FRESH
Fresh peppers are the best for making hot sauces and salsas. There are also perfect for making stuffed peppers and for roasting. Anaheim or NuMex peppers are well known for their balance of sweetness, juiciness, and heat when it comes to chile relleno peppers. Most of the smaller cayenne and paprika type peppers we grow are best for salsas or hot sauce. Some people prefer to make mole with our fresh rather than dried mole type peppers.
DRIED
Dried peppers usually keep the longest and are hard and brittle making them ideal for grinding into flakes or powders. We are fortunate to be located far enough inland from the coastal fog near Santa Cruz to have enough heat in the summers to field dry our peppers in the sun. We offer our dried peppers primarily as powders or flakes but save some to be sold whole for those that like to do their own grinding at home.
SMOKED
Smoked peppers are not as hard or brittle as dried peppers and can be used for marinades, fresh salsas, hot sauces, soups, cornbreads, and any dish that you want to quickly impart a rich, smoky flavor. Much of the flavor in smoked peppers is dependent on the type of wood, with hickory or oak imparting strong, harsh flavors and fruit woods like apple, pear or cherry giving the peppers a smooth, subtle flavor. We use primarily apple and pear wood with a small amount of oak wood to achieve a balanced smokey flavor for our smoked peppers.
These are the best smoked peppers I have ever had. I can’t get enough of them!
Matt ZimbalistChili-head Enthusiast
I love Fire Tongue Farm’s smoked peppers. I use them in everything I cook.
Maya Campbell-UnsoeldLife Lab Garden Teacher
