm going to try Giant Marconi next year.

I thought it was a bit early for chili roasting. I haven't seen the big roasting cages out yet nor smelled the roasting peppers. They do it all over town here.

Most of the heat in these things is in the seeds, and removing those makes a lot of difference. I take the roasted green chili's, cut off the stems, and then treat them like cabbage and make sauerkraut, I use Kefir as a starter. Let this ferment for 6 - 8 weeks, it just smells wonderful. Then I run them through a Foley food mill to take out the seeds and skin, and maybe spice it up with something else, like tarragon, black pepper, vinegar, or what ever, and either freeze or can it. Pretty mild stuff, just great flavor and not a lot of heat.

Cnetter, Mom always spoke like a Canadian but she was born in Idaho. Not all that many people up in this neck of the woods 90 years ago so the movement back and forth across the border depended a lot on the availability of jobs. "Roasting peppers - all over town," must be like smoking kokanee, eh?

That's mighty strange sounding, David . . . pepper kraut with a Kefir starter! Where in heavens did you get that recipe? Is that an East African thing to do?

And, a Foley's food mill . . . I betcha no one under the age of 50 even knows what that contraption is!

I was fairly recently surprised to learn that not ALL kimchi is made solely from Chinese cabbage, garlic, and hot peppers. There seems to be a whole "raft" of vegetables that the Koreans will put into it. It's just that MY experience is limited, not their imagination nor tastes.

digitS'

Hah! I knew you had some Canadian connection, Cnetter! With spelling colour like you do! I spent a few years living in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, and despite the cold winters, I would live there again in a heartbeat. Love the Great Lakes, the north woods, and Canadians are just good people. Of course, my wife wouldn't go if I moved, so that's not going to happen! I actually tried to get her to move to upstate NY a few years back, but it was too much to ask.

I have Canadian neighbours across the street. They're from Edmonton. Moved to Utah for our tropical climate! They're the funnest people in the whole neighborhood. Good gardeners, too.

I LOVE vinegar on fries, by the way. :-)

Nearly 3 Gallons of Veggie FIRE!!

No, not the Italians red ripe that I brought out from hanging in the kitchen - those sweet beauties will be used in tamer recipes. The little guys, mostly green at the moment, are real the real fireworks! They are Super Chilies and, believe it or not, they aren't as hot as the tiny Thai peppers that I grow just a few of. I read that Super Chilies go between 35,000 and 40,000 in Scoville units. That puts them in there with Cayenne.

On my way to wash my digitS'

David,

I'm not sure where you live but if you happen to be on Hiway 85, just north of Evans, in Denver, there is a yellow semi trailer parked there every year at chile time. If you go in there, they will roast a bushel for cheap. The last time I bought jalapenos there, it cost me $20 / bush, and $5 to roast.

They are owned by Rocky Mountain Fireworks (go figure) and they have a lot more than just japs and green chiles.

Just my 2 cents worth...

--->Rob

Hi Rob, and thanks for the tip, I have folks that live near there.

No, I'm 25 miles crowfly from NM, and within the HACGA zone, (Hippy Artesian Chili Growers Association) realm of influence.

Snorkin' it down by the pint, here, with roasted pork, as we speak.

You mean to tell me you can roast peppers at Wal-mart? How long does it take? Are there any other big stores that roast?

Villebilly, this is a southwestern US phenomenon, folks buy boxes of green chili, usually a couple of bushels, and they're roasted in a special, rotating metal cage over a propane flame. Walmart stores around the area will do it, our local City Market used to until Corporate said "no" and, of course, there are a lot of individuals who do it along the roadside. I dunno if it goes on outside of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas.

This past year, the Walmart roaster-people were getting a bit full of themselves, requiring that one show up really early in the morning and wait for hours; taking really, really long lunch breaks and coffee breaks. Soliciting for a bribe tip. So I roasted my own, which is a great excuse to sit outside and in the shade on a beautiful fall day and nibble on hot roasted chili, grated cheese, and a warm tortilla. Quality control. Good stuff.

Fall roasting party at my house!! But I get a roasters fee (samples). Seriously, I would host if someone can get me plans I have a few welders in the family and would like to try it. We can even hook up an electric motor so no one has to turn, I have people in tool belts.

Seriously, let me know if anyone wants to try it.

If you built it, they will come.

Billie