Jalapeno - what is it and what does it eat?

In Spain, Mexico, the United States and many other countries like spicy seasonings. They grow jalapenos. What it is? It is a hot chilli pepper, which got its name in honor of the city of Jalapa. It is located in Mexico, in the state of Veracruz and is the main producer of an acute vegetable.

Description

Vegetable has a miniature size - from 5 to 9 cm. The smaller the length of the fruit, the more valuable it is considered. Weight of pepper averages 50 grams, color - green. The pods begin to blush when ripe, but collect them green. The period of growing the harvest is eighty days after the end of flowering. The plant does not grow more than a meter in height, but even with a small jalapeño, you can get up to thirty-five fruits per one growth cycle.

There is not one kind of jalapeno. The photos show that they can be long pods, pointed and oblong. Usually the last species is found in our latitudes. All varieties differ not only in appearance, but also in the region of growth and in the temperature of the stinging. When processing the most acute varieties fruit pickers use gloves, as vegetables can cause skin irritation.

In southern countries and Europe, this vegetable is respected by ostrenki lovers, in our country it is not very common, but it is no less popular.

Jalapeno - what is it: a burning seasoning or an independent dish?

The pods are used for making salsa sauces, and also marinate. Red fruits are less valuable, but they preserve taste and consumer qualities for a long time. Therefore, the overripe vegetables are dried and ground into seasoning. They are also applied as fertilizer to the soil.

The jalapenos can be an independent dish or a compound ingredient. They are fried on a grill or baked, added to salads and to meat, vegetable, fish dishes. In Mexico, for example, vegetable stew is popular with the addition of smoked hot peppers. In Europe, cooks add to the dishes most often pickled vegetables.

In Russia, on the shelves of the store you can find a seasoning of hot pepper or frozen jalapenos. Is it a delicacy or a traditional meal? The answer to this question can not be unequivocal: in one state one can not live without burning peppers, while in another they are wary and consider them a delicacy.

Jalapeno serves as a mandatory additive for the traditional Mexican drink sangritu, which is washed down with tequila. For its preparation take orange, tomato and lemon juice, add pepper. The drink becomes so sharp that the effect is comparable to the tequila itself.

Ease of taste

The stinging index or pepper sharpness can vary from medium to high. "Degree of taste" is measured by the temperature of sensations. Gourmets say that the taste of peppers in the beginning can have a warm sensation temperature, which is replaced by a hot one.

If any Mexican is asked a question: "Jalapeno - what is it?" - he will answer that it is a medium-pepper with a slight taste of nuts and an unforgettable sourness. The inhabitants of this country are so fond of a burning vegetable, that they harvest it for future use. And the pods not only marinate, but also make jam out of them!

The severity of jalapeno depends on the growing conditions and the way of processing. The most burning are the tissues that hold the seeds in the pod. Pepper, from which these tissues were removed to soften the taste, is called "castrated".

In Mexico, burning peppers occupy huge plantations. In the US, they are so loved that they awarded the vegetable a flight into space: it became one of the first spices that cosmonauts took with them.