Peppers 2024

[Branching Out]

I can't get over how pristine many of the peppers seeds are this year; the one shown here had fewer than ten seeds that I culled. Typically I wait for the fruit to mature and turn red before saving seed, but this Alpine Poblano that was harvested green a few weeks ago. Some of the seeds look like they might be starting to germinate. Rather than compost the fruit I nibbled on it raw, and it was pretty darn spicy. Not as hot as a jalapeno, but enough to make my eyes pop out a bit.

 

[Zeedman]

last week i made the mistake of getting some seeds from my tray where they've been sitting since i put them in there a few months ago (and added to as i've harvested more peppers and have more seeds). using my fingers... i forgot about them possibly being hot. rubbed my eyes. oops... next time use a small piece of paper to slide under them and then bend it a bit to pour into small container. no touchy needed at all.

Oooops... I think everyone who handles hot peppers or their seeds has done that at least once. Sometimes even apparently mild peppers can give you eye burn. The capsaicin can even penetrate cheap rubber gloves (I use at least 5 mil thickness). Once you have "hot hands", you can transfer the burn to sensitive skin anywhere. It can be very difficult to wash off.

Other potential risks in handling hot peppers:

- Grinding dried hot peppers indoors. You could try grinding hot peppers under an exhaust hood, but do so cautiously the first time. You might discover - to your great discomfort - how inefficient your exhaust hood really is.

- Rinsing hot pepper seeds in the sink. Water apparently causes much of the capsaicin to be released. This can happen very quickly, and be incredibly intense - even with only moderately hot peppers. With very hot peppers, it could literally drive you out of the kitchen, gasping for breath. Ask me how I know.

 

[Zeedman]

Oh and BTW, handling large amounts of raw garlic (such as when peeling for dehydration) requires thick gloves too. I wore thin gloves one year, and the garlic burn was so bad that some of the skin on my fingers peeled.

And you definitely DO NOT want to dehydrate garlic indoors. I do that in my garage, to drive out mice.