Pre-Harvest 2013 Report…But Not Grapes!

Yessiree…the vintage reports are already coming in…from the chile fields of Shenandoah County, Virginia!

As I hope you know, our dRosengarten.com/shop opened a year ago with amazing varietal chile extracts from a small farm in Virginia called Henry Family Farm. In what has been described as one of the best terroirs for chiles in the world…farmer Bob Henry toils under the Virginia sun cultivating the world’s greatest chiles, some of them rare, some of them actually endangered. These chiles are knock-out distinctive and delicious.

But it gets better. Bob then puts his assorted capsicums through a secret process, converting them into what most people would call “hot sauce.” Bob’s patent-pending process extracts the bitterness from the peppers, leaving the sauce with unadulterated pepper flavor (no need to cover up any bitterness with salt, sugar or other additives). Rather than the typical “hot sauce” name, I suggested to Bob last year that we call our sauces “Varietal Chile Extracts.” That’s exactly how we labeled them last year, when we started working together. But due to some confusion in the hot sauce world about the actual meaning of “extract”…we are labeling them this year as “Varietal Chile Extractions.”

And that brings us to those glorious words “this year.” That we have a “this year” is one of the coolest parts of this product! Because Bob’s Varietal Chile Extractions, in every way you can think of, follow a “wine” model, not a “hot sauce” model. They actually vary from year to year!

So the excitement today is “vintage” excitement! Yesterday, I received a letter from Bob describing the “vintage” thus far. I thought you’d love to see, as I did, how chile farmers discuss their harvest. Not so far from the way viticulteurs discuss theirs!

Below are reports from our grower, Bob Henry:

We picked our 1st Datil peppers today and had enough for just 1 bottle of sauce. I am shipping it out tomorrow to you so you will get to sample the taste…

The Datil sauce is great! It is milder than my habanero sauces but hotter than the Jamaican Lime. As I stated previously it has a unique taste. Please overlook the somewhat salty taste, it is easier to make 8 gallons than 5 oz of sauce.

This sauce is going to be everything I had hoped for. If you like this sauce we will give you the exclusive on this sauce for the 2013 season.

Now here is some concerning news, we have fought the weather every week this season, too cold then too hot, too much rain, you get the picture. Our pepper patch is behind by about 2-3 weeks in the growth pattern. We are getting peppers but not all plants are maturing yet. I am working with my dad (the genius gardener that he is) and we are working on a get-well plan (organic).

The good news is we overplanted this season; we have about 500 more plants than last season. Also we lost very few plants. I also picked up additional plants this spring.

I always get nervous this time of year, the next few weeks are really the important weeks of the growing season. The peppers love this heat but require watering and constant attention.

If you purchased the great Henry Family Farm sauces I sold in 2012, you’re seeing a new player in Bob’s description above (the Datil). In fact…there will be several new players in our line from the 2013 harvest!

Just to remind you…we sold three Henry Family Farm sauces in 2012:

• The very green, very lively-tangy, not-too-hot Jamaican Lime
• The yellow, fruity habanero called the African Fatali (pretty hot)
• The smokin’-red Ghost Chile, one of the hottest chiles in the world
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The big news: we’re adding FOUR more sauces from the 2013 harvest!!!

Here are descriptions from Bob…the horse’s mouth!…for the chiles behind our quartet of new 2013 Varietal Chile Extractions:

1) THE DATIL

This pepper is shorter and rounder than the fatali that I grow and certainly is milder. It has a fruitier flavor tastes similar to a date. This chile comes alive in a molasses-type base because of the fruitiness, and is also popular in mustard-based sauces. It is a unique taste and I wish I had some ready for you to taste. I will send you the first bottle!

How exactly it got there is a combination of fact and fiction. One thing is certain: when a group of indentured workers originally from the island of Minorca arrived in St. Augustine in 1777 from an abandoned settlement in New Smyrna, Florida, they brought the pepper with them. Some say they carried the seeds all the way from Spain. Experts believe that’s unlikely and suspect that the Minorcans probably discovered this little green or yellow (when fully ripe) pepper during a stop over in Cuba. A Caribbean connection is likely for two reasons: the proximity to Florida and the fact that datils are a variety of the species Capsicum chinense, the same species as other Caribbean chiles such as the habanero and Scotch bonnets. Datil means “date” in Spanish, but the reason for that particular name is lost in obscurity, especially considering the fact that the pod is not shaped like a date. It is possible that the aroma of the freshly cut pod resembles that of a date.

Wherever they found them, the Minorcans loved them and began growing them to add to their sauces, pilaus and other dishes. They even used a datil or two in the cheese pastries (called fromajardis) they made at Easter.

Datils are similar in strength to habaneros but have a sweeter, fruitier flavor. Their level of spiciness may be anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 scoville units. Mature peppers are about 3.5 inches long and yellow-orange in color.

2) THE CARIBBEAN RED

The Caribbean Red Pepper is believed to originate from the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. This pepper is a round, bright red color with thin flesh. It has a rating of 350,000 scoville heat units. A member of the habanero family, it is loaded with capsicum oil; with its fruity yet hot flavor it is a favorite in many hot sauces. Adding this sauce to soup, stew or casserole turns it wild by adding just a few drops. Several popular chefs use this sauce in their mops, not to mention their hot salsas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3) THE CHOCOLATE GHOST

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Technically known as the Chocolate Bhut Jolokia, this pepper has a dark brown color with an oily texture…but is shaped just like the ghost pepper. The chocolate skin provides a hint of smoky taste and the oil makes sure the burn stays around a while longer. It is the same scoville unit ratings of the ghost pepper.

People do consider it hotter but it is an illusion.

This sauce, like the ghost sauce, does well in any recipe that absorbs the capsicum oil, like fatty meats, stews, chilis, etc.

The chocolate habaneros are a pain to grow!!! Some years they are great, the next year they will not grow at all; it’s a very finicky, but also very coveted pepper. The chocolate habanero was the defacto standard base in good hot sauces at one time.
The Chocolate Bhut Jolokia is a natural variant of the Bhut Jolokia. It became available to the public in 2008 through Frontal Agritech of Assam, India. It has the heat level of a Red Bhut Jolokia but also has a sweet undertone. One of the most delicious Superhot chiles I have ever tasted.
And for hotter still…

4) THE MORUGA

Sometimes called the Moruga Scorpion pepper, the heat range can vary from 1.2 million to a staggering 2 million scoville units! Most plants that are cultivated will not exceed the 1.2 million range without some help. In comparison to the ghost naga jolokia (which ranges from 800K-1,042,000 scoville units) you notice a substantial kick-up in heat. Our sauce will not exceed the 1.2 million barrier.

People claim a fruity flavor with this pepper but I have only tasted the heat. You are using this sauce because it is the hottest sauce on the market; flavor is a secondary concern, otherwise you would be using a Caribbean red or a fatali or our own naga jolokia extract. The immediate numbing effect of this pepper and the bitterness of “other” sauces kept me out of the ring last year for a sauce. I feel comfortable this year and have some nice plants growing for this sauce and plan to sweeten the pot so to speak with this product. Don’t worry no added anything!

So what does Farmer Bob mean by that last bit? I’m not sure exactly. But I can tell you one thing…

I CANNOT WAIT TO TASTE WHAT HE COMES UP WITH IN 2013!!!

Please check my website around Labor Day, when these new sauces…plus the great trio from last year…will be available in the 2013 vintage!

Photos courtesy of Bob Henry