Q: Dear Dave,My dad grew a little, small, round pepper when I was a child that he called birdseye, but I see now that was an incorrect name for it. The plants were very bushy and produced hundreds of these peppers that seemed, at that time, to be fairly hot to me. I was thinking of them this afternoon and …
Valuable (?) Chili Sauce Bottle Found
Q: Hi Dave,I’ve been searching the internet for information on a hexagonally shaped bottle patented by Eugene R. Durkee. The only information I could find was your article "A Brief History of U.S. Commercial Hot Sauces" which said that no bottle has ever been found. I have one in my possession, and I wondered how I could obtain information on …
Can Canned Heat Be Modified?
Q: Dear Dave,I have a canned-jalapeno recipe for chiles rellenos, but some canned peppers are WAY too hot for it. Is there any way to modify the hotness? Could I soak them in milk or something?Thanks, R. Schon A: Hello R. Schon:No, there is no way to cool down those hot chiles, as they have been processed. But there are canned …
U.S. Chipotle Production
Q: Dave:Until I can get my smoker up and running, I am looking for commercial volumes of chipotle peppers. We have been searching for Mexican suppliers but cannot get them to respond to email or phone calls. Can you help?Regards, Fred GraySparkling River Pepper Company, LLC A: Hello Fred:At the International Chile Conference, I ran into this guy who has U.S. …
Habanero Eating Competition (!!!)
Q: Hi Dave,Is there any way to prepare for a habanero eating competition? And what is the record number eaten? Thanks for a wonderfully informative site.–Laurie A: Hello Laurie:Some people drink heavy cream beforehand, hoping that it will kill any burn in the stomach. It’s best not to eat hot chiles on an empty stomach. As far as the record …