My Favorite Pods

It occurs to me now, when it's too late, of course, that this would have been a good post for when this blog hit 500, but naturally, despite trying to think of something special and failing and just noting the milestone in a sauce review, I wouldn't post something I've been kicking around for literal years, but, much like the list of favorite sauce companies, I thought it might be fun to take a little peek at some of my favorite peppers and do a little write-up. I was considering doing this as a FOH Tier List video, but since I still don't know how to do that (at this point, I probably will wait until I upgrade my tech) and I like writing also, I figured may as well just do this now, on Valentine's Day, since all of this is a labor of love and to be a chilehead means one must, at some level, love the chiles and all what they offer us.

So, here we go, much like my Favorite Sauce Companies list (link in SOTY page at right), this is a work in progress and in no particular weighted order but alphabetically, my favorite pods:

7-Pot Primo - I've greatly enjoyed this pepper since I first encountered it, which was in a sauce, and I've since run across it, again, in other sauces, most of which I've enjoyed considerably. I really like the flavor of this, though I find it more bitter than the ghost and without any of the smokey element. There is often a nice bit of sweetness paired with this and it works quite well there. There is some suggestion this is maybe kinda sorta a Carolina Reaper, but the flavor is not identical and also Carolina Reapers are much, much harder on me, almost like I have to build up a tolerance specific to them. Not the case with the 7-Pot Primos, which I can generally enjoy with near-wild abandon. Currently my 2nd favorite superhot.

Arbol - An absolute staple of the Mexican/Southwestern food vibe, one of the tastiest out there, whether powdered (generally what's in chili powder, sometimes along with Ancho and/or Cayenne, which is coming up shortly), or dried or fresh, this is also one of the most accessible out there.

Banana - I'm never quite sure whether these are called Banana or Yellow Wax more correctly, but I see them generally sold (and listed on menus) as Banana, so I'm going with that.  This is another pepper that I've had both in pod form (not super-interesting) and pickled and in that latter form, it really comes alive. I have almost no interest in any "greens" salad that doesn't have pickled banana peppers as a component, as I find that one addition just tends to make the dish.

Bhut Jolokia - The famed "ghost pepper," this was my very first favorite superhot and is still at the top spot of my list, despite several other peppers succeeding it in heat. I like the smokiness and I find the flavor, with just a touch of the superhot bitter, accenting things, is more like a venerable and welcome old friend these days. Given my flavor-first motif, I don't ever see a time of this dropping off the list.

Calabrian - This little gem constantly vies for my overall favorite pepper, which is a pretty lofty goal, considering some of the entries on this list, particularly old favorites that have been there for years and years, were a formative part of me, to a degree, and have been with me nearly all the while, but I do so absolutely love the flavor of this, which strikes as classic and a bit fruity and sweet and maybe a touch smokey, but just stunningly delicious. These are another that weren't to this extent recently, but I am beyond thrilled that they're in my life now and those things, those rare and powerful things, don't come around too often, so one must cherish them, as I do these. 

Cayenne - Easily one of the most versatile and perhaps ubiquitous peppers out there (along with Jalapeno, Arbol & possibly Tabasco, I suppose), most of the times it's encountered, it will be either powder or in a sauce. This one is on my list to track down in the wild, as a whole pod, someday, but it makes one of my favorite types of sauces and one my fridge will never be without.

Cherry - This was my first favorite non-Bell pepper and I've had a lot of these over the year. I have to dial myself back a bit from buying jars of this because I will plow through an entire jar and won't mind if I do. These have one of the greatest flavor balances to me, but generally are low heat. They were one of my father's favorites, so there is probably a nostalgia bump at play here a bit, but Jersey Mike's just came out with a cherry pepper relish and even though I think their prices are a touch on the high side, damn if I'm not kicking around getting one, just so I can have more of that.

Chiltepin - Another that I've had mainly in sauces and another that is more in the Mexican/Southwest style, but one that I've consistently found makes a damn fine sauce. 

Fresno - I suppose one could think of these as red Jalapenos, but I find them both hotter and sweeter and considerably far more enjoyable than Jalapenos, particularly raw. I don't think I've yet had a sauce which had Fresno in it that I didn't like, which may hold a lesson here. 

Jalapeno - I mean, how could I not? This was probably the first actual spicy pepper pod for nearly every practicing chilehead or chilehead-curious on the planet, and with good reason. Not only is it a great-flavored pepper at a fairly moderate heat, but it lends itself well to a fairly wide variety of cuisines, particularly when pickled. I don't think it's quite as accessible as the Arbol, which has a nice warmth and earthiness to it, but it's a very close second. Also, we have Chipotle in the smoked version of this, which is a form I think is pretty fantastic and tends to have my interest pretty quickly.

Peppadew - I love these, with a fervor unmatched for nearly any other pepper, these delectable sweethearts. I don't know what the story is - one of my SOTYs used this pepper before the sauce vanished (and yes, I cleared a few bottles of it) and now I can only find them in the deli, usually in marinated form. Utterly spectacular pod and I'd love to see this in sauces more. 

Pequin - Again, another mostly I come across in sauces, though I have gotten the powder and dried pods and used them quite successfully in cooking. Excellent flavor, good amount of heat, particularly when Arbol is not enough, but this strikes me ultimately as more of an accent flavoring pepper than a main star. 

Scotch Bonnet - This was the first pepper to advance beyond the heat of the Jalapenos that I really enjoyed, unlike its cousin, the Habanero (at least until the Red Savina variant). Imagine a fruitier-tasting Habanero that might approach one of those in heat, but had much better flavor and far less bitterness, as well as movement away from the flavor distinct to the Habs, which I don't mind in the chocolate or Red Savina version, but tend to dislike in the much more popular orange and green versions...unless they're fire-roasted, of course.

Shishito - This is the first in this list where I don't think it works at all well in sauces, being far too thin-walled, but, properly blistered with a touch of oil and some nice salt, this is one of the better-flavored peppers to just eat and enjoy. There is also the "hot lottery" thing, where 1 in 20 holds some heat, but realistically, it's still largely on the mild side, as are most of the peppers on this list. 

Sweet Pepper - I'm including Bell in this, but I'm more thinking of those smaller tri-colored ones, that look like smaller versions of Jalapenos, that are just utterly delicious. I will quite happily mow through a bag of those, savoring the differences between the yellows, oranges, and my favorites, the reds. I don't love green peppers generally, even in Bell form, though I can't honestly say I dislike them, but really, this is not a list about peppers where I'm ambivalent in feeling. Definitely the ranking for me is red, orange, yellow, in that order, but do yourself a favor and pick up a sack of these, if you're not familiar.

So, there we are. Currently 15 on the list, with a number I either haven't tried at all or enough yet, stuff like Chocolate Primotalli or Infinity or Dragon's Breath or Omega and both Bhutlah and Douglah, or that I've tried and I'm quite neutral about ultimately, which would include Pepper X, Apollo, the Carolina Reaper, most of the Habaneros, Serranos, Ajis, Datil, Thai/Bird's Eye, and Piri Piri. Naturally, there are a few I actively dislike, which I won't bother naming here, but will just observe that I have little interest in the more floral ones out there and leave it there.