Mild habanero pepper created
WESLACO — Texas pepper breeders have done it again — they’ve created a mild version of a pepper infamous for its heat. First came the mild jalapeño; now comes a mild version of the habanero, considered by many to be the hottest pepper in the world.

The TAM Mild Habanero, the result of a five-year breeding program in South Texas, is now available to growers and should eventually find its way to kitchens, salad bars and salsas everywhere.

Like the TAM Mild Jalapeño, the new mild habanero is expected to entice the palates of consumers who may have shunned its culinary attributes for fear of its mouth-scorching, tear-jerking heat. This new version is much more user-friendly, according to its creator.

“It’s a beautiful pepper with all the aroma and flavor of the traditional habanero but with just a fraction of the pungency,” said Kevin Crosby, a pepper breeder at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station at Weslaco. This is the same facility that released the world’s first mild jalapeño pepper in 1981.

Crosby began crossing peppers in 1999, hoping to develop a new product for growers in South Texas. Biting into pepper after pepper, Crosby and his technicians discarded thousands of breeding lines for being too hot or too bland, or for not exhibiting plant characteristics important to growers, including early maturity, high yields, properly shaped and sized pods, and resistance to insects and diseases.

But eventually, progeny from a cross between a hot Yucatan habanero and a heatless habanero from Bolivia began to show promise. Several generations and a few backcrosses later, the TAM Mild Habanero emerged.

Laboratory tests verified extremely low pungency.

“It’s got only 150 parts per million capsaicin, compared to the 12,700 parts per million in the original Yucatan habanero,” Crosby said, “It’s comparable to the very low heat you’d find in Anaheim peppers or Greek salad peppers.”

Capsaicin is the compound in peppers that gives them their heat.

Depending on growing conditions, habaneros can have up to 35,000 parts per million capsaicin, some of the highest levels found in peppers that are consumed and far too hot for most connoisseurs to enjoy, Crosby said.

With a slightly more yellow skin than its hotter, darker orange cousins, the mild Habanero should do well among growers and consumers, Crosby said.

“Demand for habaneros, for use in salsas and as a fresh market product, has been increasing the past five to 10 years, more so than the demand for other hot peppers,” he said. “And they’ve maintained their high value. Fresh market jalapeños sell for 50 cents a pound; habaneros sell for between $3 and $4 a pound.”

The TAM Mild Habanero was approved for release to the public by Texas A&M’s Plant Release Committee and a patent is pending from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Plant Variety Protection division.

How soon the new pepper will be available to consumers depends on how quickly commercial seed companies buy rights to the new pepper and increase seed for sale to growers.

“We also have several salsa companies who are interested in growing their own mild habaneros,” he said. “And we have seed companies who would like to see more growing data in regions other than Texas before they commit. But I suspect that by next spring consumers may finally get a chance to taste this new mild habanero.”

Answer: For home-drying fruits and vegetables, the most reliable way is to dry them in a food dehydrator or in the oven if you don’t have a dedicated food dryer. Peppers can be dried in the sun as well. I have seen acres of red peppers being dried out in the sun in arid Arizona. But despite our name of the Sunshine State, sunshine bright enough to dry things can be pretty fickle here. Then there are those sudden squalls to contend with.

Here is how I would go about it: Wash, drain and dry the peppers well. If you want to dry these beautiful, cherry-like peppers whole, cut a slit in each to let moisture out; or you can halve and seed. (Seeding will reduce heat, since some cherry peppers can have a fair bite.) If you have a large amount, put the prepared peppers on a towel-lined baking sheet or tray in a single layer and dry until leathery in a 200-degree oven, about 8 hours. Keep the oven door slightly ajar for air circulation.

If it is a small amount, just place the tray on top of the refrigerator. Warm air rising from the back of the fridge will help dry the fruits (yes, peppers are fruits!) quicker. For an electric food dehydrator, follow the manufacturer’s instructions. These reasonably priced gadgets are a boon if you like to dry fruits and veggies.

Drying may be fine, but the traditional method of preserving cherry peppers is to pickle them. Although nothing will really save the beautiful red color and glossy skin of the fresh cherry peppers, pickling may be kinder to their looks.

Florida man subjected stepson to fiery punishment
The Associated Press
Updated: 11:39 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2004
SARASOTA, Fla – Prosecutors have decided to drop felony child-neglect charges against a Florida man who forced his 13-year-old stepson to drink hot sauce as punishment for leaving a gate open.

When Michael Massanelli was arrested in June, he told detectives he was upset because his 2-year-old daughter could have wandered out of the gate left open by his stepson.
According to an attorney for Massanelli, prosecutors have acknowledged that making the teen-ager drink hot sauce was no different than washing a child’s mouth out with soap.
In the lawyer’s words, “if giving hot sauce were criminal, then a lot of our grandmothers would have gone to jail.”
© 2004 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed

Morton Hot Salt. $2.70 to $3.20 per 7.5-ounce plastic container.

Bonnie: Who knew? There’s actually some hot news about age-old salt.

Morton has combined its salt with chipotle (smoked jalapeno pepper) and red pepper to create a condiment that delivers just the right amount of heat with only a little more than half the sodium of regular salt. This should please hot-food lovers and sodium-restricted consumers alike.

Carolyn: Live in a household where hot sauce sits on the table right beside the salt and pepper? Then you might want to consider this new alternative, especially if you typically only use one or two drops of Tabasco.

Morton Hot Salt would seem to be a nearly half-and- half blend of salt and hot pepper powders that lends food a salty lift with none of Tabasco’s vinegary taste.

Those who like their foods hotter had best stick with Tabasco lest they go down the road of high blood pressure.

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Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff Taco Shells. $1.99 per 4.7- ounce box containing 10 shells or $2.99 per 10.5-ounce taco dinner kit.

Bonnie: Once you see Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff Taco Shells, you will wonder why some company hadn’t thought of them before.

They’re brilliant. Until now you held the empty taco shell in one hand while filling it with the meat, vegetables and salsa (unless you had one of the metal taco holders used in some Mexican restaurants, that is). Then you ate it knowing that once you put it down, the filling would fall out. But not if you use Old El Paso Stand ‘n Stuff. With their flat bottoms, they stand by themselves.

Since Stand ‘n Stuff shells are comparable in nutrition and cost to regular ones, I recommend them. But I don’t recommend buying them as part of a taco dinner kit. Why pay an extra dollar for a skimpy portion of salsa and a seasoning kit when it’s cheaper and almost as easy to season the meat with some chili powder and cumin, and then top it with your favorite salsa?

Carolyn: A hard taco with a rectangular base is something you need only if one person in your household is making tacos for everybody.

I certainly hope taco-making at your place is more egalitarian than that. (Making your own tacos in the style of a taco bar can also be a lot of fun.)

Moreover, Stand ‘n Stuff shells crack into pieces when you bite into them just as regular hard taco shells do — if not even more quickly because of the more fragile nature of their wider construction.

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Keebler Chips Deluxe Carb Sensible Cookies. Chocolate Chocolate Chip, Chocolate Chip, and Peanut Butter. $1.99 per 5.6-ounce box of 10 individually wrapped cookies.

Bonnie: There is no reason to eat cookies other than for enjoyment. But these new Carb Sensible Cookies are neither sensible nor enjoyable.

First, they’re redolent of artificial sweeteners, a fact you’d find only if you read the small-print ingredient panel. Second, one cookie contains as much or even slightly more calories than better-tasting, regular cookies. Third, they cost more. Although the box is big, that’s only to accommodate the packaging for 10 individually wrapped cookies.

I predict these will end up where the rest of the low- carb products are heading: in the failed-products graveyard.

Carolyn: My top vote for a word that doesn’t belong in the name of a dessert? Horrible. But sensible would certainly be in the top 10. That’s why I approached these Keebler Chips Deluxe Carb Sensible Cookies with some trepidation.

In the case of the Chocolate Chip, my fears were well-founded. These do deserve the horrible moniker, as they are tasteless and dry. The Chocolate Chocolate Chip are about as good as cheapo store-brand cookies — but cost a lot more. The very peanut buttery Peanut Butter are the best of the three by far (although I wish they were softer).

I also like that these come individually wrapped, although I doubt many people will be able to stop at just one of the Peanut Butter. In the case of the Chocolate Chip, though, even that tiny serving size is too much.

* Bonnie Tandy Leblang and Carolyn Wyman critique new food items. Questions may be sent to: Universal Press Syndicate, 4520 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111; or call (816) 932-6600.