Well, The jar of peppers Mitch promised to me finally arrived.
First off, many thanks to you Mitch for following through and sending them. When Mitch had first offered to send me peppers, I was hoping that he would send me the mild version, but he sent me the Murderous Peppers. The catch is that I now have to write a review on them. Be careful what you ask for is all I'll say!
So here goes:
Appearance
The jar is sitting on my kitchen counter in the attached pic. They look very nice. The jar is a good quality decorative mason jar. Label needs a little work...probably needs a Surgeon General's warning on it.
Aroma
Upon opening the jar, the pungent smell of the peppers is readily apparent warning me not to taste of them. Unfortunately, the warning went unheeded.
Consistency
As evidenced by the pictures in this thread, the peppers have been roughly chopped/diced into irregular, manageable size. A clear liquid is present on top of the peppers daring me to take a sip. I demurred.
First Taste
I closed the jar and headed off to Bogies to see if someone other than myself would do the honors. I found a likely victim (er...taste tester) none other than John Rizzo. He was intrigued and got us some plastic spoons and we dipped into the jar. I did half a teaspoon but John took a heaping teaspoonfull. In a few moments, he was gasping
and was really impressed saying something about needing a big glass of milk but there was none in the bar.
I enjoyed my conservative taste and noted its fruity, hot and yet sweet flavor as not extraordinarily hot on on my taste buds, but a ferocious afterburn down my throat. Actually, the aftertaste and residual heat were most interesting and long lasting.
Subsequent Tasting
I took them home and got out my Frito's corn chips and opened a can of regular bean dip (not the hot and spicy kind). Mixed in about 1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons of the peppers. The bean dip was fantastic. A little heat and a little sweet. Problem was, I finished the whole can of dip with the chips at one sitting, enjoyed it very much and the got a minor case of heartburn that developed slowly afterwards. Well worth the pain!
The next day, I took my jar with me to one of my habitual lunch spots (The Ragin Cajun) and ordered some red beans and rice with a side of Johnny cake ("cornbread" for the uninitiated). I usually spike my red beans with Tabasco (the only hot sauce I ever use since my days living in New Orleans). This time, I substituted several teaspoons of Mitch's peppers in lieu of Tabasco. The flavor of the red beans was deliciously enhanced. Very nice spicy heat with a very appealing sweetness. I enjoyed the lunch very much.
Conclusion
I am not a person who seeks out the thrilling hunt for the hottest peppers. And I don't get invested in macho tough pepper eating challenges. Tasting Mitch's peppers was a cautious and pleasant experience for me.
I think that if you go all out and try to eat a whole or a couple of teaspoons of the stuff you would be making a big mistake. However, when applied judiciously, Mitch's peppers are a stimulating enhancement to your food preparations. I especially liked the sweet flavoring juxtaposed against the heat of the peppers. My nose is still running! :lol:lol
THANKS FOR THE PEPPERS MITCH!!!!
PostScript:
My case of heartburn is still building as I type this. :frus:frus