If You Can't Stand The Heat

As your cruise director, I feel that it’s my duty to know about the products our growers offer. I try to be somewhat familiar with most of the things that come through The Market.

To that end, I recently became the tentative recipient of one of Willow Springs’s ghost peppers. Despite it’s notorious reputation, I would be remiss if I did not provide you, our loyal members, with a report from the field. So tonight I decided to utilize this bit of biological weaponry in a stir-fry also featuring MeatWorks pastured pork, Armstead Mt. Farm’s rainbow carrots and green beans, ANP’s shiitake mushrooms, Felder Farm’s candy onions and CANAS Victory Gardens’s green bell and Peruvian purple peppers.

As per the grower’s recommendation, I split the ghost pepper lengthwise, deseeded, deveined and sauteed it in oil for about two minutes and then removed the pepper. The pork went in next and when it was done I removed it from the pan to make room for the veggies. I couldn’t resist trying a piece and it was… delicious! but not hot. So I decided to sample a minuscule morsel of the reserved fried pepper and it was… delicious! but not hot. It had a unique pepper flavor and a lovely smokey essence but was milder than the mildest of jalapenos. Mild enough that I minced the entire thing and threw it right in.

Was this a fluke? Are ghost peppers, like poison dart frogs, only formidable as a result of specific growing conditions that cannot be replicated in captivity? I don’t have all the answers, but what I do have is some fantastic leftover stir-fry and a strong desire to try more products and discover new flavors. The moral of the story is to never fear the unknown, for it could be the greatest thing you’ve ever encountered.

Here’s something to think about before tomorrow morning’s closing bell: what does The Market have to offer that’s new to you?

~Rebecca Wild